Angie Stone’s Hip-Hop Impact: From Dr. Dre To Alicia Keys To Sugar Hill Records

Angie Stone: The Hip-Hop Soul Pioneer Who Helped Shape the Game

In 1981, after she had a hit song, Angie B was backstage at Disco Fever in the Bronx with the first female rapper, a young MC Sha-Rock. By this time, the pair are rap stars at the forefront of the explosion of Hip-Hop. And Disco Fever was the spot that jumped off as Hip-Hop took hold of the city.

Disco Fever was considered one of the most blighted urban areas in the United States. The widespread poverty, abandoned buildings and crime was highly publicized. On this particular day, not old enough to drink, Sha and Angie posed for a picture, not knowing what was about to happen.

“My fondest memory of Angie is this night back in 1981 at Disco Fever in the Bronx,” Sha-Rock told AllHipHop. “Right after we’d taken this pic together,” she recollects. “Someone shot off a gun. People began to run and trample over each over. I fell and Angie covered me with her body; until we were able to get from under the chaos and get to safety.”

This was Angie Brown—a child of the deep South and Black church, she had ventured far from home to make her mark on music. After hit songs on Sugar Hill Records and after Sha-Rock made a historic performance on Saturday Night Live as a member of the Funky 4 + 1, her character stood tall wherever she was. Unbeknownst to her, her talents, heart, soul and nerve would go on to impact the course of history.

The Sequence: Hip-Hop’s Unsung Female Pioneers

Angie Brown, who started going by Angie Stone, was part of one of Hip-Hop’s first all-female rap groups, The Sequence, way before Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte or Queen Latifah. Alongside Cheryl “The Pearl” Cook and Gwendolyn “Blondy” Chisolm, Stone broke barriers when they signed with Sugar Hill Records in the late ’70s. How? The teens, hailing out of South Carolina, auditioned for legendary music mogul Sylvia Robinson at a local event. The Sugar Hill boss quickly signed the three high school students, who performed a game-changing cheerleading routine as their last song.

That routine was eventually recorded as the hit “Funk You Up” (1979), which came out right after Sugar Hill Gang’s smash “Rapper’s Delight.” This jam was one of the earliest rap songs ever recorded and the first for a female rap group. The song, a Top 15 hit, resonated for decades. Dr. Dre used parts of the song for his record “Keep Their Heads Ringin’” in 1995.

“When The Sequence hit the [New York] Hip-Hop scene and released “Funk You Up,” both the legendary Frankie Crocker of WBLS and Mr. Magic of WHBI, put the record in rotation,” Hip-Hop Matriarch” MC Debbie D says.

Growing up in Harlem and The BX, she lived the early days of the culture and recognized that what the group was doing was expanding beyond the streets.

“Their [The Sequence] faces were on the cover [of their songs] and back then, nobody’s faces were on the cover. We were in the Bronx and Harlem, but they were on tour,” she explains. “They were doing stuff. It’s unfortunate Angie Stone’s death happened for these stories to come out.”

The Sequence’s impact was undeniable, even though most narratives continue to pontificate as if they didn’t exist. They brought an authentic, Southern-fried funk to the culture, bridging the gap between R&B, funk and rap’s raging bravado.

“Angie was a passionate person when it came to the Sequence’s contributions to Hip-Hop Culture, as she should,” Sha-Rock says. “We went through a lot of things together in the early 80’s; from going on the first Hip-Hop tour with the Sugar Hill Record Label in 1981 with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 to Funky 4+1 More, The Gap Band, Wayne & Charlie and Skyyy.”

A child of the Deep South, Stone was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1961. She was steeped in gospel music from an early age and applied that soul to rap. Her soul voice—both literally and figuratively—became a powerful force in an emerging sound that would change the world. And then she applied it to another trend that would alter how we heard music.

The Evolution of Angie Stone

By 1985, The Sequence had broken up, making way for the explosion of Hip-Hop culture.

Unlike many of her peers who faded into the background as Hip-Hop evolved, Angie Stone reinvented herself. She took a pit stop with the group Vertical Hold, which yielded the hit song “Seems You’re Much Too Busy.” She did not stay there. Her roots were in rap, so she brought that swagger to the rich, emerging world of R&B and Neo-Soul. By carrying Hip-Hop’s energy into the realm of melody and deep storytelling.

