How D'Angelo Got a Song on 'Red Dead Redemption II'

Music and gaming fans alike are shocked by the news of the late soul legend D’Angelo, who died Tuesday at 51 after an undisclosed battle with cancer.

Rockstar Games, behind popular video games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, shared a tribute to the singer, who was a fan of their games, on social media.

It stated, “Rest In Peace D’Angelo, a true titan of soul. We are eternally grateful for his track “Unshaken,” which will forever be an enduring part of the legacy of Red Dead Redemption 2.”

The Grammy Award-winning singer released three albums over his 30-year career, kickstarting the neo-soul R&B movement in the mid-90s. In 2018, four years after his last album Black Messiah, D’Angelo contributed to the soundtrack of the upcoming game Red Dead Redemption II.

When Rockstar Games first began developing the western open-world sequel, D’Angelo reached out to Ivan Pavlovich, director of music and audio at the studio, to play the game.

“We weren’t even talking about doing music,” Pavlovich told RollingStone in 2018. “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.”

Pavlovich then asked the singer if he would be interested in contributing to the soundtrack, which featured his vocals to the sultry, iconic tune “Unshaken” in the soundtrack. The entire track can be heard in a mission with Dear Uncle Tacitus in a segment when you’re riding a horse back to camp.

How D’Angelo’s Love for ‘Red Dead Redemption’ Birthed Song on Soundtrack  was originally published on hiphopnc.com