Angie Stone, the Grammy-nominated hip-hop pioneer and R&B singer known for being part of The Sequence—one of the first all-female rap groups—has died following a car accident in Alabama.
Angie Stone, 63, who gained widespread recognition for her 2001 hit Wish I Didn’t Miss You, was fatally injured in a crash in Montgomery early Saturday morning after a performance, according to her representative, Deborah R. Champagne.
Guy Todd Williams, also known as Rahiem from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five—the first rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—stated that Stone was traveling with nine other people in a van at the time of the accident but was the only one who lost her life.
Music producer Walter Millsap III shared with the Associated Press that the incident occurred around 4 a.m. while the group was returning to Atlanta. Their Sprinter van reportedly overturned and was struck by a large truck. “Thankfully, everyone else survived, but we tragically lost Angie,” he said.
Throughout her career, Stone received three Grammy nominations, including a nod for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2005. Beyond her singing career, she was also a songwriter, actress, and Broadway performer.
Born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1961, Angie Stone first developed her vocal abilities in church.
In the late 1970s, she co-founded The Sequence, one of the earliest female rap groups. Their 1979 single Funk You Up became a breakthrough hit, peaking at No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart. According to Rolling Stone, it was the first rap song performed by women to gain mainstream success.
Over the years, Funk You Up has been sampled by numerous artists, including Dr. Dre. The Sequence was signed to Sugar Hill Records, a now-defunct label that also represented Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Williams described Stone’s contributions as “leaving an undeniable legacy in the music industry, starting with her work in the pioneering rap group The Sequence.”
Though her success in the UK was relatively limited, Stone’s albums Black Diamond (1999) and Mahogany Soul (2001) both went Gold, producing several hit songs.
She collaborated with a variety of artists, including Guru, Omar, Macy Gray, Moby, Prince, and Blue. One of her notable collaborations was the 2003 track Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours, which reached the Top 11 on the UK charts.
Her signature hits include No More Rain (In This Cloud), which dominated Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart for 10 weeks, Baby (featuring Betty Wright), Brotha, and Wish I Didn’t Miss You.
Her album Mahogany Soul climbed to No. 22 on the Billboard 200, while her 2007 release The Art of Love & War peaked at No. 11.
Beyond music, Stone also explored acting. She appeared in films such as The Hot Chick with Rob Schneider, The Fighting Temptations alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé, and Ride Along with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
She also showcased her talent on Broadway, playing Big Mama Morton in Chicago, and took part in reality TV shows like Celebrity Fit Club and R&B Divas: Atlanta.
