|
Black Diamond
09/28/1999 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Marcia Cole
There's a certain comfort zone found in Angie Stone's debut bow, Black Diamond. Stone's interpretations permeate the mind while her melodies weave a spell so hypnotic they seem new, even though they are altogether familiar. Consider the way Gladys Knight & The Pips' "Neither One Of Us" is used as the backdrop for her first release, "No More Rain (In This Cloud)." Or her moving cover of Marvin Gaye's "Marvin Gaye." Her arrangements revitalize the beauty of classic rhythm and blues by molding them around mentally strong, modern lyrics. Yet where "No More Rain" and the sultry but sassy "Bone 2 Pick" gently caress, "Green Grass Vapors," "Everyday," "Just A Pimp," and "Love Junkie," hit you in the pit of your stomach with their rawness as you feel each lyric of their funk-laced tracks.
Written and produced predominantly by Stone, with helping hands from Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Maxwell, D'Angelo, and Lenny Kravitz (who played guitar on "Green Grass Vapors") Black Diamond couldn't be a better introduction of Stone's re-emergence as an artist. Remember, Stone's not new to this. She's a singer-songwriter, musician and producer who's been in this game for the past 10 years--first as a part of the trio rap group, Sequence, then as head woman for R&B funk group, Vertical Hold, and as backup singer-songwriter and the mother of D'Angelo's two-year-old son. This set is a brilliant testament of her stature: past, present, and future.
|
