The Chronicles of the Underrated: Angie Stone

Black Diamond, 1999

Why Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul were successful is because of the ripeness of the movement and the untouchable classic status of the material on both albums. The first song that comes to mind when Angie Stone’s name is mentioned is “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” which brilliantly sampled Gladys Knight’s classic “Neither One Of Us.” I’ll never forget remembering playing “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” for my mom, who instantly asked, “is that Gladys Knight?” because of the prominence of the sample.

“No More Rain (In This Cloud)” – a #56 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 – would be the definitive hit of both Stone’s career and Black Diamond itself, but with more weight placed on albums back then, there were plenty of songs that cemented Black Diamond as the gold-certified contemporary soul classic it is, including a mean cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man,” “Man Loves His Money” and “Love Story.” Looking back though, isn’t it amazing than album that only peaked at #46 on the Billboard 200 in the same year when Backstreet Boys’ Millennium arrived earlier ended up going gold?

Mahogany Soul, 2001

In the singles department, while Black Diamond is considered to be the ‘classic,’ Mahogany Soul benefitted more in regards to singles and prominent songs. Some critics like All Music Guide’s Jose. F Promis, consider Mahogany Soul to be the ‘gold standard.’  “Brotha” is the closest rival to take top honors from “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” as Stone’s definitive classic. The single actually performed better, peaking at #52 on the pop charts.

Additionally Mahogany Soul was lifted by the likes of “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” (#79) and “More Than A Woman.” The album itself still missed the top 20, but debuted more respectably at #22. Again, Stone was golden. Gold for then 40-year old Stone was respectable, but wouldn’t it have been great had Mahogany Soul received its just due and been minimally certified platinum?