Rest Well Angie Stone (December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025)
Quote from Brandon Ousley (@brandonousley)
“Angie Stone’s lasting imprint on contemporary R&B and hip-hop as we know it can’t be stressed enough. What a tremendous loss this is.”
In June 2024, Stone was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Through the lens of music, the world knows Angela Laverne Brown’s artistry through her stage name Angie Stone. As a singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer her rise to fame came in the 1970s as member of the hip hop trio the Sequence. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. She signed to Arista Records to release her debut solo album Black Diamond (1999), which received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned the single “No More Rain (In This Cloud).”
Capturing the emotions that come with a breakup, Angie’s voice was not heard, it was felt especially on the track “Coulda Been You,” followed by “Visions” in which the ex-lover tries to come back to the mix. The album, a beautiful blend of R&B, Soul and Funk let us know that Angie was our big sister who has experienced life and is qualified to sing (speak) on our behalf.
After moving to J Records, she released her second album, Mahogany Soul (2001), which spawned the hit single “Wish I Didn’t Miss You”. It was followed by Stone Love (2004) and The Art of Love & War (2007), her first number one album on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Stone ventured into acting in the 2000s, making her film debut in the 2002 comedy film The Hot Chick, and her stage debut in 2003, in the role of Big Mama Morton in the Broadway musical Chicago. She has since appeared in supporting roles in films and television series as well as several musical productions, including VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club and TV One’s R&B Divas, and movies such as The Fighting Temptations (2003), Pastor Brown (2009) and School Gyrls (2010).
Stone has been nominated for three GRAMMY Awards and has won two Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. In 2021, she received the Soul Music Icon Award at the Black Music Honors. In 2024, she was a featured vocalist on Damon Little’s “No Stressing”, which peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart.
Stone shared songwriting credits on D’Angelo’s first two studio albums, Brown Sugar (1995) and Voodoo (2000), as well as provided backing vocals when on tour with him. She also served as a backing vocalist on Lenny Kravitz’s fifth studio album, 5 (1998).
In 2000, Stone moved on from Arista to music manager Clive Davis’s venture J Records. Also, that year, she recorded the theme song for the UPN/The CW sitcom Girlfriends, starring Tracee Ellis Ross, as well as a cameo appearance from the third season episode “Blinded by the Lights.” She then released her second album Mahogany Soul on October 16, 2001, with the label. Involving a wider range of contemporary R&B musicians, Stone collaborated with Carvin & Ivan, Raphael Saadiq, Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys and Eve on much of the album. Released to favorable reviews, it peaked at number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, while reaching the top twenty of the Dutch, Finnish and Flemish Album Charts.
Again, Stone was awarded gold by BPI and RIAA for Mahogany Soul. “Wish I Didn’t Miss You”, the album’s second single, became her biggest international hit yet, reaching the top ten in Australia and Belgium as well as the top of Billboard’s Dance Club Songs. “More Than Woman”, a duet with singer Joe, earned Stone her first GRAMMY Award nomination in the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category at the 45th ceremony.
Stone Love, her third album, was released in June 2004. Davis consulted Warryn Campbell, Jazze Pha and Missy Elliott to work with Stone, who penned and produced half of the final track listing herself. The album debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, selling 53,000 copies in its first week of release, and entered the top twenty in Belgium, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Its release was preceded by the single “I Wanna Thank Ya” featuring Snoop Dogg, a top five hit in Belgium and Stone’s second chart topper on the US Dance Club Songs.
In June 2024, Stone was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Discography: Studio albums
Black Diamond (1999)
Mahogany Soul (2001)
Stone Love (2004)
The Art of Love & War (2007)
Unexpected (2009)
Rich Girl (2012)
Dream (2015)
Covered in Soul (2016)
Full Circle (2019)
Love Language (2023)
Filmography:
2002 The Hot Chick: Madame Mambuza
2003 The Fighting Temptations: Alma
2008 Caught on Tape: Diane
2009 Pastor Brown: Rick Fredericks
2010 School Gyrls: Headmaster Jones
2010 Baby Mama’s Club: Mrs. Jackson
2012 The Wonder Girls: Betty
2012 A Cross to Bear: Sunshine
2013 Dreams: Marlene
2014 Ride Along: Market Shopper
2016 To Love the Soul of a Woman: Ursula Sanders
2021 Entanglement: Sadie
Awards and nominations: Wins
2000: Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul Single, Solo for “No More Rain (In This Cloud)”
2000: Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist, Solo
2004: Edison Award for Stone Love
Nominations
2003 Grammy Awards: Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “More Than a Woman” (with Joe)
2004 Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “U-Haul”
2008 Grammy Awards: Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “Baby” (with Betty Wright)
2008: BET Awards: BET J Award
2008: BET J Virtual Awards: Album of the Year for The Art of Love & War