‘Wish I Didn’t Miss You’ singer Angie Stone will be missed

MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP):

Fans are remembering the voice and songs of trailblazer Angie Stone after her death at 63 in a weekend crash on an Alabama highway as she traveled from a performance.

The Grammy-nominated R&B singer was a member of the all-female hip-hop trio The Sequence and known for the hit song Wish I Didn’t Miss You. She found a sweet spot in the early 2000s as neo-soul began to dominate R&B.

In a recent Instagram post, Stone told fans she was excited about upcoming events and “getting back in the mix.”

“A lot of stuff is going on that I don’t want to just let out of the bag just yet,” she said. “But you can see that there’s a big grin on my face.”

The tributes to Stone on social media included one from rap artiste, MC Hammer, who posted a video featuring Stone’s song Brotha, writing “I can’t tell you how many days this song blessed my Soul. R.I.P. Angie Stone.”

Actor and singer Jennifer Hudson expressed disbelief in a social media post.

“What a loss !!! Angie Stone was a true pioneer,” Hudson wrote. “Another one of our great soul singers gone too soon. Prayers up for her family and loved ones!”

The Alabama Highway Patrol said in a news release that the 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van turned over on Interstate 65 about 4:25 a.m. on Saturday before being hit by a 2021 Freightliner Cascadia truck driven by a 33-year-old man from Texas.

Angie Stone was pronounced dead at the scene, the highway patrol said. The crash was about five miles (eight kilometres) south of the Montgomery city limits.

The Sprinter driver and seven others in the van were taken to Baptist Medical Centre for treatment. Officials continue to investigate the cause.

Stone’s long-time manager Walter Millsap III told The Associated Press in an email that he learnt the news from Angie Stone’s daughter, Diamond, and long-time The Sequence member Blondy.

“Never in a million years did we ever expect to get this horrible news,” Angie Stone’s children, Diamond and Michael Archer, said in a statement shared by the SRG Group. “We are still trying to process and are completely heartbroken.”

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; and Wish I Didn’t Miss You and Brotha.

The church-grown singer was born in Columbia, South Carolina. 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 artistes, 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.