TV One’s most watched reality series R&B Divas adds two new cast members when its second season launches in Q2 2013. The popular TV One original welcomes Grammy nominee Angie Stone and former Xscape vocalist LaTocha Scott to the original cast including Faith Evans and Nicci Gilbert-Daniels, who also serve as executive producers, and Monifah Carter, Syleena Johnson and Keke Wyatt.Angie Stone got her big break by joining Gwendolyn Chisolm and Cheryl Cook to complete the rap trio The Sequence. It was with that group that she recorded the hits “Funk You Up,” “I Don’t Need Your Love (Part One),” and “Funky Sound” for the record label Sugarhill.
This soon led to her first commercial success “Seems You’re much Too Busy,” a dance track on Vertical Hold’s album that became an R&B Top 40 hit in 1993. Stone made her debut as a solo artist under Arista with her 1999 album Black Diamond before she moved to J-Records in 2001. It was here that she released the albums Mahogany Soul (2001) and Stone Love (2004).
Angie’s first two albums went gold, and her 2004 record quickly climbed to number 14 on the charts, making it her biggest hit. More recently, Angie played the lead in the theatre tour Issues: We’ve Got Them All. She then appeared on the fourth season of VH1’s reality television show “Celebrity Fit Club.” In 2007 she released her fourth studio album, The Art of Love & War which became her first number one album on the R&B/Hip Hop charts.
Diagnosed with diabetes in 1999, Stone began a diabetes awareness campaign in 2008 in conjunction with FACE (Fearless African Americans Connected and Empowered) at the Southside YMCA in Chicago. The campaign was launched to inspire behavioral changes in African Americans, who are disproportionately affected by diabetes.LaTocha Scott is an original member of the 1990’s multi-platinum selling group Xscape. Comprised of sisters LaTocha and Tamika Scott, and band-mates Kandi Burruss and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, Xscape helped to define the female R&B sound during one of R&B’s greatest musical decades.
Since the group dissolved in the late 1990s, Scott has continued to develop as a songwriter. To date, her projects include “Who’s That Man” from the 1994 The Mask soundtrack and “Treated Like Her” by Chante Moore for 2000s Big Momma’s House. Scott co-wrote and was featured on “Thug Holiday” with Trick Daddy in 2002 which went Gold, featured on J-Shin’s single “One Night Stand” in 2003 and had the title track ” Liar Liar” for The Best Man in 1999.
In 2012, LaTocha released “Complicated” featuring hip-hop music artist Wale. Currently, Scott is working on a book recounting her experiences with Xscape and a solo debut album. She has also launched the Golden Gyrl Foundation which focuses on developing and magnifying self-love and self-esteem among young women.
