It’s hard to imagine Red Dead Redemption 2 without D’Angelo, the now dearly departed singer who lent his voice to the game’s music. Rockstar Games is known for crafting some of the most renowned stories in the gaming industry, but Red Dead Redemption 2 is widely agreed to be its best effort. Writer and Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser called the western the best thing he worked on at the studio. “[Red Dead Redemption 2 is] the best single realization of open-world storytelling, thematic consistence, and understanding how the games are assembled to take you on an emotional journey,” said Houser in a 2025 interview with IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey.
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The journey of protagonists Arthur Morgan and John Marston makes Red Dead Redemption 2 a thoughtful and emotionally intelligent experience that is unlike anything else in gaming. There are so many layers to that story and it’s one that is referenced in many conversations about the greatest video games of all-time. With that said, I want to hone in on one of the many masterful pieces that elevated that game.
The Surprising Way D’Angelo Got Involved With Red Dead Redemption 2
On October 14th, 2025, R&B singer Michael ‘D’Angelo’ Archer tragically passed away from pancreatic cancer. As the world discovered his passing, many took to social media to share their favorite songs of his. By far the one I saw the most was “Unshaken”, a song made for Red Dead Redemption 2. This wasn’t a track that Rockstar Games licensed for the game, but one that was handcrafted by a longtime fan.
D’Angelo was a fan of the first Red Dead Redemption, released back in 2010. When he got wind of a sequel, the artist reached out to Rockstar to get involved… but not with the music. Instead, D’Angelo wanted to playtest the game. A mutual acquaintance of the singer and Ivan Pavlovich, the director of music and audio at Rockstar Games, put the two in touch and got him set up. As the story goes, D’Angelo would playtest Red Dead Redemption 2 from midnight and into the wee hours of the morning at Rockstar’s New York office.
“He would come in here [Rockstar’s New York city office] and just play the game. We weren’t even talking about doing music,” Pavlovich told Rolling Stone 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.”
Eventually, after sensing how much enthusiasm D’Angelo had for Red Dead Redemption 2, Pavlovich asked if he’d be interested in making any kind of music for the game. He accepted, but there wasn’t a guarantee it would actually amount to anything. D’Angelo was known for taking a long time to produce music, even once telling Vibe magazine that he suffered from writer’s block and needed to live life to remedy it.
“The thing about writer’s block is that you want to write so fu–ing bad, [but] the songs don’t come out that way,” said the singer. “They come from life. So you’ve got to live to write.”
D’Angleo was paired up with Daniel Lanois, a legendary songwriter and producer who was hired by Rockstar to help with the vocal tracks in the game. The two worked together, and initially, they worked on a piece of rock music that wasn’t working and was ultimately scrapped. However, Lanois had a recording of a percussion track with a New Orleans-vibe to it and paired it with the already-written chorus of “Unshaken”. After some more layering and experimenting, the song was recorded in just a week and a half. Once the track was finished, Lanois told Pavlovich that he believed it’s one of the best things he’s ever worked on.
How Unshaken Helped Cement Red Dead Redemption 2‘s Story as One of the Greats
“Unshaken” is formally introduced in Red Dead Redemption 2‘s penultimate chapter. At this point in the game, protagonist Arthur Morgan, an outlaw with a sense of loyalty to his gang/family, has been diagnosed with tuberculosis and has become disillusioned with gang leader Dutch van der Linde. All of this happens during a time where America is moving past the Wild West and outlaws are going extinct, as the government aims to create more civility in the country.
Eventually, a heist goes wrong and leads the Pinkertons into confronting the crew directly, forcing them to flee the country by ship, opening up a whole other can of worms. After barely escaping from an island ruled by a tyrannical plantation owner, Morgan and his allies return to America to try and go for one last chance at salvation. However, Morgan seems to be more than aware that his future is limited not only due to the Pinkerton’s efforts, but also the internal collapse of the gang and his own health.
As he rides to his gang’s old hideout to find any possible survivors, we get a very meditative moment. The camera pans out and “Unshaken” begins to play. The lyrics serve as a plea, almost to a divine force, that the person at the center of this song, in this case Arthur Morgan, retain the ability to be strong despite all of the horrendous things they’ve had to overcome.
The world is crashing down around him, potentially as an involuntary penance for everything he has done in his life. However, his illness has put him on a path to maybe not redemption, but a chance to at least put someone else on the right path and atone for some of his actions. It’s a poetic and beautiful moment that lets both Arthur and the player reflect on this epic story while doing something they’ve likely spent dozens of hours on throughout the game.
D’Angelo’s soulful voice and the southern vibes of the instrumental track cause the song to cut through. It’s not just a track that sits in the background to be drowned out, it completely dominates the moment and becomes the focus of the scene itself. It’s a remarkable use of music in-game, and there’s only one other game I can think of that has something similar.
In the first Red Dead Redemption, John Marston rides into Mexico while a song called “Far Away” by Jose Gonzales plays. Both of these sequences represent a sort of turning point in the story, as the protagonists are in the midst of travels that give birth to some unexpected soul-searching. They’re atmospheric and give you the time to digest the themes and events of the story. I’d even argue that they both serve as examples of why video games can be artistic and powerful.
However, unlike “Far Away”, “Unshaken” plays a second time. A slightly calmer rendition of the song’s chorus plays as Arthur Morgan succumbs to his illness after fighting back against Dutch and Micah Bell, a nefarious devil-on-the-shoulder-esque character who manipulates the gang. If you get the high honor ending, this almost comes across as a slightly peaceful ending. Arthur gave everything he had, sent John off to live a better life, and died believing he made the right choices in the end. Despite his ultimate demise, Arthur Morgan is unshaken in his values.
Ultimately, D’Angelo’s voice is synonymous with Rockstar’s western and will likely hit even harder with the rumored remaster of Red Dead Redemption 2 on the horizon. It’s one of the best songs ever made for a video game and one that complements the story so beautifully. This crash of worlds between gaming and music leads to something harmonic and unforgettable for players everywhere.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
