At his home in New York City today, Grammy-winning singer and neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo — born Michael Eugene Archer — passed away at the age of 51, following a prolonged fight with pancreatic cancer, his family confirmed.

D’Angelo rose to prominence in the 1990s with his debut album Brown Sugar (1995), which helped usher in the neo-soul movement. He followed it with the critically acclaimed Voodoo (2000) and then, after long periods of retreat, returned with Black Messiah in 2014.

“The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life… After a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer … we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.”
— Family statement

Though reclusive at times, D’Angelo’s artistry merged gospel, soul, jazz, and funk with raw emotional depth. He influenced generations of artists and reshaped how R&B could hold both sensuality and conscious themes. His stripped-down aesthetic, musicianship, and integrity made him a rare figure in modern music.

The music world already echoes with tributes from peers and fans alike, and memorials are expected to follow in coming days. Releases of posthumous work—including unreleased tracks he was reportedly working on with long-time collaborator Raphael Saadiq—are also anticipated. D’Angelo’s legacy will live on in every note he helped redefine.

At the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, a federal judge ruled today that Martin Shkreli can face a lawsuit brought by PleasrDAO accusing him of copying and publicly distributing the Wu-Tang Clan’s ultra-rare album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Reuters

PleasrDAO, which purchased the sole legal copy of the album for approximately $4 million in 2021, alleges that Shkreli—who originally acquired it in 2015—secretly made digital duplicates and played the content online, in violation of agreements and forfeiture terms. 

“We allege that Mr. Shkreli misappropriated a singular work of art and diminished its value by unauthorized duplication,”

— PleasrDAO statement cited in court filings Reuters

In her 32-page decision, Judge Pamela Chen found that the album’s secrecy and exclusivity grant it independent economic value, making trade secret claims viable under federal law. However, some of PleasrDAO’s broader claims were dismissed as preempted by existing copyright statutes. Wikipedia

If the case proceeds, Shkreli may be required to surrender any remaining digital copies, disclose to whom he distributed them, and compensate PleasrDAO for damages and loss of exclusivity. Bloomberg Law

This legal battle raises novel questions about how copyright, trade secrets, and digital replication intersect—especially for artistic works created under extreme restrictions. The Shaolin album, designed by RZA and Cilvaringz as a one-of-a-kind musical art piece, was intended to stand outside streaming and mass distribution paradigms. Pitchfork

Whether PleasrDAO will succeed in forcing Shkreli to return digital forms or recover losses will test courts’ willingness to extend trade secret protection to unique works of music.