The world is deeply saddened by the passing of D’Angelo, the legendary ‘titan of soul,’ who passed away yesterday at the age of 51 following a private battle with cancer.
D’Angelo was the brilliant mind behind ‘Unshaken,’ a massively popular track featured in Red Dead Redemption 2. Following the news of his death, both the game’s dedicated fanbase and its developer, Rockstar, have shared heartfelt tributes.
Rockstar Games released a statement on social media, honoring D’Angelo as a ‘true titan of soul.’ The developer expressed profound gratitude, stating that his song ‘Unshaken’ will forever remain a powerful and lasting component of Red Dead Redemption 2’s enduring legacy.
Throughout his acclaimed career, the Grammy-winning artist released three studio albums, with 2014’s ‘Black Messiah’ being his final full-length work. This makes ‘Unshaken,’ released on the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack in 2018, one of his last impactful musical contributions. The full track powerfully accompanies the mission ‘Dear Uncle Tacitus,’ during a memorable ride back to camp, and has garnered over 55 million streams on Spotify.
(Image: Photo by Frans Schellekens/Redferns)
Interestingly, D’Angelo was a passionate video game enthusiast. He even visited Rockstar during Red Dead Redemption 2’s development, apparently initiating contact with Ivan Pavlovich, the studio’s director of music and audio, simply to experience the game firsthand.
Ivan Pavlovich recounted, “We weren’t even talking about doing music. When D’Angelo comes through, he shows up at midnight, and he’s playing the game until four in the morning. Each time he was just like, ‘It’s incredible.’ It just blows his mind. He’s such a fan. I have never seen someone that excited. D’Angelo’s actually a massive, massive, massive fan of the game — more than I ever knew.’ This profound passion for the game ultimately led Pavlovich to ask D’Angelo to contribute to the soundtrack, explaining why several vocal tracks appear in an otherwise predominantly instrumental score.
Numerous artists, including Flavor Fave, Beyoncé, Nile Rodgers, Lauren Hill, and Doja Cat, have honored the musician. Their tributes are echoed by hundreds of gamers, many of whom first discovered D’Angelo’s music through Red Dead Redemption 2. For some players, the news of his passing was also the first time they realized he was the artist behind the game’s iconic song.
(An embedded video featuring “7 Bizarre, Brilliant Stories From The Set of Red Dead Redemption 2” was previously here.)
One emotional player shared, ‘I can’t think about RDR2 without Unshaken and how that particular transitional scene transformed the game into such a complete form of entertainment for me. For anyone who says ‘it’s just a game’ – they truly need to experience how this song was integrated.’
Another fan encouraged, ‘If you haven’t explored more of his music, you absolutely must know that he was one of the finest in his genre, a true elusive legend. His album ‘Brown Sugar’ is genuinely flawless – a must-listen for any music lover.’
A final poignant message from a fan read, ‘My favorite video game song of all time. Rest in peace. That song will forever be a part of me.’
Photo by Frans Schellekens/Redferns.
Vikki Blake is an experienced reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant for IGN, with over 15 years in the gaming industry. Her varied interests include Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, and Legend lore, often with a touch of “High Chaos.”