‘Time ran out’: D’Angelo and Angie Stone’s son Michael Archer Jr. mourns his parents
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- Musician Michael Archer Jr. penned a heartbreaking Instagram post reflecting on the deaths of his parents D’Angelo and Angie Stone.
- “He was there when I needed him most after the passing of my momma,” Archer wrote of his father, who died Tuesday at age 51.
Michael Archer Jr., the son of R&B stars D’Angelo and Angie Stone, has been dealing with grief for months — long before the death of his father on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old musician, whose stage name is Swayvo Twain, penned a heartbreaking Instagram post reflecting on the deaths of his parents and the final moments he shared with his Grammy-winning dad. His mother, Grammy-nominated singer Angie Stone, died in March in a traffic accident in Alabama. She was 63. D’Angelo died Tuesday after a private battle with cancer. He was 51.
“I just sat here watchin my daddy die after feeling like it was the first time he and I were truly building,” Archer wrote in an Instagram story shared Tuesday. “He was there when I needed him most after the passing of my momma.”
D’Angelo, the ‘Lady’ singer whose album ‘Brown Sugar’ was crucial to the start of the neo-soul movement, has died. He was 51.
Archer added: “Unfortunately, time ran out.”
D’Angelo’s family announced Tuesday that the neo-soul pioneer had “been called home” after a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer.” Additional details about his cancer fight were not revealed.
D’Angelo was a four-time Grammy winner known for his sensual albums “Brown Sugar” and “Voodoo.” Though he was immeasurably influential on generations of R&B, the singer had a fraught relationship with fame that led to stints of years out of the spotlight. Stone, on the other hand, was a singer who found success in the neo-soul movement in the 1990s after after nearly two decades in the music business. Her work included the solo album “Black Diamond” and the singles “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” and “Wish I Didn’t Miss You.”
Before his parents’ deaths, the rapper-singer spoke about D’Angelo and Stone’s careers and their influence on his music for an episode of MTV’s “Family Legacy.” As he recalled bonding with his father over music and shared a tender — at times awkward — confessional with his mother, he joked that the pair’s best work was himself.
The influential singer and songwriter helped shape modern R&B with his songs about commitment and understanding. He died Tuesday at 51.
Archer reflected on the “Family Legacy” episode weeks after his mother’s death, writing on Instagram that he wanted to pave his own path and “separate myself from my parents cause it always felt like I was fated to be in their shadows forever.”
“Thankfully, long before, momma left I learned to embrace them and their legacy full on,” he wrote at the time. “I’m blessed and happy to have had this moment with my momma man.”
Joining Archer on social media in mouring D’Angelo’s death were Lauryn Hill, Jaime Foxx, Missy Elliott and Jill Scott. Beyoncé honored the R&B star with a tribute on the homepage of her website.
“We thank you for your beautiful music, your voice, your proficiency on the piano, your artistry,” the memorial reads. “You were the pioneer of neo-soul and that changed and transformed rhythm & blues forever. We will never forget you.”
