Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone, a member of the all-female hip-hop trio The Sequence and known for the hit song Wish I Didn’t Miss You, was killed early Saturday in a car crash. She was 63.
The vehicle she was riding in back to Atlanta from Alabama “flipped over and was subsequently hit by a big rig” at about 4 a.m. ET, music producer Walter Millsap III told The Associated Press in an email.
Everyone else in the cargo van survived except Stone, he said.
Millsap said he learned the news from Angie Stone’s daughter, Diamond, and longtime Sequence member Blondy.
Stone was scheduled to perform at the halftime show of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s championship basketball game on Saturday. CIAA Chaplain Pastor Jerome Barber called for a moment of silence at the game.
CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker said the association was heartbroken by the loss. “She used her incredible talent, passion and presence to inspire and touch us with strength and hope,” Parker said.
The singer-songwriter created hits like No More Rain (In This Cloud) which reached No. 1 for 10 weeks on Billboard’s Adult R&B airplay chart, Baby with legendary 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 the R&B landscape with the emergence of singers like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Maxwell and D’Angelo.
Her 2001 album Mahogany Soul reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200, while 2007’s The Art of Love & War peaked at No. 11.
The church-grown singer was born in Columbia, S.C. She helped form The Sequence, the first all-female group on the hip-hop trailblazing imprint Sugar Hill Records, becoming one of the first female groups to record a rap song.
The group recorded Funk You Up, which has been sampled by numerous artists, including Dr. Dre.
After finding success in the early 1980s, Stone later joined the trio Vertical Hold before launching her solo career.
A Soul Train Lady of Soul winner, Stone went on to showcase her acting chops with film roles in The Hot Chick starring Rob Schneider, The Fighting Temptations, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé, and Ride Along, led by Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
She also hit the Broadway stage as Big Mama Morton in Chicago, and she showcased her vulnerability on the reality TV shows Celebrity Fit Club and R&B Divas: Atlanta.
