Angie Stone (born Angela Laverne Brown on December 18, 1961)
is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, keyboardist, record producer,
and occasional actress.
Stone was born in Columbia, South Carolina, where she began singing
gospel music at First Nazareth Baptist Church, under the leadership
of Reverend Blakely N. Scott.
She has a daughter and son. Her daughter Diamond (born 1984) is from
her marriage to Rodney Stone (also known as Lil' Rodney C!, from the
hip hop group Funky Four Plus One). Diamond contributed background
vocals to her 2007 song "Baby",[1] and gave birth to Stone's
grandson in 2008. During the 1990s Stone dated neo soul singer D'Angelo.
Their son Michael was born in 1998. Stone lives in Atlanta, Georgia
with her son and fiancé Ashanti, an airline auditor who has
two children of his own.[2]
[edit] Musical career
In the early 1980s, Stone (then known as Angie B.) was a member of
The Sequence, a female hip hop/funk trio consisting of Cheryl The Pearl
and Blondie. They were the second rap group signed to the Sugar Hill
Record Label after auditioning for Sylvia Robinson backstage at a Sugar
Hill Gang concert in South Carolina. They had a hit in 1980 with "Funk
You Up", which reached number fifteen on the U.S. Top Black Singles
chart, and a minor hit with "Monster Jam" featuring rapper
Spoonie Gee. The Sequence enjoyed a series of rap hits as the first
female rap group during the early years of Hip Hop. Such hits as "Funky
Sound (Tear The Roof Off)" kept The Sequence touring with many
of the Soul Bands of the day. She then worked with Mantronix, before
singing background on Lenny Kravitz's fifth studio album, 5. The Sequence
faded into obscurity as Hip Hop changed from its original party sound
to a more gritty street artform.
Stone emerged during the 1990s as part of the R&B trio Vertical
Hold which released the popular single "Seems You're Much Too
Busy" as well as two albums: A Matter of Time (1993) and Head
First (1995).
In 1996, she teamed up with Gerry DeVeaux (Lenny Kravitz's cousin)
and together with Charlie Mole they formed Devox. They recorded one
album, Devox Featuring Angie B. Stone. Released in Japan by Toshiba
EMI and selected cuts featured on Gerry DeVeaux's Front Of The line
via the UK Expansion Records, which also included Stone-penned material.
Stone shared songwriting credits on D'Angelo's first two studio albums,
Brown Sugar (1995) and Voodoo (2000), as well as providing backing
vocals on tour with him.
Her solo debut album, Black Diamond, was released on September 28,
1999 on Arista Records; the album would eventually be certified gold
by the RIAA. She has since also released, on Clive Davis' J Records,
Mahogany Soul on October 16, 2001 (which also went gold), and Stone
Love on July 6, 2004.
Much of Stone's solo material has significant soul influences and
features notable samples. For example, her first solo single, "No
More Rain (In This Cloud)" samples Gladys Knight & the Pips'
1972 song "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)",
while "Wish I Didn't Miss You" samples The O'Jays' 1972 song "Back
Stabbers".
Stone sings the theme song for the UPN/The CW's sitcom Girlfriends.
During an interview to BBC 1Xtra on August 27, 2006, Stone announced
that she had signed to the reworked Stax Records. Her fourth studio
album |- The Art of Love & War was released on October 15, 2007.
The lead single is "Baby" and features Betty Wright. Its
music video features cameo appearances by comedian Mike Epps and America's
Next Top Model, Cycle 3 winner Eva Pigford. The song was nominated
for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2008
Grammy Awards.
Angie released her fifth studio album titled "Unexpected" in
the UK on February 8, 2010 on Stax Records. Speaking to noted UK R&B
writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul in January
2010, she explained her ideas behind 'Unexpected': "Being as I've
delivered four decent albums already, I felt it was safe to switch
up and do something different this time. And musically overall I just
wanted to have FUN! I wanted to do something that embodied a jam kinda
feel, so that we could have some fun in concert and show people everything
doesn't always have to be so serious."[3]
[edit] Tours
Stone recently finished a stand-up theatre play tour entitled Issues:
We've Got Them All in which she had a leading role. She appeared on
the VH1's reality television series Celebrity Fit Club for the fourth
season, which began on August 6, 2006. While on the show, Stone lost
eighteen pounds, the second lowest loss in the history of the show.
Stone has had various Summer Festival dates lined up across America
and also three headlining American shows in June and another two in
the Netherlands in August.
Stone toured with Sisters in the Spirit in 2007; toured in Europe
in May/June 2008; toured on various Summer Festivals in the U.S. in
summer 2008 (including three headlining June shows); and two in the
Netherlands in August 2008.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Angie Stone discography
Studio Albums
* 1999: Black Diamond
* 2001: Mahogany Soul
* 2004: Stone Love
* 2007: The Art of Love & War
* 2009: Unexpected
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
Year Title Role
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
[edit] Television
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Moesha Herself "D-Money Loses His Patience" (season
5, episode 22)
2002 Girlfriends Darla Mason "Blinded by the Lights" (season
3, episode 51)
2004 One on One Herself "It's a Mad, Mad Hip Hop World" (season
3, episode 92)
2008 Lincoln Heights Octavia "Prom Night" (season 3, episode
9)
"
The Ground Beneath Our Feet" (season 3, episode 10)
[edit] Theatre
Year Title Role
2003 Chicago Big Mama Morton
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] 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
[edit] 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