Angie Stone - MAHOGANY SOUL (LP) M

Contains the hidden track "Brotha" which occurs between "The Heat" and "Time Of The Month."
Personnel includes: Angie Stone (vocals, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer piano); Calvin, Musiq Soulchild (vocals); Aaron Freedom Lyles (organ); Rodney Davis (keyboards); Chucky T (bass, drums); Jamal Peoples (drums, percussion); Tenita Dreher, Stephanie Bolton (background vocals).
Producers include: Angie Stone, Eran Tabib, Raphael Saadiq, Rufus Blaq, Ivan Matias.
Engineers include: Tim Donovan, Jon Shriver, Danny Romero.
"More Than A Woman" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
Angie Stone's sophomore effort finds this neo-soul queen building on a rep that includes being part of the rap trio Sequence, fronting acid-jazz outfit Vertical Hold, and contributing to D'Angelo's landmark BROWN SUGAR. Using her stellar debut BLACK DIAMOND as a springboard, the South Carolina native uses plenty of grooves, sass, and scads of poetic lyricism to flex her creative muscle over the course of 17 tracks. Stone is alternately wrapping herself around a sample of the O'Jays "Backstabbers" on the yearning "Wish I Didn't Miss You," and not taking any mess on the assertive "Pissed Off".
The nature of relationships is at the core of this outing. Stone's passion allows her to easily switch gears from declaring she'll take homelessness over unrequited love on the gorgeous "Bottles & Cans" to serving up a potent stew of romance with the equally talented Musiq Soulchild on the hypnotic "Ingredients Of Love". Elsewhere, strong black men everywhere get their props over the undulating beat of "Brotha" and neo-soul credentials are reaffirmed by a transcendent cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Makings Of You [Interlude]" dappled with delicate acoustic guitar picking.

• Format: CD
• Genre: R&B