Angie Stone celebrated by Tyler Perry and more at Atlanta memorial service

Stone, a three-time Grammy nominee, died in a car crash on March 1. The Stockbridge resident was leaving her show in Mobile, Alabama, when her van, which included her crew and backup singers, was overturned after being hit by a semi-trailer truck on Interstate 65. She was 63.

Her extensive career spanned four decades. She started out as one-third of the pioneering rap group the Sequence in 1979. The trio was the first female rap group to release a song and sign to a major label. Stone found success as a soloist in the late 90s and early aughts — becoming a pivotal voice in the neo-soul scene.

Tyler Perry Studios helped produce Friday’s service. Funeral arrangements were handled by Myers Mortuary and Cremation Services, based in Stone’s hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. The service featured a range of musical performances, kicked off by vocalist Stout. She said Stone was a source of inspiration for dark-skinned singers in the industry facing colorism.

“I am because Angie was and is,” Stout said before singing “Faith That Conquers.” “As a young girl raised in the church with a different type of style, seeing her when ‘Mahogany Soul’ (Stone’s sophomore album) came out...really inspired me to keep going.”

Other performers at the service included Darlene McCoy, Anthony Hamilton, Q Parker, Kirk Franklin, Tamela Mann and Y’Anna Crawley. R&B singer Wyatt, who co-starred with Stone in “R&B Divas: Atlanta,” also took the stage to sing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

“When we were on ‘R&B Divas,’ they really tried to get her under my skin....ever since that day, we have been the best of friends,” Wyatt said. “I loved her music, I loved her voice, but her as a person trumps all of that.”

Fellow R&B singer Musiq Soulchild also offered his memories of Stone. The pair collaborated on “The Ingredients of Love,” a song from “Mahogany Soul.”

Holding back tears, he said Stone was one of the first artists he worked with.

“The energy that she had at the time was so magnetic,” Soulchild said. “I didn’t know if she was my mama, my sister or my homegirl. It was just so much all at once.”

Perry spoke toward the end of the service, giving an impassioned speech that nearly resembled an official eulogy. Shortly after Stone’s passing, the acclaimed director took to Instagram to praise her song “20 Dollars.” Perry said he wanted to clear the song for his upcoming Netflix film “Straw,” which will star Taraji P. Henson.

At Friday’s service, he advocated for her to get the credit she deserved.

“I look at these young folks who are living these lives and think it’s supposed to be the way that it is on Instagram, and they’re forgetting about the people who paved the way for them to be in that situation,” he said. “They’re forgetting about people like Angie Stone who’s been in the business for years and all of the people she helped put on.”

Michael Archer, Jr., Stone’s son with fellow R&B star D’Angelo, said the family will “keep fighting.”

“Living with my mom, being with her, going on tour, you still don’t really grasp who she was and what she meant to people. People loved her music, but now in her passing, I’m seeing she was more of a spirit, an angel. Like a tree, she planted roots in the ground.”

Pastor E. Dewey Smith, of Decatur’s House of Hope, gave the eulogy to conclude the service. “No More Rain (In This Cloud),” one of Stone’s early hits as a soloist, played before the recessional. Its lyrics blared throughout the church:

“My sunshine has come, and I’m all cried out.”

Stone’s homegoing celebration will continue tomorrow in Columbia, South Carolina.