Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone, a member of the all-female hip-hop trio the Sequence known for the hit song "Wish I Didn't Miss You," was killed Saturday in a car crash. She was 63. Stone was riding in a cargo van from Alabama to Atlanta when the vehicle "flipped over and was subsequently hit by a big rig" outside Montgomery, Walter Millsap III, Stone's longtime manager, emailed the AP. Everyone else in the van survived, he said. She was scheduled to perform at halftime of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's championship basketball game on Saturday. "She used her incredible talent, passion, and presence to inspire and touch us with strength and hope," CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker said.
The singer-songwriter created hits including "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" which reached No. 1 for 10 weeks on Billboard's Adult R&B airplay chart; "Baby" with soul singer Betty Wright, another No. 1 hit; "Wish I Didn't Miss You," and "Brotha." Stone found a sweet spot in the early 2000s as neo-soul begin to dominate R&B with the emergence of singers like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Maxwell, and D'Angelo. Her 2001 album Mahagony Soul reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200, while 2007's The Art Of Love & War peaked at No. 11.
The church-grown singer helped form the Sequence, the first all-female group on Sugar Hill Records and one of the first female groups to record a rap song. The group recorded "Funk You Up," which has been sampled by artists including Dr. Dre. After finding success in the early 1980s, Stone joined the trio Vertical Hold before launching her solo career. A Soul Train Lady of Soul winner, Stone went on to film roles in The Hot Chick, The Fighting Temptations, and Ride Along. She also hit the Broadway stage as Big Mama Morton in Chicago and displayed her vulnerability on the reality TV shows Celebrity Fit Club and R&B Divas: Atlanta. She changed her life after being hospitalized for congestive heart failure, dropping more than 40 pounds, she told the AP. "I've been in the business since 1979," she said in 2007. "I've grudged and drudged. ... Now I can finally say I feel I've arrived and mean it."
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