Michael Archer Jr., the son of R&B stars D'Angelo and Angie Stone, has been grieving for months – long before his father's death on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old musician, whose stage name is Swavo Twain, wrote a heartbreaking Instagram post recounting the deaths of his parents and the final moments he shared with his Grammy-winning father. His mother is a Grammy-nominated singer. Angie Stone died in March. in a traffic accident in Alabama. She was 63 years old. D'Angelo died Tuesday. after a private battle with cancer. He was 51.
“I just sat here and watched my dad die, feeling like he and I were truly building for the first time,” Archer wrote in an Instagram Story posted Tuesday. “He was there when I needed him most after my mom died.”
Archer added: “Unfortunately, time has run out.”
D'Angelo's family announced Tuesday that the neo-soul pioneer was “called home” after a “long and courageous battle with cancer.” Additional details about his battle with cancer have not been released.
D'Angelo was a four-time Grammy Award winner known for his sensual albums “Brown Sugar” and “Voodoo.” Although he had an immeasurable influence on several generations of R&B, the singer had a rocky relationship with fame that kept him in the spotlight for several years. Stone, on the other hand, was a singer who found success in the neo-soul movement in the 1990s after nearly two decades in the music business. Her work includes the solo album “Black Diamond”, as well as 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 in an episode of the MTV program. “Family Legacy” Recalling how he bonded with his father over music and shared a tender — at times awkward — confession with his mother, he joked that the couple's best work was himself.
Archer reflected on the “Family Legacy” episode in the weeks after his mother's death, writing on Instagram that he wanted to forge his own path and “separate himself from my parents, because I always felt like I was destined to remain in their shadow forever.”
“Fortunately, long before my mother left, I learned to fully accept them and their legacy,” he wrote at the time. “I’m happy and blessed that I had this moment with my mommy.”
Joining Archer on social media to mourn D'Angelo's death was Lauryn Hill, Jamie Foxx, Missy Elliott And Jill Scott. Beyoncé honored the R&B star with congratulations on her home page website.
“We thank you for your beautiful music, your voice, your piano playing, your artistry,” the memorial reads. “You pioneered neo-soul and it changed and transformed rhythm and blues forever. We will never forget you.”
