Black Diamond (Angie Stone album)

Black Diamond
Studio album by Angie Stone
Released	September 28, 1999 (1999-09-28)
Genre	R&B soul neo soul
Length	54:46
Label	Arista
Producer	Gerry DeVeaux Angie Stone Cutfather & Joe DJ U-Neek Russell Elevado Aaron "Freedom" Lyles Ali Shaheed Muhammad Rex Rideout Phil Temple
Angie Stone chronology
Black Diamond (1999) Mahogany Soul (2001)
Singles from Black Diamond
"No More Rain (In This Cloud)" Released: August 17, 1999 "Life Story" Released: 2000 "Everyday" Released: 2000

Black Diamond is the debut studio album by American singer Angie Stone. It was released on September 28, 1999, by Arista Records. The album is named after Stone's then-teenaged daughter Diamond Ti'ara. ^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
USA Today	[3]
Hot Press	9/12 [4]
Rolling Stone	[5]

In his review for Billboard , Michael Paoletta declared the album "a musically rich and empowering journey through life's many ups and downs" that pairs "smooth, mellow grooves [...] with emotion-packed lyrics." He further wrote: "For those lamenting the lack of honest R&B/soul, stop worrying: With Black Diamond, it's back where it belongs." ^[6] AllMusic editor Theresa E. LaVeck noted that "purposefully positive, the album chronicles Stone's journeys maintaining personal faith and loving relationships, resplendent with new takes on traditional soul sounds. Stone supports her songwriting and vocal talents with help from A-list musicians/writer/producers such as Lenny Kravitz and D'Angelo. The sophisticated mix is elevated by Stone's incredible voice." ^[2] Ronda Racha Penrice from Vibe wrote that Stone's "soul-rendering delivery and vocal lushness is a welcomed addition to Arista's House of R&B Divas. With that said, the resident divas [...] should have no problem making accommodations for Stone in their humble abode at Arista." ^[7]

USA Today 's Steve Jones remarked "South Carolina native Stone honed her songwriting skills penning tunes for people such as D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige, but on this earthy debut she quickly establishes herself as an artist to be reckoned with. Stone's rich, mature voice lends an authenticity to lyrics that touch the jagged surface and underlying emotions between people trying to work out or move on from relationships. She deftly blends old-school sentiments and current sensibilities and wraps them around grooves that work at any time." ^[3] Ayana Byrd, writing for Rolling Stone , compared Stone's vocal performance with Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight and remarked that "Stone's Southern country-road sensibilities prevent her from being derivative of her obvious influences; instead, Black Diamond shines with the intensity of brilliant soul." ^[5] BBC Music critic Daryl Easlea called the album "a fine debut" that proclaims "after years of struggle, Stone's arrival as an artist in her own right." ^[8] Kerry Potter from Q described Black Diamond as "a low-key album of quietly poetic soul, epitomised by the muffled funk of "Green Grass Vapors." [It] is meandering and over-polished at times, but, in the main, hints at a sparkling future." ^[9] Exclaim! editor Del F. Cowie complimented the album for its "classy and subdued mood." ^[10]

Chart performance

Black Diamond debuted at number 144 on the US Billboard 200 in the week of October 16, 1999, ^[11] with first week sales of 10,000 copies. ^[12] It was not until February 19, 2000, that it peaked at number 46. ^[11] Two weeks prior, on February 2, 2000, the album had been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ^[13] By September 2003, Black Diamond had sold 812,000 copies in the United States. ^[14]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Freedom (Intro)"	Angie Stone	Stone	0:42
2.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)"	Stone Bert Williams Gordon Chambers Jim Weatherly	Stone	4:42
3.	"Green Grass Vapors"	Aaron Lyles Stephanie Bolton	Aaron "Freedom" Lyles Stone	4:14
4.	"Everyday"	Stone D'Angelo	Russell Elevado	3:28
5.	"Coulda Been You"	Stone Sekou Aiken Rex Rideout Phil Temple	Rideout Temple Stone	4:25
6.	"Visions"	Virgil Davis Jr. Tim Middleton Jon Lind Maurice White	DJ U-Neek	3:31
7.	"Life Story"	Gerry DeVeaux Craig Ross	DeVeaux Cutfather & Joe [a]	4:07
8.	"Just a Pimp"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:12
9.	"Trouble Man"	Marvin Gaye	Stone Lyles	2:33
10.	"Bone 2 Pic (Wit U)"	Ali Shaheed Muhammad Stone Chalmers Alford	Muhammad	5:19
11.	"Man Loves His Money"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:11
12.	"Love Junkie"	Stone	Stone Lyles	4:18
13.	"Black Diamonds & Blue Pearls (Interlude)"	Stone	Stone	1:35
14.	"Heaven Help" (bonus track)	DeVeaux Terry Britten	DeVeaux	3:19
15.	"Don't Wanna Ride Without You" (hidden track)	Stone		4:10
Total length:				54:46

