11/18/2025
Still processing this: Dear Angie Stone, your legacy forever reigns in our culture. A hip-hop legend as part of the first female rap group signed, The Sequence. Her soul captivating albums. The songs that have pushed us through times of need. Prince & Angie collab. Her acting appearances. Giving us the theme song for "Girlfriends" TV sitcom (all 8 seasons). Her rendition of Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years" for the culture classic, Love & Basketball..
A list that is continuous. Angela Laverne Brown, a girl from Columbia, South Carolina. She grew up singing in the church. In the late 1970s, when Stone was 16, she formed the rap trio The Sequence, also consisting of Cheryl "The Pearl" Cook and Gwendolyn "Blondie" Chisolm. They were the first female rap group—signed to Sugar Hill Records. The Sequence scored a hit with their single "Funk You Up." The trio enjoyed a series of rap hits.
In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. Stone then signed with Arista Records to release her debut solo album Black Diamond (1999). Followed by Mahogany Soul (2001) with a discography of 10 solo albums.
A multifaceted individual: singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She has appeared in a number of films & guest starred on cultural TV shows.
This one hurts. We will miss you, Angie. Thank you for captivating our souls, singing our pain, happiness & evoking love.
Angela Laverne Brown ♥︎
(Dec. 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025)
