Today, Feb. 11, is the birthday of R&B star and neo-soul staple D'Angelo.

Born Michael Eugene Archer in Richmond, Virginia, D'Angelo dropped out of high school at 18 and moved to NYC to pursue music full time. After spending years defining his funky, soulful sound, D'Angelo released his debut album Brown Sugar in 1995. After a four and a half year hiatus, D'Angelo then delivered his sophomore project, Voodoo in 2000. And most recently, after an astonishing fourteen year sabbatical, D'Angelo finessed his way back to the top of the R&B hierarchy in one fell swoop with 2014's Black Messiah.

With a staggered string of hits like "U Will Know" and "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," D'Angelo helped to popularize the emerging neo-soul genre occupied by the likes of Eyrkah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Maxwell in the late '90s to early 2000's.

Now on his comeback kick, D'Angelo performed on Saturday Night Live in 2015, and gave an amazing live performance at Harlem NY's famed Apollo Theater and will tour Europe this spring. D'Angelo is currently on tour internationally.

Happy Birthday, D'Angelo!

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