702 (band)
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| 702 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Genre(s) | R&B, Hip hop soul |
| Years active | 1994 – 2000; 2001 – 2003; 2006– present |
| Label(s) | Biv Ten, Motown |
| Associated acts | Missy Elliot, Subway, Michael Bivins, Sinbad |
| Members | |
| Irish Grinstead LeMisha Grinstead Kameelah Williams Orish Grinstead (deceased) |
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| Former members | |
Amelia Grinstead Cree Lamore |
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702 (pronounced "Seven-Oh-Two"), named after the area code of their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, is an American platinum-selling female R&B trio. Originally a quartet, the group eventually became a trio, which includes twin sisters Irish (born June 2, 1980), and Orish Grinstead (born June 2, 1980, died April 20, 2008)[1], their sister LeMisha 'Misha' Grinstead (born June 10, 1978) and lead singer Kameelah 'Meelah' Williams (born March 8, 1978) who left the group in 2001 to start her own solo career but returned in 2003.
702 has sold over 500,000 albums and other music units worldwide, as of 2008.[1]
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
In Nevada, sisters LeMisha and Irish Grinstead, and their friend Kameelah Williams, were students at a Las Vegas school. Whenever a big boxing match was in town, the Grinstead sisters would hang out in the lobby of Caesars Palace and show off their vocal skills for all who would listen in the hopes that someone in the music industry would pass by. After many of these appearances, LeMisha, Irish, and her twin Orish, were losing hope, until one day, actor/comedian Sinbad, happened to walk by. Though not a music producer, he recognized how talented the Grinsteads were and visited their home in order to convince their parents to send the trio to Atlanta for a convention and music competition. Though the girls missed the deadline for entry, Sinbad used his name to get them in.[1] "Sweeta than Suga," as they were then called (Sinbad suggested the name), came in second in the competition. As the convention was nearing a close, the sisters happened to see Michael Bivins (formerly of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe) passing by and persuaded him to listen. He later said that he thought he had found his own version of the Supremes. With the crowd that had gathered egging him on, Bivins agreed to work with the talented girls. After 702 made their recorded debut on Subway's hit single "This Lil' Game We Play" in the video Orish is the one standing nest to Irish at the beginning. (Originally, there were 4 members: sisters Irish, LeMisha, Irish's twin sister Orish & their cousin Amelia), Amelia Grinstead dropped out of the group[1] and was replaced by LeMisha and Irish's & Orish's good friend Kameelah Williams, then after recording a few demos as a quartet even "Steelo", and "Get It Together", Orish decided to lesve the group. while Bivins continued to work with different producers and songwriters to get the right feel for their first album. The new group was christened "702," which is Las Vegas' area code, a name which Bivens suggested. [1]
[edit] 1996–1998: Rise to fame
Their debut album, No Doubt shot to #1 on Top Heatseekers. Missy Elliott co-wrote & produced 4 songs on the album including the smash hit single "Steelo" and its remix. The album spawned the 3 hit singles: "Steelo", "All I Want" and "Get It Together". "Steelo" with altered lyrics was used as the theme song to the Nickelodeon television show Cousin Skeeter & "All I Want" was featured in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger. 702 also performed on Nickelodeon's All That. "Get It Together" exploded by giving the group a #3 R&B single and a #10 Pop single on the Billboard charts. The album earned them a Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award (see below) in 1997. Sadly, 702 hasn't won any other award since (see below). It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. In addition to the album, 702 opened for New Edition, Keith Sweat, and Blackstreet during the 1996-97 New Edition reunion tour. They also appeared on Elliott's debut album Supa Dupa Fly on her 1998 song Beep Me 911 which didn't make it onto the American charts but reached #14 on the UK Singles Chart. The girls also sang with Busta Rhymes' new artist Rampage. "My Friend" was featured on the soundtrack to "Men in Black". In 1998 702 made cameos in two teenager sitcoms Sister, Sister and Moesha.
[edit] 1999–2000: Career development
After going gold with their debut album, they released their self-titled second album, 702. The first single off of the album "Where My Girls At?" was written and produced by Missy Elliott and achieved a peak position of #4 on The Billboard Hot 100. The single spent 2 months on the top 20 chart, became nominated for the song of the year, and gained them a 1999 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo. The album reached #7 of the top-ten on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, earned a 2000 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Album Of The Year - Group, Band or Duo, and sold more than 500,000 copies going gold. 702, before releasing their second album, had also sang the national anthem for the WNBA Season Opener. On June 18th, 702's LeMisha gave birth to her son Tony Lyndon and left in order to take care of her son. Orish took her place during LeMisha's brief absence. They had made a cameo in the 1999 ABC-TV movie "Double Platinum" (along with Brandy and Diana Ross). 702 also signed a deal with Wilhelmina Models. Two other singles from the album, "You Don't Know" and "Gotta Leave" failed to make The Billboard Hot 100, but made the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. "Gotta Leave", guest-starring and produced by Missy Elliott also made the Rhythmic Top 40.
[edit] 2000-2002: Hiatus and "Pootie Tangin"
Once the hype for the second album died down, 702 took a hiatus from the spotlight. Kameelah Williams decided to part from the group and go solo. She briefly became the new protégé of Faith Evans and signed a deal to be managed by Faith and her husband, Todd Russaw, under their Pedigree MGI Management. Kameelah sang backup and wrote 3 songs Faith Evans' album, Faithfully. She also sang backup for Missy Elliott on her Miss E...So Addictive third single "Take Away".
The Grinstead sisters, the remaining members of 702, decided to retake their place in the spotlight and enlisted Cree Lamore to replace Meelah. Under the revamped 702, they recorded the lead single "Pootie Tangin" for the Chris Rock movie, Pootie Tang. In the video you can see Irish and Cree sharing lead vocals. "Pootie Tangin" failed to make any charts but earned them a 2002 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award nomination (see below).
[edit] 2002-2003: Return to music
Kameelah reunited with 702 once again to record their third album. However, promotion for this album was poor and resulted in a flop. After the less-than-successful album, the girls decided to go their separate ways. Irish made her movie acting debut in the 2004 flim The Brewster Project as "Alicia". .
[edit] 2003-present
Although their album failed, it did earn them two Soul Train Lady of Soul Award nominations later in 2003 (see below). Irish Grinstead become the only member to act. She co-starred in The Brewster Project in early 2004.
Kameelah once again left the group again to follow her solo career. It is said that Irish, former member Orish and were be working on a new album. However, Orish Grinstead died of kidney failure on Sunday April 20, 2008 at age 27. The singer was also suffering from several other medical issues, including cancer. According to sources close to Grinstead, she had been ill for quite some time, and her death was not a surprise.[2][1] No one knows if they would release an album or disband.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Awards
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Nominated | Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist For: "702" |
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Nominated | Best Female Group For: "702" |
Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Won | Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo For: "No Doubt" |
| 1999 | Nominated | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo For: "Where My Girls At?" |
| 2000 | Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo For: "702" |
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| 2002 | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo For: "Pootie Tangin" |
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| 2003 | Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo For: "Star" |
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| 2003 | Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo For: "I Still Love You" |
