Angie Stone was remembered by family and friends at her homegoing service Friday in Austell, Georgia.
The private, three-hour memorial took place at the Word of Faith Cathedral, and was available to fans around the world via live stream.
Stone, 63, was celebrated for mentoring aspiring performers, for giving back to the community, and for speaking out about record labels not sharing profits with artists.
In a video posted to social media in January, Stone alleged Universal Music Group received “all” of her royalties, but had “taken pretty much everything.”
Related: Angie Stone’s Children ‘Trying to Process’ the Singer’s Death
#TylerPerry is speaking out about how the music industry treated the late #AngieStone. pic.twitter.com/tZgybhbP9e
— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) March 14, 2025
Tyler Perry, who was one of the speakers at Friday’s memorial, called out the music industry for the way Stone — a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and hip-hop pioneer — was treated throughout her career.
“Y’all have got to forgive me, because I’m angry at the way she was treated,” said Perry.
“I did not know all the things that she was going through recently… but to think that this woman was in the business for all of these years, and there’s a difference between performing because you want to and performing because you have to. All of those years, all of those songs, all of that money that was owed to her. Where is it? It is wrong,” he continued.
The media mogul said he did not know Stone as well as some of the others at the memorial, but he understood her struggles.
“I’m tired of seeing us struggle and go through things and work hard and not reap the benefits of what we were supposed to reap. But you’ve got to be careful when you start mistreating people, especially children of God, because the Bible says, ‘Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm,’” Perry added.
Members of Stone’s family, her sorority sisters from Zeta Phi Beta, and Cheryl “The Pearl” Cook also spoke. Cook was part of 1970s rap trio The Sequence with Stone and Gwendolyn “Blondie” Chisolm.
Cook told the audience she and Stone had been friends since they were children.
“I’ve known Angie for 52 years,” Cook said. “I’m gonna miss you, I love you so much.”
Performers at the service included Kirk Franklin, Anthony Hamilton, Keke Wyatt, Tamela Mann, Musiq SoulChild, and Q. Parker from 112.
Parker said Stone was like a sister and they had teamed up to establish a charity to give back to the community. Despite Stone’s death, he said their work would continue.
Musiq Soulchild credited Stone with helping him build a career in the music industry.
“I would not be where I am today if it were not for Angie Stone,” the artist said.
Kirk Franklin and his choir performed a medley of songs and moved the audience with “I Smile.”
Stone, 63, was killed in a car accident on March 1. She and members of her band were traveling after performing the night before in Mobile, Alabama, when their van collided with an 18-wheeler truck.
The singer-songwriter was known to fans as one of neo-soul’s leading ladies. She released a string of hits, including “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” “Brotha” and “Everyday.”
The South Carolina native is survived by her son Michael Archer, daughter Diamond Stone, and 2 grandchildren.
A public memorial service will be held Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina. Details can be found here.
Anita Bennett contributed to this report.
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