Angie Stone, the Grammy-nominated US hip hop pioneer whose group The Sequence was one of many first all-female teams to document a rap tune, has died in a automobile crash.
Stone, 63, recognized for the 2001 hit Want I Did not Miss You, died in a automobile accident in Montgomery, Alabama, early on Saturday, following a efficiency, her consultant Deborah R Champagne mentioned.
Man Todd Williams, higher generally known as Rahiem from the Grandmaster Flash And The Livid 5, the primary rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame, mentioned 9 different passengers had been in a van with Stone in the course of the accident however she was the one fatality.
Picture:
Angie Stone singing on the Blue Balls Pageant in Lucerne, Switzerland in 2004. File pic: AP
Stone, who was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards, together with for finest feminine R&B vocal efficiency in 2005, was additionally a songwriter and acted in motion pictures and on Broadway.
Born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1961, Stone honed her singing skills in church.
She helped kind feminine hip-hop trio The Sequence, whose hottest tune, 1979’s Funk You Up, peaked at 15 on Billboard’s Scorching Soul Singles.
The tune has been sampled by quite a few artists, together with Dr Dre.
Picture:
Angie Stone performs with Dan Aykroyd, second left, and Jim Belushi because the Blues Brothers at a tribute to Aretha Franklin in 2008. File pic: AP
It was the primary rap hit carried out by girls, in keeping with Rolling Stone.
The group had been signed to the now defunct Sugar Hill Information, which additionally represented Grandmaster Flash And The Livid 5, amongst different artists.
Williams mentioned Stone “left her indelible mark on the music industry initially as a member of the legendary rap group Sequence”.
Her success within the UK was modest however her 1999 album Black Diamond and 2001 LP Mahogany Soul went Gold and spawned a number of chart hits.
She additionally had quite a few profitable collaborations with artists corresponding to Guru, Omar, Macy Grey, Moby, Prince and Blue together with on the 2003 prime 11 chart hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I am Yours.
She created hits corresponding to No Extra Rain (In This Cloud) which reached primary for 10 weeks on Billboard’s Grownup R&B airplay chart, Child with soul singer Betty Wright, one other primary hit, in addition to Want I Did not Miss You and Brotha.
Mahogany Soul additionally reached quantity 22 on the Billboard 200, whereas 2007’s The Artwork Of Love & Battle peaked at quantity 11.
She tried her hand at appearing, showing in The Scorching Chick starring Rob Schneider, The Combating Temptations which starred Cuba Gooding Jr and Beyonce, and Journey Alongside that includes Ice Dice and Kevin Hart.
Stone additionally trod the boards on Broadway as Large Mama Morton within the musical Chicago, and appeared within the actuality TV reveals Celeb Match Membership and R&B Divas: Atlanta.