Her work with D’Angelo, who would eventually father her son, on his 1995 classic “Brown Sugar” was pivotal. (It should be noted the pair collaborated in ’94 on Vertical Hold’s powerful ballad “Pray.”) D, a native of  Richmond, Virginia, looked like he could be a 90s emcee. Instead, brought that to deep soul to the world with help from Angie Stoneo. She co-wrote and provided background vocals on severalf his tracks, helping to bolster what would be coined the Neo-Soul Movement. This version of R&B was raw, organic, and undeniably connected to Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop Collaborations: Angie’s Unbreakable Connection to Rap

Though Angie transitioned into a soul singer, her bond with Hip-Hop never wavered. She seamlessly blended both genres in ways that many artists today take for granted.

• “Brotha” (2001) became an anthem for Black men and featured a remix with Eve and Alicia Keys.
• She worked with Snoop Dogg on “I Wanna Thank Ya” (2004), blending her buttery vocals with his smooth West Coast drawl.
• She has also collaborated with Musiq Soulchild, Guru, Talib Kweli, and Raphael Saadiq, artists who each embrace the intersection of Hip-Hop, Jazz and soul.
• She even “collaborated” with Rodney Stone, better known as Lil Rodney C, a group mate in the Funky Four + 1 with Sha Rock. Their marriage produced their daughter Diamond in 1985. “They were the first ‘Love and Hip-Hop’ relationship,” Debbie professes.

Angie Stone Matters in Hip-Hop

Angie Stone’s name is often overlooked when the history of Hip-Hop is told, but her fingerprints are everywhere. Be clear, her impact to this thing of ours cannot be quantified. As a rapper, she was a trailblazer; as a singer, she helped shape the modern sound of Hip-Hop-infused R&B.

At a time when female voices were rarely given the credit they deserved in rap’s early days, The Sequence helped lay the foundation for future generations. Their influence is still heard in today’s music, whether through samples or in the careers of artists who stand on their shoulders.

“The Sequence were proof that women in Hip-Hop were marketable. National tours, TV and radio appearances, countless performances,” Debbie D said. “The Sequence is Hip-Hop’s first female rap and Angie Stone, songwriter and Neo Soul recording artist, has always been a beast on the mic!”

At the time of her death, Angie Stone remained a respected elder of the culture, a reminder that the bridge between Hip-Hop and soul has always existed. Long before the industry truly acknowledged it, Her work embodied the heart of both genres.

So, put some respect on Angie Stone’s name, because without her, the sound of today might have been very, very different.

EPILOGUE

Before the terrible car crash, Angie Stone continued to work hard, in the spirit of love, legacy and – possibly survival.

Mali Hunter, the famed Atlanta studio owner, recently returned to her roots of singing. She and Angie announced a tour a few short days ago, February 27.

“My body aches as I write this. My Big Sister, Mentor, and prayer warrior – Angie Stone,”You gave God all the glory, all the time. We had plans to tour together this spring. Our 20-year bond was sisterhood, love, and uplift. At times you were my rock, at others I was yours. Your surprise quote in Thursday’s press release for my EP will forever be etched in my heart. I’ll carry your legacy with me, and I know you’ll be shining your light on me as you always did. Until we meet again, dear one praying this 1st Sunday of the month that God blesses your children, family, and friends with peace beyond all understanding! Rest now️ for a job well done.”

Similar to Sha-Rock, Stone was also fighting for her “coins,” as she posted a revealing condemnation of Universal Records in an Instagram post just before that fatal car crash. The circumstances surrounding her passing have reignited discussions about the financial struggles many artists endure. A grandmother, she worried about being able to retire and what monies her heirs would receive. In the clip, she voiced concerns over her royalties, implying that Universal Music Group had not been properly distributing the funds she was owed.

“End of the day, after 40 something years in the business, I’m like, well, why…where are my royalties going?” she questioned. Stone suggested that her earnings had been mismanaged, hindering her financial stability throughout her career. She further referenced unresolved class-action lawsuits and hinted at betrayals from those within her inner circle.

“I’m only now discovering that they were not properly registered by the companies I entrusted them to,” she said, expressing frustration over the negligence of those responsible for protecting her interests.

Angie Stone fought until the very end and there is nothing more Hip-Hop than that.

May she rest, knowing she was loved, appreciated and changed the world for the better.

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