R&B legend D'Angelo dies at 51: reports

(NEXSTAR) -- R&B/soul icon D'Angelo, who rose to fame in the '90s with a series of critically acclaimed and platinum-selling albums, has died at 51 after a cancer struggle, the singer's family confirmed to Variety and People on Tuesday.

In a statement to Variety, the family said in part: "We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind."

The artist, whose birth name was Michael Eugene Archer, was a four-time Grammy Award winner, and though the private star only released three albums in his lifetime, he's widely considered among the best R&B artists of all time.

The Virginia native made his earliest splashes in the music industry as a writer and producer. In 1994, D'Angelo co-wrote and co-produced the single "U Will Know," which was performed by R&B supergroup Black Men United, which consisted of Brian McKnight, Usher, Boyz II Men and Raphael Saadiq, to name a few.

D'Angelo's debut album, "Brown Sugar," arrived in July 1995 and was driven to platinum sales certification on the strength of its singles, including the title track and "Lady," the latter of which would go on to be a Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit, still the biggest U.S. Billboard hit of his career.

The album received widespread acclaim and is considered to have helped create the "neo soul" genre, which became popular through the '90s and early '00s with artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scot, and Lauryn Hill.

The artist took several years between his debut and "Voodoo," his sophomore effort, which dropped in January 2000. Debuting at no. 1 on Billboard, the album was D'Angelo's biggest pop cultural moment as the nearly nude music video for third single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" raised eyebrows and was a frequent appearance on music video channels at the time. The video was praised for its sexual objectification of D'Angelo, as the video filmed the artist more like women were depicted in videos at the time.

The video would help fuel sales of "Voodoo," which was certified platinum in the U.S. and gold in the U.K. The album was also named among several end-of-year "Best of" lists, in addition to a "greatest of all time" list from Rolling Stone and "100 Best Albums of the 21st Century" list from the Guardian.

While the success of "Voodoo" (and its accompanying tour) were huge moments for D'Angelo, the artist would grow to resent the "Untitled" music video, as it changed the tenor of his live performances and his presence.

According to friend and collaborator Questlove in an August 2008 issue of SPIN, D'Angelo became frustrated during the tour because the audience was acting like, "F--k your art, I want to see your a--!'"

This shift in his career led the artist to retreat from the public eye for many years as he dealt with increased visibility, in addition to his own personal struggles. The ensuing years would see several delays in recording a follow-up to "Voodoo."

D'Angelo's third and final album, "Black Messiah" (which is credited as "D'Angelo and the Vanguard") finally arrived in December 2014 to more critical acclaim. The album, which debuted at no. 5 on U.S. Billboard, was named to multiple "best of" lists for the year and ultimately won D'Angelo two more Grammys, one for Best R&B Song ("Really Love") and Best R&B album.

Earlier this year, D'Angelo made a notable return to live performing when he joined fellow R&B legends The Roots at the Root Picnic music festival in Philadelphia. The May show was the artist's first full live set since 2016, MassLive reports.

R&B singer Jill Scott shared her grief online Tuesday afternoon, saying, "I never met D'Angelo but I love him, respect him, admire his gift. This loss HURTS!!... R.I.P. GENIUS."

D'Angelo is survived by three children.

This is a developing story.