Questlove hints at posthumous D’Angelo album weeks after R&B icon’s death

The R&B great passed away in October from pancreatic cancer at the age of 51.

The sounds of D’Angelo are timeless and according to longtime collaborator and friend Questlove, they’re going to stay that way.

During a chat on the red carpet at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The National News Desk, The Roots drummer and Academy Award-winning filmmaker was asked whether there would be a new D’Angelo album or a release of unreleased songs after the Virginia legend’s untimely passing in October.

“You’ll see soon,” Questlove said with a laugh. “With him, it’s always the sound of yesterday but for the future. This record is no different and when it comes out, you’ll know.”

The duo’s time together dates back to the early 1990s, before D’Angelo shook up the world with “Brown Sugar.” Over the years, Questlove and D would become creatively joined at the hip, most notably on D’s final two albums: 2000’s “Voodoo” and 2014’s “Black Messiah.”

In an essay for Rolling Stone, Questlove reflected on the final few weeks of D’Angelo’s life, noting that they were the best times in their friendship.

“Music was always the template for our communication,” he wrote. “Now here we were in the hospital — no soundproof separation booths, no drums, no keys, no instruments, no musicians. Nothing but just the two of us talking. About where our lives had been in the past five years or so. I’ll admit that the uncertain finality of it all was somewhat awkward for me. Is this visit gonna be my last visit? Is this concert gonna be the last one we watch together? Will this be the last J Dilla beat we lose our minds over? Man … since that day back in 1996, talking about our hometowns and high school and our churches and our fathers and how we escaped it all, we hadn’t talked all that deep.”

Although he released albums sparingly, D’Angelo was constantly recording, as evidenced by his contribution to the soundtrack of “Red Dead Redemption 2” in 2019. His legacy is that of Black music, unflinching and soulful, rooted in gospel and able to branch out into different genres, including hip-hop, R&B, rock, and folk. The R&B giant is sorely missed, and Maxwell, a contemporary who was initially set to square off with D’Angelo in a Verzuz-type event, remarked on his passing at the RRHOF.

“I don’t think I’d have a moment like this if it wasn’t for his introduction to the world,” Maxwell said. “My heart and soul go out to his family and his spirit in heaven.”