ANGIE STONE: BABY!

The choice of who would be the first new artist signed to the revived Stax imprint was likely no ‘walk in the park’ and with such a heralded tradition to uphold, whoever put their name on the dotted line had to bring a little ‘sumthin’ sumthin’ (as the co-writer of the Maxwell hit of a few years ago, Leon Ware – himself a new signing to Stax might observe)!

Well, Angie Stone brings more than a little ‘sumthin’ sumthin’ to Stax, whose mission is to bring music by contemporary and traditional soul artists back to the marketplace. The multi-talented singer/songwriter and self-taught musician has cred (as in credibility), particularly among lovers of neo-soul or retro-soul styles – terms which she is personally quick to let folks know she doesn’t endorse!

Real die-hards know that Angie started out with a female rap trio (The Sequence) from her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, recording for the Sugarhill label (the original ‘home’ for rap) back in the early ‘80s before re-surfacing in the early ‘90s with another trio, Vertical Hold. It took another six years before Angie finally emerged as a solo artist so to say she’s paid some dues would be ever so slight an understatement!

Her first solo album for Arista, “Black Diamond” brought Angie to mainstream attention thanks to “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” which sampled the Gladys Knight & The Pips Motown classic, “Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” and became a Top 10 R&B hit.
A switch to J Records yielded two more albums (2001’s “Mahogany Soul” and three years later, “Stone Love”) and as of this year, Angie calls Stax her new recording home.

We got a taste of what to expect with her rendition of Maurice White’s “Be Ever Wonderful” on the “Interpretations: Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” album earlier this year and those of us who were in Memphis and Los Angeles witnessed Angie give Shirley Brown’s classic “Woman To Woman” her own soulful twist.

Coming shortly is her Stax debut “The Art Of Love And War” which has been preceded with the single, “Baby” which features the legendary Betty Wright, always a delight to hear – and see, thanks to her appearance in the video for the song, a well-scripted clip of love gone bad then restored. In keeping with Angie’s past recordings, “Baby” is a tale that will have particularly resonance for many women who consider her their ‘voice’ in the world of contemporary soul music. Can’t wait for the album!

David Nathan
Aka the British Ambassador Of Soul
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com