MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're remembering singer-songwriter Angie Stone this morning.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO MORE RAIN IN THIS CLOUD")
ANGIE STONE: (Singing) My sunshine. And I'm all cried out.
MARTIN: The Grammy-nominated R&B artist who died in a car accident on Saturday was an important voice in the neo soul movement and a hip-hop pioneer.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Born in Columbia, South Carolina, she honed her powerful voice as a young girl singing in the church choir. She spoke to NPR's Jesse Thorne in 2023.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
STONE: In elementary school, I knew then that I wanted to be a singer. I stayed in a mirror doing this, you know? In my mind, it was a no-brainer. This is what I was born to do.
FADEL: In her teens, she helped form the group The Sequence, one of the first all-female groups to record a hit rap single.
MARTIN: But Stone found her sweet spot in the early 2000s as neo soul began to dominate R&B.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
STONE: Yeah, I ended up becoming successful or getting my best, you know, foot forward at a later age in the game.
MARTIN: Her first album, "Black Diamond," spawned the hit "No More Rain In This Cloud," which stayed at No. 1 on Billboard's Adult R&B Airplay chart for 10 weeks in 1999.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NO MORE RAIN IN THIS CLOUD")
STONE: (Singing) Spring has come, and winter's gone, my love.
FADEL: And in 2001, her album "Mahogany Soul" went gold.
MARTIN: The second single on that album, "Wish I Didn't Miss You," climbed to the top of Billboard's Dance Club charts.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WISH I DIDN'T MISS YOU")
STONE: (Singing) I can't eat. I can't sleep anymore.
FADEL: Angie Stone was 63.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WISH I DIDN'T MISS YOU")
STONE: (Singing) I wish I didn't miss you anymore. Memories don't live like people do. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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