Acclaimed R&B and soul singer Angie Stone has died in a car accident at the age of 63, her representatives confirmed.
The late star's representative, Deborah R. Champagne, told TMZ that Stone left a performance in Montgomery, Alabama, early Saturday morning when she was killed in a car crash.
The “No More Rain” singer’s daughter, Diamond Stone, confirmed her death via Facebook on Saturday.
“My mommy is gone,” the 41-year-old wrote alongside several crying emojis.
Guy Todd Williams, better known as Rahiem from the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, told Reuters that nine other passengers were in a van with Stone during the accident. He said she was the only fatality.
"She left her indelible mark on the music industry initially as a member of the legendary rap group Sequence," said Williams.
The Independent has reached out to Stone’s representatives and the Montgomery Police Department for comment.
Stone rose to fame in the late 1970s as a member of the hip hop trio the Sequence — the first all-female group signed to Sugar Hill Records. Their 1979 song “Funk You Up” was a hit, peaking at 15 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart and was sampled in Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” decades later.
Transitioning to a solo career, Stone released her debut album, Black Diamond (named after her daughter), in 1999.
The same year, Stone was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and became part of the F.A.C.E Diabetes (Fearless African-Americans Connected and Empowered) program, which helps African Americans understand their risk for diabetes and how to control it.
Her 2007 album, The Art of Love & War, peaked at 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached number one on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Stone's work earned her three Grammy nominations and two Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards
Outside of music, Stone appeared on reality shows Celebrity Fit Club and R&B Divas: Atlanta and starred in numerous films, including The Hot Chick (2002) and The Fighting Temptations (2003), alongside Beyoncé. Last year, she was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In an interview with The Independent in 2014, Stone was asked how she’d managed to stay relevant.
“By not falling into the trap of being something you're not,” she said. “I think there's a natural progression that comes with age. But when we grow old, we must remember that times change, things rearrange, money gets funny and things go strange.”
She is survived by her son Michael Archer (whom she shares with neo soul singer D'Angelo), daughter Diamond, and two grandchildren.