German edition bonus tracks ^[15]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Without You"	Stone	3:35
16.	"Thank You"	Stone Robyn Smith	0:23

UK edition ^[16]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Freedom (Intro)"	Stone	Stone	0:42
2.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)"	Stone Williams Chambers Weatherly	Stone	4:42
3.	"Everyday"	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado	3:28
4.	"Bone 2 Pic (Wit U)"	Muhammad Stone Alford	Muhammad	5:19
5.	"Life Story"	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Cutfather & Joe [a]	4:07
6.	"Visions"	Davis Middleton Lind White	DJ U-Neek	3:31
7.	"Coulda Been You"	Stone Aiken Rideout Temple	Rideout Temple Stone	4:25
8.	"Just a Pimp"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:12
9.	"Black Diamonds & Blue Pearls (Interlude)"	Stone	Stone	1:35
10.	"Green Grass Vapors"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:14
11.	"Baby Slow Down"	DeVeaux Stone Charlie Mole	DeVeaux	4:09
12.	"Love Junkie"	Stone	Stone Lyles	4:18
13.	"Trouble Man"	Gaye	Stone Lyles	2:33
14.	"My Lovin' Will Give You Something"	DeVeaux David Gamson Melvin Ragin	DeVeaux	4:33
15.	"Heaven Help"	DeVeaux Britten	DeVeaux	3:19
16.	"Life Story" (Jazz Hop Mix) (includes hidden track "Don't Wanna Ride Without You")	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Full Crew [a]	8:14

Japanese edition and German reissue ^{[17] [18]}

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Thank You"	Stone Smith		0:23
16.	"Heaven Help"	DeVeaux Britten	DeVeaux	3:19
17.	"Life Story" (Jazz Hop Mix)	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Full Crew [a]	4:16
18.	"Without You"	Stone		3:35

Digital deluxe edition (disc one) ^[19]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Freedom (Intro)"	Stone	Stone	0:42
2.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)"	Stone Williams Chambers Weatherly	Stone	4:42
3.	"Green Grass Vapors"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:14
4.	"Everyday"	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado	3:28
5.	"Coulda Been You"	Stone Aiken Rideout Temple	Rideout Temple Stone	4:25
6.	"Visions"	Davis Middleton Lind White	DJ U-Neek	3:31
7.	"Life Story"	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Cutfather & Joe [a]	4:07
8.	"Just a Pimp"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:12
9.	"Trouble Man"	Gaye	Stone Lyles	2:33
10.	"Bone 2 Pic (Wit U)"	Muhammad Stone Alford	Muhammad	5:19
11.	"Man Loves His Money"	Lyles Bolton	Lyles Stone	4:11
12.	"Love Junkie"	Stone	Stone Lyles	4:18
13.	"Black Diamonds & Blue Pearls (Interlude)"	Stone	Stone	1:35
14.	"Heaven Help"	DeVeaux Britten	DeVeaux	3:19
15.	"Without You"	Stone		3:35
16.	"Thank You"	Stone Smith		0:22
17.	"Baby Slow Down"	DeVeaux Stone Mole	DeVeaux	4:09
18.	"Ear-Responsible"			4:32
19.	"Work It Out"	Stone		3:23
20.	"My Lovin' Will Give You Something"	DeVeaux Gamson Ragin	DeVeaux	4:33
21.	"I Gotta Thing for You"	Stone		5:08

