Honor to Ancestor Michael

Youngest sibling power is so real. Soft yet palpable and unyielding. This is the energy that D’Angelo, Michael Eugene Archer (1974-2025), brought to his gift and life’s work of music-making. As a youngest brother, his musical talent showed itself at the tender age of 3. A talent that could’ve easily been ignored but was instead cultivated. 

This is so rare, y'all. 

Art that Speaks to Soul

D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar came out when I was 15 and his music has been the soundtrack to my life ever since. So many complex emotions and experiences of my life were expressed through his music. I felt whole and seen when his music was bumping in the background. Especially Voodoo. It was like he was channeling my life experience. Losing him on this October 14th has made me feel deeply feel my mortality and it made me so angry that a tender and expansive soul such as his own was fated with the excruciating pain and inescapable terminus that pancreatic cancer brings. 

 An Actual Angel?

He may very well have been an angelic embodiment on Earth. Archangel Michael, to be exact. The symbol-searcher in me couldn’t help but put 2 + 2 together — we see it right there in his name: Michael “D’Angelo” Archer. Michael the Angel Archer. Archangel Michael. This presence is often represented by the colors blue and violet imparts on us leadership, light, groundedness, finances, spiritual safety, courage, divine connection, and healing in the spiritual realm. In his grounded, steadfast presence, D’Angelo embodied this in his lightness, his connection to spirit and soul, his ability to heal and to invite a spiritual experience to anyone who dares listen to his music. 

I remember about a year ago in early-2024 having my own experience with Archangel Michael. I had a vision about money where he came forth and shared with me about how I can approach the very random concept of money in a way that aligns with me spiritually. I personally just don’t have a connection with this concept though I completely understand that I do need access to it to be well here on Earth. So, Archangel Michael decided to show up and broke it down for me so I can have a more aligned relationship with it. Mind you I never called upon him or any angels before in my life; this just came up. 

And so has it been with D’Angelo’s music. Out of the blue came this beautiful being who provided a healing salve, a soul expression that you didn’t even know you needed to express. Just like that, he simply arrived, without being called on, to provide clarity and emotional processing and soul-level healing as he expressed his gifts to the world. 

Cultivating Our Youngest Daughter Gifts

Imagine if more of us did that. If we simply shared our gift(s). Imagine the magical balm to humanity that would be. And that brings me back to youngest sibling vibes. D’Angelo’s grandmother recognized his gifts when he was single-digit young and she provided a safe space for him to cultivate those gifts. 

Predictably, youngest siblings get shutdown, shut out, and wings clipped when those creative gifts show up early in life. If the talents didn’t adhere to STEM careers or being a lawyer, we got shut down. It was love expressed through fear. It was their way of “keeping us safe” in the world. In the black community in particular, there are plenty of examples where fame and pursuit of artistry leads to a lion’s share of life troubles and early death. But hell, so does anything else. Our creativity gets shut down before we have a chance to even think about mastering it. 

I mean, what if D’Angelo was stuck working a 9-5 for Phillip Morris in Virginia? What if Prince worked a convenience store job in Minnesota with no end in sight? Imagine if James Brown was a shoe-shiner all his life. And what if we never got to hear Billie Holiday’s voice express that deep sentiment of blackness in America? So many of us youngest daughters are out here suffering from the stress of stuffing down our creative visions to make ends meet because we never had that safe space, that simple support to usher our gifts into the world, master them and make a living from this space. 

Often it’s because our gifts are often very out-of-the-box. We’re visionaries. We’re often very powerful but not in the ways that power is most often recognized in our families and society-at-large. The power is quiet. It has a soul-piercing gaze. It is soft. It doesn’t speak loudly. It isn’t boisterous or unruly. And most importantly, it needs space and calm to be seen fully. This power isn’t gonna jump up in front of you and shuck & jive. And in this modern world, most of us expect power and talent to do just that. 

We are the embodiment of Soft Rebellion. 

That’s why I do what I do as a Creative | Culture Wellness Consultant. I create that space, that nurture, that support that youngest-daughter-energy creatives need in order to honor their gifts and put them out into the world as they see fit. In this way, this youngest daughter gets to honor her own gifts, her own creativity and support others in doing the same. 

I know my light won’t touch as many as D’Angelo’s did and will but I’m so thankful to have the audacity to dare and be my authentic creative self even after decades of playing it “safe” and hiding my own gifts of healing, movement, and so much more from the world. D’Angelo, now an ancestor, is the saint-level support and I’m just at the altar paying homage and tuning in to the frequency.

May you too, youngest daughter, be able to express your gifts without shame or making yourself small. And if you need support in this, you know where I am. And if you need inspiration, listen to D’Angelo’s music.