Angie Stone, a veteran R&B and soul singer who first rose to fame in the 1980s with the South Carolina trio the Sequence, has died in a Sprinter van accident while traveling from Alabama, according to reports. She was 63. No further details about the circumstances were available at deadline, although reports suggest the van was hit by an 18-wheeler truck.
The Sequence were trailblazers on multiple fronts as the first all-female group on Sugar Hill Records and one of the earliest southern rap groups to have their music committed to vinyl. The first voice heard on their influential, eight-minute single “Monster Jam” was Stone’s, who at the time was known as Angie B.
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Stone went on to join another R&B trio, Vertical Hold, before signing to Arista Records, which released her debut solo effort, Black Diamond, in 1999. The album debuted at No. 9 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart and included the hit single “No More Rain (In This Cloud).” Stone followed Arista head Clive Davis to his new J Records imprint for the 2001 album Mahogany Sun, which reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200.
Further releases included Stone Love, The Art of Love & War and Dream. Stone also had a close association with D’Angelo, with whom she wrote songs featured on the albums Brown Sugar and Voodoo and toured as a backing vocalist.
The artist was nominated for three Grammys and scored a No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Gospel Airplay tally last year via a guest appearance on Damon Little’s “No Stressing.” She transitioned into acting with the 2002 comedy The Hot Chick and also portrayed Big Mama Morton in the Broadway hit Chicago.
Stone’s other recording credits included singles and albums with Prince, Macy Gray, Lenny Kravitz, Josh Groban, Ray Charles, Kool & the Gang, Guru and Dionne Warwick.
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