Digital deluxe edition (disc two) ^[19]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)" (StarGate Radio Mix)	Stone Williams Chambers Weatherly	Stone StarGate [b]	3:57
2.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)" (Erick Sermon Remix) (featuring Loon)	Stone Williams Chambers Weatherly	Stone Sermon [b]	4:17
3.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)" (Wookie Vocal Mix)	Stone Williams Chambers Weatherly	Stone Wookie [b]	4:48
4.	"Everyday" (Mike City Remix)	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado Mike City [a] [b]	3:58
5.	"Everyday" (Neptunes Remix) (featuring Pusha T)	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado The Neptunes [a] [b]	4:20
6.	"Everyday" (Suli & Stef Bass Remix) (featuring Mad Snake)	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado Suli & Stef [a] [b]	4:49
7.	"Everyday" (Full Crew Rap Mix) (featuring Phoebe 1)	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado Amos Oke [a] [b] Orlando Gittens [a] [b]	3:52
8.	"Everyday" (Soultown Mix) (featuring Phoebe 1)	Stone D'Angelo	Elevado Oke [a] [b] Gittens [a] [b]	4:23
9.	"Life Story" (Jazz Hop Mix)	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Full Crew [a] [b]	4:15
10.	"Life Story" (Full Crew Hip Hop Mix)	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Full Crew [a] [b]	4:21
11.	"Life Story" (Booker T Vocal Mix)	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Booker T [a] [b]	5:39
12.	"Life Story" (Club 69 Future Mix)	DeVeaux Ross	DeVeaux Peter Rauhofer [a] [b]	3:36
13.	"Life Story" (music video)			4:08
14.	"Everyday" (music video)			3:26
15.	"No More Rain (In This Cloud)" (music video)			4:13
16.	"Behind the Scenes" (video)			8:02
17.	"Everyday" (Neptunes Remix) (music video)			3:29

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^b} signifies a remixer

Sample credits

• "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" contains excerpts and samples of "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Black Diamond. ^[20]

Musicians

• Angie Stone – vocals
• Joe Belmaati – programming, musician
• Rex Rideout – programming, musician
• Chalmers "Spanky" Alford – musician
• D'Angelo – musician
• Iran – musician
• Jonas Krag – musician
• Lenny Kravitz – musician
• Aaron "Freedom" Lyles – musician
• Ali Shaheed Muhammad – musician
• Joe Quinde – musician
• Craig Ross – musician
• Sekou Aiken – background vocals
• Stephanie Bolton – background vocals
• Gerry DeVeaux – background vocals
• Tenita Jordan Dreher – background vocals
• Gemini – background vocals
• Juliet Roberts – background vocals

Technical

• Angie Stone – production (tracks 1–3, 5, 8, 9, 11–13); recording engineering, mix engineering, executive production
• Aaron "Freedom" Lyles – production (tracks 3, 8, 9, 11, 12); recording engineering, mix engineering
• Ali Shaheed Muhammad – production (track 10); recording engineering
• Russell Elevado – production (track 4)
• Rex Rideout – production (track 5); engineering assistance
• Phil Temple – production (track 5)
• DJ U-Neek – production (track 6)
• Gerry DeVeaux – production (tracks 7, 14); executive production
• Cutfather & Joe – remix, additional production (track 7); mix engineering
• Aaron Connor – recording engineering
• Tim Donovan – recording engineering, mix engineering
• Tim Hunt – recording engineering
• Eli Lishinsky – recording engineering
• Kevin "K.D." Davis – mix engineering
• Tony Maserati – mix engineering
• Mads Nilsson – mix engineering
• Soul Spin – mix engineering
• Denise Barbarita – engineering assistance
• Erik Fryland – engineering assistance
• Charles McCrorey – engineering assistance
• Jeff Gregory – engineering assistance
• Susanne Savage – production coordination
• Miriam Gonzales – production coordination
• Jo Jones – production coordination
• Lesvia Castro – production coordination
• Coen Antonisse – production coordination
• Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
• Peter Edge – executive production

