Angie Stone’s journey to stardom was far from an overnight success. By the time her 2001 album Mahogany Soul catapulted her into the limelight, Stone had already spent over two decades honing her craft. She began her career in the groundbreaking all-female rap group, The Sequence, before transitioning through a series of under-the-radar R&B groups like Devox and Vertical Hold. She also wrote and lent her vocals to various artists, including her former partner, D’Angelo, who is the father of her son, Michael. Stone’s real breakthrough came in 1999 when Clive Davis’s Arista Records signed her. The years of experience she had accumulated allowed her to stand out in the neo-soul movement, as her voice had gained a distinct depth and complexity, enriched by soul’s vast history.
Her debut album for Arista, Black Diamond, took 70s soul and gave it a modern twist, setting the stage for her future success. One standout track from this album, Green Grass Vapors, was a love song to marijuana, showcasing her deep, sensual voice alongside a funky groove similar to D’Angelo’s Chicken Grease. Another highlight was her stunning cover of Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man, where Stone effortlessly captured the agony and introspection of the original, infusing it with her own soulful style.
However, it was Mahogany Soul that truly marked Stone’s arrival as a major force in music. This was her first release under Davis’s new label, J Records, and it started with the track Soul Insurance, where Stone rapped with the raw energy of a young Millie Jackson, delivering the lyrics with both toughness and vulnerability. The album’s 75-minute run-time delved into Stone’s life experiences, celebrating good men (Brotha), her spiritual influences (If It Wasn’t), and her struggle before fame (20 Dollars). Tracks like More Than a Woman, a slow jam with Calvin Richardson, showcased her sultry side, but it was the deep emotional honesty of songs like What U Dyin’ For?, which sought to free women from bad relationships, and Wish I Didn’t Miss You, which reimagined The O’Jays’ Backstabbers into a timeless anthem of heartbreak, that solidified her as one of the defining voices of the neo-soul movement.
By this time, Stone had joined the ranks of her contemporaries like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Musiq Soulchild, but her maturity and experience gave her music a weight and authority that set her apart. Her follow-up album, Stone Love, began with an a cappella rendition of the Supremes’ hit Stone Love, before moving into songs that explored the sensuality and complexities of relationships. On tracks like Stay for a While, she shared a simmering chemistry with Anthony Hamilton, exploring the mix of longing and passion over a sweet, swinging melody. Stone also showed she could adapt to the changing music landscape on Lovers’ Ghetto, which featured a sample from The Dynasty, a favorite of the hip-hop group Camp Lo. On I Wanna Thank Ya, she collaborated with Snoop Dogg, blending her classic sensibility with a more contemporary sound.
In 2007, Stone moved to Stax Records for the release of The Art of Love and War, a fitting home for an artist deeply connected to the soul and funk traditions of the 70s. The album boasted memorable duets with icons like Betty Wright on Baby, a powerful anthem rejecting an ex-lover, and James Ingram on My People, an update of Stevie Wonder’s Black Man. While the album was her highest-charting LP, her next release, Unexpected (2009), didn’t fare as well. The album’s upbeat tracks lacked the usual fire, a result of Stone’s personal struggles, including the recent death of her father during its production.
After Unexpected, Stone found herself facing an industry in flux, but she continued to release music, though it never quite matched the triumph of Mahogany Soul. Nevertheless, her later works still contained golden moments. In 2015, her album Dream featured Forget About Me, a track with a groove that harkened back to D’Angelo’s sound while also delivering biting commentary about her past relationship. Full Circle (2019) offered tracks like Dinosaur, a dark and funky meditation on lost love, and Grits, where Stone played the role of a candid sex therapist, questioning the nature of passion and intimacy. Then, in 2023, she released Love Language, which featured The Gym, a final collaboration with Musiq Soulchild, proving that despite the years, her magic was still present.
These later tracks serve as a reminder of Stone’s early brilliance on Mahogany Soul, a testament to her enduring talent and the promise of more to come. Tragically, a devastating accident last night has robbed the world of any further contributions from the legendary Angie Stone, leaving us to mourn the loss of an artist whose music was full of depth, soul, and raw emotion.