For years, fans were anxiously wondering if D’Angelo would ever return with a new album. A decade had passed since he released his incredible comeback album Black Messiah. Before that, it was a 14-year hiatus since Voodoo in 2000. With every album, his diehard fanbase was left thinking they may have heard his last album.
But behind the scenes, he was always working. Close friend and collaborator Questlove teased that he was hard at work on songs up until his tragic passing in October 2025. Now, his family has confirmed that there’s a vault of music they’re ready to share with fans.
In an interview with Kiss Richmond, D’Angelo’s brother Luther Archer revealed that a posthumous album was finally in the works. Currently, they have six songs locked and loaded that were made intentionally for an album. Then, there’s an additional set of records sitting in the vault they’ll pick to match.
“Just him. So no collaborations. There are six tracks [so far]. But then we have a whole vault of music that’s never been released. So we’re trying to figure out what we’re going to add, what we’re going to take away… But yeah, there’s a posthumous album,” he shared.
D’Angelo’s Brother Teases Blockbuster Collaborations sitting in the Vault
Additionally, there are various B-sides and covers that Archer is mulling over for release in the future. In the mix, there is a blockbuster collaboration that any R&B fan is probably dying to hear. “We’re also thinking about a whole album of B-sides. And then we’re also thinking about—because he was big on covers… so there’s several projects down the road. There’s one with Mary J. Blige and Michael Jackson,” D’Angelo’s brother said.
Ultimately, the “Brown Sugar” crooner’s relationship with the music industry also informed a lot of his long gaps between releases. In an old Rolling Stone interview leading up to Black Messiah, he admitted that the music business was significantly different by the time he was ready to work on another album.
“So much of the weight and the time that elapsed had nothing to do with me musically,” D’Angelo said. “At first, it had a lot to do with me personally. And then once that got straightened out, this business just really went through a complete metamorphosis, and it took me time to readjust. It was just a totally different game than it was when I put Voodoo out. If it was solely just about the music, it would’ve been out a lot sooner.”
(Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns)
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