American R&B singer Angie Stone dies at 63

By Jasper Ward

(Reuters) - American singer Angie Stone, who was nominated for three Grammy Awards, died at 63 early Saturday, a representative confirmed.

Deborah R. Champagne, Stone's representative who last spoke with her shortly after 9 p.m. ET (0200 GMT), said Stone died in a car accident in Montgomery, Alabama, following a performance.

Guy Todd Williams, better known as Rahiem from the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which was the first rap group inducted into the Rock Hall, said nine other passengers were in a van with Stone during the accident. He said she was the only fatality.

"She left her indelible mark on the music industry initially as a member of the legendary rap group Sequence," said Williams, who was signed to the same record label as Stone early in her career.

Stone, a native of South Carolina, was a member of female hip-hop trio The Sequence. The group's most popular song, Funk You Up, peaked at 15 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles. Rolling Stone described it as the first rap hit performed by women.

The group was signed to the now defunct Sugar Hill Records, a label under of Warner Music Group, which also represented Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, among other artists.

Stone released her debut solo album, Black Diamond, in 1999. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America the following year. Her highest charting album -"The Art of Love & War" released in 2007- peaked at 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Outside of music, she acted in several films with her debut being "The Hot Chick" alongside Rob Schneider and Rachel McAdams. Stone also starred in "The Fighting Temptations" with Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward, Editing by Franklin Paul)