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Soul Sista' Angie Stone

Sep 2007
By Aysegul Sert

R&B singer/songwriter Angie Stone has had her share of soul searching.

Born in South Carolina in 1961, an only child of a hardworking southern family, she was introduced to life’s challenges early on: poverty, racial and gender prejudice, and a feeling of loneliness. “Being a dark-skinned girl, you had to work twice as hard to be accepted,” Stone says. “There was a lot of prejudice. I didn’t feel pretty or accepted growing up. I learned that in order to be accepted I had to be nice, I had to be willing, I had to be cordial, I had to be respectful, I had to be looked at in that light because we as dark skinned people were expected to be mean, rude, disrespectful, disheartened, and I was going to defy that at all odds. I said to myself, “No, I’m shaping my energy into something beautiful, into something positive. With the guidance of music I realized that the more I understand me, the more beauty I see in me.” And indeed, beauty is what she carries.


Sitting on the porch of a mid-town east coast five star hotel, Stone has paid her dues. “I’m all about challenging myself. I’d like to send a message to my fellow peers. Be your greatest challenge. We are all on the same boat, we are all in this together. I’m not against you. I’m against me. I’m striving to make each album, each decision, greater than what came before. I’m not concerned with competing or winning. I’m concerned with us all getting to the finish line.”

Somehow, within a music industry that presses to impress, Stone has been able to remain true to her essence. “I’ve stopped taking things so personally. Now I just do what I have to do and let the powers lead me to the rest. When I first began in the business it was rough, I felt sorry for myself. Now I’m confident, my self-love has grown, and I’m in a place where I’m happy being me.” With these words she lets out the title of a song from her forthcoming album.

For her fans, it’s a much-anticipated soul record.

For Stone it marks a rebirth. “After going through years of uncertainties and transitions, one has to cleanse. It was a mental and emotional blockage. I had to shed a lot of dead skin.”

She took a new direction, not only in her personal quest but also in the execution of her art. She signed her first deal with Stax Records. “I’m looking for ways to better myself. I would love to see good, heartfelt music be the priority in the industry. The music we hear today lacks substance, it lacks truth. It’s bubble gum.”

Does that mean that we are in a state of musical emergency? Stone takes a moment to answer. “Are we in a crisis?” she repeats. She gives a glance to her entourage. “I would like to say no, but yes. We are in trouble because the industry is flushing out a lot of great music for money. They’ve lost focus.

Great music heals the spirit, soul, mind, and body. The minute they cash that power out for a quick check they run out on the people.

Part 2


Music is here to minister to the souls of mankind. Without music the world would be so sad and empty. Music will always be a part of our flesh. We should take better care of it.”

Angie Stone grew up listening to Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin,
Gladys Knight, Earth, Wind & Fire. “We weren’t rich folks so I istened to the radio extensively. My first 45 record was “One More Chance” by The Jackson 5.

I traveled everywhere with it! I grew up on gospel. I was singing in the choir by the time I was 11 years old. I was singing because I loved it.

I didn’t know music was what I wanted to do. I wouldn’t have sung a solo if people who believed in me hadn’t done so.” One such believer was Sylvia Robinson, founder of Sugar Hill Records, who encouraged
the young Stone to write. “I had a way with words. I thought I was writing poetry when she convinced me they were lyrics to be shared musically,” she reminisces.

At the age of 17, Stone formed a female rap trio, The Sequence, with two
other classmates.

Soon after she found herself in New York City. “I worked a lot of temporary jobs and later on joined Vertical Chord,” she recalls. Time went by, she became the saxophonist to Lenny Kravitz.

In the ’90s, Stone was a collaborator and background vocalist to Neo-Soul artist D’Angelo. In 1999, her solo debut album Black Diamond was released.

“I had always been in bands,” she explains, “but the time had come when I had to make a decision. I thought I’m never going to forgive myself looking years from now and regretting not having gone solo.” The Art of Love and War marks her fourth solo recording. “I hope this album brings a sense of peace, a sense of reality, a sense of understanding that we are not alone; we all go through life, and we need to manage to weather the storm,” she says. “I have a choice; I can choose the art of love or the art of war. I choose the first,” she declares.

Stone has a boundless amount of love— transparent in her words and gleaming eyes.

“My dad was a taxi cab driver,” she says. “Sometimes he would come home with $40 in his pocket and sometimes with $140, depending on the night.

When the ice cream truck was in the neighborhood I would run to him and ask for a quarter. If he had a bad week he’d say, ‘There is no more rain in this cloud.’

He always had a loving, intelligent way of getting his message across. When I was a bad girl and needed a spanking, he’d say, ‘I’m going to turn the fast dance into a slow drag.’ Meaning if you do it again you’re going to be punished.”

As experiences we go through in life nurture our creativity, that’s also where we find our inspirations.

“I’m a traditional R&B musician who sings traditional soul songs. It is not pop but it is hip,” exclaims Stone. “Lyrics have to talk about real issues; they have to make you laugh and cry. Whenever I do a song I do it to reach and touch others. I speak from a situation. So people who
hear my songs can feel less lonely, and say, ‘That’s me. I’m not the only one feeling this way.’” She pauses for a second.

“You know,” she continues with a smile, “people are often imitated but never duplicated.

The message I give is of great singers. I touch subjects they had—like Betty Wright, Donny Hathaway, Dorothy Moore, and Shirley Brown. The music has the power to guide, teach, or destroy. The most effective is that it has the power to heal.”

Stone has expanded her artistry beyond the musical ground. In addition to film, she has appeared on the TV show “Girlfriends,” on VH1’s reality series “Celebrity Fit Club,” and on stage as Big Mama Morton in the 2003 production of “Chicago.” “It’s so important that we give people a chance to get to their destiny before we cancel them out,” says Angie Stone. “I fight for the right to be heard. I fight for the right to be accepted. I fight for the right to do my art. I don’t force it on anyone, but I won’t let anyone tell me who I am either. I’m happy
being me.” ▼

Visit www.angiestoneonline.net or
www.myspace.com/angiestonemusic

Good article. I have listened to samples of all the songs on this album and i must say out of all the divas who have recently released albums angie tops them all. No knock on chaka khan whom i love, i just think angie stone raised her game on this upcoming album. Can't wait to get this tuesday.

Cool article-tho ive always been kind of underwhelmed by angie.

may pick up her new joint tho