This week, as D’Angelo launched his brand new Sonos Radio channel, Feverish Fantazmagoria, he opened up about one of the most pivotal moments in his artistic journey: meeting his lifelong hero, Prince.

A Lifelong Connection

“Honestly, I felt very comfortable around him,” D’Angelo shared, his voice tinged with awe and gratitude. “I felt like I knew him very well. I’ve been studying him all my life. And when I met him, I felt like I’d lived my life for that moment. I had trained — I had done everything I had done — for that moment.”

For D’Angelo, Prince was more than a musical influence; he was the reason to pursue music in the first place. “It was Prince, for sure, and it was pretty early,” D’Angelo explained when asked about his earliest inspirations. “There was no question about it… And then, in ’81, Dirty Mind came out. It was over; that was it.”

A Childhood Devotion

The connection ran deep, beginning in D’Angelo’s childhood. In a 2014 interview with OkayPlayer, he recalled how the mystique and talent of Prince gripped his entire family. “I was five years old. ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ had come out, and it was a big hit. When that album came out, it was just huge. He really, literally, was the talk of the town. Everybody was wondering, ‘Who is this guy? Is he a guy? Is it a girl?’ No one really knew who it was. I remember we had the album, and my brothers were just enamored by this guy. They told me, ‘He plays everything, he writes everything, he’s singing everything,’ so I was hooked from then on. I learned how to play every song on that album, note for note, at five years old.”

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Today, D’Angelo continues to follow Prince’s example of creative independence and artistic mystery. Much like his idol, he keeps a close guard on his own archive of unreleased material. “It has a lot of depth,” he revealed on Feverish Fantazmagoria, describing his personal vault. “It spans a lot of territory.”

While fans eagerly await new music, D’Angelo promises that his work has never stopped. “I’m always working; I’m always writing,” he said, hinting at the possibility of a future album. “It’s been a lot going on, just in the world, but I’ve just been quietly writing.”

The Moment Fulfilled

For D’Angelo, meeting Prince was more than just an encounter—it was the realization of a lifelong pursuit. In the presence of his hero, the years of practice, passion, and dedication found their purpose.

And as D’Angelo continues to shape his own legacy, the echoes of Prince’s artistry—his innovation, mystery, and spirit—remain at the heart of everything he creates.