Angie Stone - Black Diamond

Chris Parisi

Like Lauryn Hill's tales of personal reclamation after one too many heartbreaks on her Grammy-winning debut, Angie Stone's smoky vocals find solace in proclaiming spiritual and emotional freedom from her own relationships gone sour. Still, Stone's Chaka Khan-esque tone is far from world-weary or bitter. Her words celebrate newfound independence and an "I told you so" comeuppance. "There's nothing in the world like freedom," the South Carolina native moans over moody keyboards on the intro to her solo debut, BLACK DIAMOND. The bulk of the songs here are hypnotic confessionals set to simmering, bass-driven soundbeds with lyrics that are as therapeutic for Stone as they are empowering for listeners. On the first single, "No More Rain (in this Cloud)," which samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Neither One Of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)," Stone sings of personal resolve over a meandering track and harp trills. D'Angelo, the father of her baby boy, lends his chill-out groove touch to "Everyday" and Lenny Kravitz booms the bass line on the funkafied "Green Grass Vapors." On "Bone 2 Pic (Wit U)," former A Tribe Called Quest DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad provides a rolling pasture of acoustic guitar and sumptuous bass that makes Stone's playfully vengeful lyrics feel like a warm summer night. It's proof that Stone can even turn the most painful recounts of lost loves into rapturous retro-soul. Brett Johnson

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