Justin Timberlake has paid tribute to D’Angelo, whose three solo albums — his debut Brown Sugar, 2000’s Voodoo, and 2014’s Black Messiah — reshaped the landscape of soul music and helped ignite a new era. Following D’Angelo’s passing on Oct. 14 at 51, Timberlake shared how the visionary’s work impacted his own musical journey and how he had the opportunity to meet him backstage at Radio City Music Hall.
“I’ll never forget hearing Brown Sugar for the first time. It changed me. You changed me,” wrote Timberlake in his letter posted to Instagram Stories, calling the record the “most pivotal moment in establishing confidence in my own voice.”
“For the first time, I heard a sound that reflected the sounds I grew up with – early R&B but *now* it was intertwined with a modern edge,” he continued. “The chords and arrangement carried a mixture of church/jazz/funk, the harmonies delicately dancing with one another. It sat in my spirit and always will.”
Timberlake went on to praise Voodoo as his “favorite mixed album of all time.” He added, “The legendary players and collaborators. The sounds, the way it made colors dance around my head. It grabbed me. It shook me. I was changed once again.”
The “Selfish” singer also said that the Voodoo tour stop at Radio City was “one of the best concerts” of his life. “You. Quest. Pino. Poyser. And everyone on that stage had just ripped the faces off that crowd,” Timberlake reminisced. “And then I was lucky enough to grab a sacred moment with you backstage. And tell you how in awe of you I was.” The singer said that his previously posted photo of him and D’Angelo was taken at that exact moment and when they met, he was “kind, under-spoken.” Timberlake added, “I will never forget that.”
While Timberlake said he could go on about D’Angelo’s breadth of work including his “favorite Lauryn collab,” to “put it the way I know best in this moment: you took R&B and put it in all capitals.”
“Your contribution will always be remembered. Sending love and prayers to your family. You will be missed deeply. 1 of 1. Rip trailblazer,” wrote Timberlake before signing off, “With love. One of your biggest fans.”
Timberlake joins a flood of artists across genres that have honored D’Angelo in tributes including Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Nile Rodgers, Missy Elliott, and more.