702 (band)
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| 702 | ||
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 (l-r): LeMisha Grinstead, Kameelah Williams, Irish Grinstead
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
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| Genre(s) | R&B, Hip hop soul | |
| Years active | 1994 – 2003, 2006 – present | |
| Label(s) | Biv Ten, Motown | |
| Members | ||
| Irish Grinstead LeMisha Grinstead Orish Grinstead |
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| Former members | ||
| Kameelah Williams 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, whose current members are sisters Irish Grinstead (born June 2, 1980), LeMisha 'Misha' Grinstead (born June 10, 1978), and Orish Grinstead (also born June 2, 1980). Former lead singer Kameelah 'Meelah' Williams (born March 8, 1978) left the group in 2003 to start her own solo career.
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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 Caesar's 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. "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"(Originally, there were 4 members: sisters Irish, LeMisha, Irish's twin sister Orish & their cousin Amelia), Orish Grinstead dropped out of the group and was replaced by LeMisha and Irish's good friend Kameelah Williams, 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.
[edit] No Doubt
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 included 4 singles: "Steelo", "All I Want", "Get It Together", and "No Doubt". "No Doubt" failed to reproduce the success of the other 3 singles. "Steelo" with altered lyrics was used as the theme song to the Nickelodeon television show Cousin Skeeter. Also, the song "All I Want" was featured in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger. "All I Want" is a dance cut that suggests some of the simple things that a woman wants in a relationship. "Get It Together" is a soulful slow jam that expresses the heart-felt emotions of a woman at the crossroads of an impassioned relationship. "Get It Together" exploded by giving the group a #3 R&B single and a #10 Pop single on the Billboard charts. The album garnered them a Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo in 1997. It went gold for selling 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. The 702's "My Friend" was featured on the soundtrack to "Men in Black" (1997). In 1998 702 had made cameos in two teenager sitcoms Sister, Sister and Moesha.
[edit] 702
After going gold with their debut album, they released their self-titled sophomore effort, 702. The first single off of the album "Where My Girls At?" was produced by Missy Elliott and achieved a peak position of #4 on The Billboard Hot 100. The single spent 10 months on the top 20 chart, became 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 appeared in the 1999 ABC-TV movie "Double Platinum" (along with Brandy and Diana Ross). 702 also signed a deal with the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency. 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] Hiatus
Once the hype for the second album died down, 702 took a hiatus from the spotlight. LeMeisha was diagnosed with breast cancer and Kameelah was financially distressed, coping with her mother's death from a car accident in 1999. 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 for Faith Evans' album, Faithfully. She also sang backup for Missy Elliott on her Miss E...So Addictive third single "Take Away". It was rumored she was going to replace Kima from Total, but her solo efforts never took off the way she wanted them to.
[edit] "Pootie Tangin"
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 the singles charts but earned them a 2002 Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo.
[edit] Star
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] Recently
Kameelah left the group again to follow her solo career with a single expected in 2007. Irish and LeMisha are still with the group, and nearly a decade later founding member Orish Grinstead (Irish's twin sister) has re-joined the group. The trio are keeping the name 702, and should have an album out by the summer.
[edit] Discography
Main article: 702 discography
[edit] Awards & nominations
| Year | Result | Category |
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| 2000 | Nominated | Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist For: "702" |
| Year | Result | Category |
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| 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" |
- Source: TheEnvelope.com
