Making her grand entrance back to the R&B neo-soul scene that she helped pave over four decades ago, South Carolina-bred singer-songwriter Angie Stone is encompassing love, lust, heartbreak, reclamation and faith for her eighth studio album, Full Circle.
The 10-track undertaking, along with its title, is a direct reflection of Angie’s timeless influence in the music sphere. Since breaking through its glass ceiling first as a member of The Sequence, Angie blossomed into a gifted penwoman with legendary rap group Mantronix, to a standout voice of R&B trio Vertical Hold, to a championed and respected solo vocalist in her own right.
But even generations of music later, her career has not obsoletely squared off into some box of old keepsakes, but has, indeed, come full circle.
(Courtesy of Angie Stone)
From the album’s first track, “Perfect,” Angie cruises in with a soulfully, but peacefully, up-tempo pace. Her sound still glows of feel-good vibes and the classic intimacy of R&B’s yesteryears. Angie doesn’t stray from didactic substance and meaning in her reemergence to the industry scene among a new generation and class of R&B and soul talents either, as evidenced by “Dinosaur.” Angie’s admonishment of heartbreak to prying, distrustful partners couldn’t be more fitting among love in the age of social media where DMs, iPhone threads and Snapchat snooping is at an all-time high. The single has already garnered radio waves of Urban Adult Contemporary Radio nationwide and been matched with raving reviews.
Full Circle’s lone feature, Jaheim, also arrives as a peer from the triple-time Grammy winner’s veteran class of R&B-soul. The two team up for “Gonna Have To Be You,” the perfect savor of male-female vocalist duo that ‘90s R&B babies grew to love and cherish from the genre’s golden ages.
“NeverBride,” “Time For That,” and the sultry session of “Grits,” (a serving of Angie’s southern-style sexiness) reign as the album’s peak standouts. Graced by her deep soul-driven vocals and natural storytelling talent, Full Circle embraces the trials and the triumphs in the everlasting journey of womanhood.
Dive in to headfirst on Full Circle when Ms. Stone releases the highly-anticipated project on Friday, July 12.
(Photo: Courtesy of Angie Stone)