Artwork

• Margery Greenspan – art direction
• Sheri G. Lee – art direction, design
• Ruven Afanador – photography
• Phil Knott – back cover photography
• Angie Stone – collage construction
• Lori Demsey – collage construction

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly performance for Black Diamond Chart (2000–2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [21] 84 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [22] 28 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [23] 38 UK Albums (OCC) [24] 62 UK R&B Albums (OCC) [25] 4 US Billboard 200 [11] 46 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [26] 9

Year-end charts Year-end performance for Black Diamond Chart (2000) Position US Billboard 200 [27] 158 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [28] 31

Certifications

Certifications for Black Diamond

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI) [29]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [30]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [13]	Gold	812,000 [14]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for Black Diamond

Region	Date	Format	Edition	Label	Ref.
United States	September 28, 1999	CD cassette	Standard	Arista	[31] [32]
Germany	November 8, 1999	CD		BMG	[33]
Canada	February 8, 2000				[34]
Japan	February 16, 2000			EMI	[18]
United Kingdom	February 28, 2000			Arista	[16]
Germany	March 20, 2000		Reissue	BMG	[35]
Various	September 18, 2012	Digital download	Deluxe	BRM Peace Bisquit	[19]

References

1. Easlea, Daryl (2012). "Review of Angie Stone – Black Diamond". BBC Music . Retrieved May 15, 2014.
2. LaVeck, Theresa E. "Black Diamond – Angie Stone". AllMusic . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
3. Jones, Steve (October 5, 1999). "'Temperamental' Girl; stirring Strauss Smooth Blackness, 'Black Diamond' in the R&B rough". USA Today. p. 29. ProQuest   408859367 . Retrieved December 7, 2024– via proquest.com.
4. Porcelli, Kim (March 2, 2000). "Black Diamond". Hot Press . Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
5. Byrd, Ayana (October 14, 1999). "Angie Stone: Black Diamond". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
6. Paoletta, Michael (October 16, 1999). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard . Retrieved May 12, 2023.
7. Racha Penrice, Ronda. "ANGIE STONE, Black Diamond". Vibe . Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
8. Easlea, Daryl. "Angie Stone, Black Diamond, Review". BBC Music . Retrieved May 12, 2023.
9. Potter, Kerry (March 1, 2000). "Angie Stone, Black Diamond". Q . Archived from the original on 2000-11-20. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
10. Cowie, Del F. (February 1, 2000). "Angie Stone: Black Diamond". Exclaim! . Retrieved December 7, 2024.
11. "Angie Stone Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
12. "Banks Secures Another Week At No. 1". Billboard.com . July 14, 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
13. "American album certifications – Angie Stone – Black Diamond". Recording Industry Association of America. February 2, 2000.
14. "Ten Years Of People On Verge". Vibe. September 1, 2003. p. 165. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
15. "Stone,Angie – Black Diamond – CD (1999)". musicline.de (in German). Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
16. "Black Diamond: Angie Stone". Amazon . United Kingdom. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
17. "Stone,Angie – Black Diamond – CD (2000)". musicline.de (in German). Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
18. "Black Diamond : Angie Stone". HMV Japan . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
19. "Black Diamond (Deluxe Edition) by Angie Stone". iTunes Store . United States. 28 September 1999. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
20. Black Diamond (liner notes). Angie Stone. Arista Records. 1999. 07822-19092-2.
21. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 268.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Angie Stone – Black Diamond" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Angie Stone – Black Diamond". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
25. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
26. "Angie Stone Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
27. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
28. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
29. "Dutch album certifications – Angie Stone – Black Diamond" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers . Retrieved June 30, 2019.Enter Black Diamond in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2002 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
30. "British album certifications – Angie Stone – Black Diamond". British Phonographic Industry. October 18, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
31. "Black Diamond: Angie Stone (CD)". Amazon. United States. 1999. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
32. "Black Diamond: Angie Stone (cassette)". Amazon. United States. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
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35. "Black Diamond: Angie Stone". Amazon (in German). Germany. Retrieved February 13, 2020.