Angela Laverne Brown was born on December 18, 1961 in Colombia, South Carolina, to Iona Williams (née Brown), a hospital technician, and Bobby Williams, a lawyer's assistant and gospel singer. She attended W.A. Perry Middle School and later C.A. Johnson High School. Brown was also a member of the choir at First Nazareth Baptist Church in Columbia where she sang her first solo.

In 1979, Brown formed a female hip-hop group known as The Sequence. Brown, along with her childhood friends and group mates Gwendolyn Chisolm and Cheryl Cook, attended a concert by hip-hop group The Sugarhill Gang. The group made their way backstage and met Sylvia Robinson who was the CEO of hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. They auditioned for Robinson who signed them to the label as their first female act. While in the group, Brown adopted the stage name Angie B. They released their debut single "Funk You Up" in December 1979. The song became one of the first original hip hop songs to be released without sampling. "Funk You Up" peaked at number fifteen on the Hot Soul Singles. In 1980, The Sequence released their debut album Sugarhill presents The Sequence, which received positive reviews from music critics.

In 1981, the group began doing session work for other music acts on Sugar Hill Records. They wrote and provided background vocals for "Sing a Simple Song" and "Let's Dance (Make Your Body Move)" by West Street Mob, the latter of which peaked at number eighty-eight on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and number eighteen on the Hot Soul Singles. In 1982, The Sequence released their self-titled second album, which peaked at number fifty-one on the Black LPs chart. The album's first single "I Don't Need Your Love (Part One)" peaked at number forty on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart. In 1983, they released their third album The Sequence Party. The Sequence followed up with the release of their single "I Just Want to Know". In 1985, they released their final singles: "Funk You Up '85" and "Control". In 1985, the group refused to renew their recording contract after a dispute with Sugar Hill Records CEO Sylvia Robinson. The group's dispute with the label stemmed from not being paid their royalties from the songs they wrote and recorded. The group also felt like the money from their royalties were being used to support other musical acts on Sugar Hill Records. Stone briefly pursued a solo music career and also began working at Kiss-FM radio station in New York. Angie B. began performing as Angie B. Stone and later simply Angie Stone, carrying the last name of her first husband Rodney "Lil' Rodney C" Stone. Following her departure from Sugar Hill Records, Stone made attempts to start a solo career. She began writing solo material and booked studio time at her own expense. Through the studio's engineer Gordon Mack III, Stone was introduced to musicians David Bright and Willie Bruno Jr., who were impressed by her songwriting abilities and asked her to write on their songs. While she initially saw the collaboration as just an opportunity to work in the studio for free and have access to a team of musicians, it eventually led to the formation of the R&B/hip hop quartet It's Us. Renamed Vertical Hold, they released their first single "Summertime" in 1988 on Criminal Records. The group secured a recording deal with A&M Records. In 1990, Stone performed as the saxophonist for Lenny Kravitz's Let Love Rule Tour.

In June 1993, the group released their debut album A Matter of Time. The album peaked at number thirty-three on the US Top R&B Albums chart, selling over 62,000 copies in the first week of its release. The album's lead single "Seems You're Much Too Busy" peaked at number seventeen on the US Hot R&B Singles chart. Their follow-up single "A.S.A.P." peaked at number eighty-three on the US Hot R&B Singles chart. Through their parent label Universal Records, Stone was offered a songwriting deal with Midnight Songs LLC. She was eventually brought in to help newly signed singer D'Angelo complete his first album Brown Sugar. In early 1995, Stone vocally arranged the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)", which became the theme song for drama film Panther. In May 1995, Vertical Hold released their second and final album Head First. Due to a lack of promotional support from their record label, Vertical Hold parted way at the end of 1995. Also in the same year, Stone toured as a background vocalist for D'Angelo's Brown Sugar Tour. One of their concerts was recorded at Jazz Café in London, England, on September 14, 1995, and released as D'Angelo's live album Live at the Jazz Cafe (1998). In 1996, Stone became a featured vocalist for Gerry DeVeaux and Charlie Mole who had formed a group called DeVox. The group released an album titled Devox featuring Angie B. Stone, exclusively in Japan. The project caught the attention of Arista Records A&R manager Peter Edge, which lead to Stone being offered a solo recording contract with Arista Records. In September 1999, Stone released her debut solo album Black Diamond on Arista Records. Black Diamond peaked at number forty-six on the Billboard 200 chart and number nine on the US Top R&B Albums chart. The album's lead single, "No More Rain (In This Cloud)", peaked at number fifty-six on Billboard Hot 100 and also became Stone's first number-one song on the US Adult R&B Songs chart, spending ten weeks atop of the chart. The singles "Life Story and "Everyday" peaked in the top twenty on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles chart. Black Diamond was eventually certified gold by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Stone also won Best Solo R&B/Soul New Artist and Best Solo R&B/Soul Single for "No More Rain (In This Cloud)" at the 2000 Soul Train Music Awards. She also co-wrote four songs on D'Angelo's album Voodoo (2000). In 2000, Stone transitioned from Arista to music manager Clive Davis's venture J Records. She recorded the theme song for American sitcom television series Girlfriends. Stone's second solo album, Mahogany Soul, was released on October 16, 2001. The album debuted and peaked at number twenty-two on the US Billboard 200, selling 71,000 copies in its first week of release. The album's lead single, "Brotha", reached number fifty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number on the US Adult R&B Songs chart. The second single, "Wish I Didn't Miss You", reach the top-ten on the charts in several territories worldwide, including the U.S. on the Dance Club Songs chart. The song also became certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album also produced several additional singles, including "More Than a Woman" and "Bottles and Cans". At the 2003 Grammy Awards, "More Than a Woman" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal. Mahogany Soul earned a gold certification by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).