Angie Stone, the Grammy-nominated hip hop pioneer from the US, has tragically passed away in a car accident. The 63-year-old, known for her 2001 hit “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” died early Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama, following a performance, as confirmed by her representative, Deborah R Champagne.
Guy Todd Williams, recognized as Rahiem from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five—the first rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—reported that nine other passengers were in the van with Stone during the incident, but she was the only one who did not survive.
Music producer Walter Millsap III shared with the Associated Press that the accident occurred around 4 a.m. while they were returning to Atlanta from Alabama, when the Sprinter van flipped over and was struck by a large truck. Fortunately, all others in the vehicle survived except for Stone.
Stone, who received three Grammy nominations, including one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2005, was also a talented songwriter and actress, appearing in films and on Broadway. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1961, she developed her singing skills in church and co-founded the female hip-hop trio The Sequence. Their most notable track, “Funk You Up,” released in 1979, reached number 15 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart and has been sampled by numerous artists, including Dr. Dre.
The Sequence was signed to the now-defunct Sugar Hill Records, which also represented Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. Williams remarked that Stone “left her indelible mark on the music industry initially as a member of the legendary rap group Sequence.”
While her success in the UK was modest, her albums “Black Diamond” (1999) and “Mahogany Soul” (2001) achieved Gold status and produced several chart-topping hits. Stone also collaborated with various artists, including Guru, Omar, Macy Gray, Moby, Prince, and Blue.