Columbia native, soul singer Angie Stone back home for album release and honor

Grammy nominated singer Angie Stone is one of the most recognized voices in soul music today.

The Columbia native released her debut solo album “Black Diamond” in 1999, which garnered two Grammy nods and featured the hit single “No More Rain (In This Cloud).” Since then she has maintained a presence in the spotlight, appearing on Broadway, television and in major motion pictures, all the while still releasing music that spoke to her fans’ hearts and souls.

Now, as she is set to release on Friday her seventh studio album, “Dream,” the same day she will revisit her alma mater, C.A. Johnson High School, where she is being honored with a tribute.

While out promoting her album, Stone took the time to talk about her Columbia roots, surviving in the music industry and how “Dream” could very well save soul music as we know it.

Let’s talk a little about growing up here in Columbia. Are there places you still like to visit?

I try to make the State Fair every year. I like to get the corn dogs and the french fries with malt vinegar and ketchup. I love going back where I grew up around Drew Park. I also like to go past C.A. Johnson every time I come home. Yay hornets!

To that end, you are being honored Friday at C.A. Johnson. What is the honor?

I assume I’m being honored because I’ve had 37 years in the business, be it up or down. I have been a survivor of the music industry from “hip hop to hooray,” because I’m still putting out music. I’m excited and overwhelmed. Overwhelmed because it’s at C.A. Johnson, which is part of my most fondest memories. So to come home and be amongst friends that I grew up with and people that meant the most to me, it’s overwhelming. I’m very excited – to be 53 years old and still relevant.

What has been your secret to longevity in the music industry?

I think the secret is loving Christ and Christ loving me back. Having my focus on him and making sure that he guides my career and my life and keeps me humble has been my secret. Loving people back and having the tenacity to say even in my darkest moments I’m going to push through because God is going to give me the victory. So I’ve been blessed in staying steadfast on what I was raised to believe and what First Nazareth Baptist Church taught me. And that was if you choose a lifetime of loving God you can’t go wrong.

So what would you say is the most challenging part of being an artist in the music industry?

The most challenging is having your life belong to the world and taking you away from your family and friends. It goes back to the statement, “To whom much is given, much is required,” and I think that when you are on “loan” to the world there are sacrifices that have to be made for a level of success. It can be very rough on your family and on you. The things I miss the most are the cookouts and the basketball games and the honoring of my children and grandchildren. Even just seeing them play in the yard. These are the sacrifices that you make in life and I didn’t know that at 17 that it would be this difficult. There was no way I could have known.

“Dream” will be your first album in three years. What’s been keeping you busy?

I’ve been managing groups and outside of management, a lot of film and television. I’ve been scripting, I was on “R&B Divas” and during that time I was working on another project, so I always manage to stay busy. I almost didn’t want to come back in the industry because I’m having so much fun helping other people get there. But a lot of people were on hand to help me with this music so I’m in a good space right now.

What is the overall feel of the album?

“Dream” came about because the producer, Walter Millsap (Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Timbaland, Brandy, Mindless Behavior) had a dream. And he said God spoke to him in a dream and said, “I need you to go to Angie Stone.” Also it was prophesied to me that I would have a new sound. All this came in a dream and as a result I titled the album “Dream.”

What was your inspiration for your first single, “Two Bad Habits?”

[Laughs] It’s just having fun. Letting people know you can have a great relationship but at the same time be a victim of your own decisions. A lot of times we make decisions based on emotions and don’t think things through. So “Two Bad Habits” is letting people know, look, I’m a human being and I make mistakes.

Do you have a favorite song on the album?

I love the song “Magnet” and I really love “Did You Forget About Me.” “Magnet” speaks to everyone and “Did You Forget About Me” is very personal to me. It was written during a really deep processing time and when it came about I was skeptical about whether to put it on the album.

What is your opinion on the current state of soul music? Where do you think it stands now?

We’ve gotten a bum wrap lately. People made such a big deal about the breakout of people following D’Angelo because he was the Prince of the rebirth of soul music. You had your greats like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cook, Al Greene. We hadn’t had that type of soul in a long time. D’Angelo was a soul artist who was the rebirth of all those artists. And in an effort to copy him people created [the genre neo soul]. But when you are a copier and not an originator it’s hard to lead the pack. An original song or writer continues to be original. And as a result they evolve into something greater. But you can’t surpass what you’re copying.

So the state of soul music right now is that it’s back to the basics where Marvin, Sam and Al left it off. My music is as close to real soul music as you’re going to get. Everything else is watered down.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Columbia native, soul singer Angie Stone back home for album release and honor."