Kameelah Williams
| Meelah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kameelah Williams |
| Born |
March 8, 1978 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, Hip-Hop, Soul, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels |
Biv 10, Motown (as a member of 702) |
| Associated acts | 702, Musiq Soulchild, Missy Elliott, Faith Evans |
| Website | Official website |
Kameelah Williams, (born March 8, 1978) commonly known as Meelah, is an American recording artist best known for being the lead singer of the famous Motown 1990s trio “702". 702 consisted of Williams and sisters LeMisha and Irish Grinstead, who were students at the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts. Thanks to the help and support of actor/comedian Sinbad and recording artist Michael Bivins, the girls were discovered. They made their recording debut on Subway's hit single "This Lil' Game We Play".
After that recording, however, the group went through a restructuring phase during which Bivins added Kameelah to the group and deemed her the lead singer.The restructured group was christened 702, which is Las Vegas' area code, and was now ready to record their first album. The group’s first album was entitled: “No Doubt” and soared to #1 on the charts. Missy Elliott co-wrote & produced four songs on the album including the smash hit single "Steelo" and its remix. The album spawned three hit singles: "Steelo", "All I Want" and "Get It Together". In addition, "Steelo" with altered lyrics was used as the theme song for the Nickelodeon television show Cousin Skeeter & "All I Want" was featured in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger. The sensual and very emotional single "Get It Together" gave the album its third hit and reached #10 on the Billboard charts. Additionally, the album earned them a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award in 1997. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide.
702 was the opening act for New Edition, Keith Sweat, and Blackstreet during the 1996-97 New Edition reunion tour. They appeared on Elliott's debut album Supa Dupa Fly on her 1998 song "Beep Me 911" which reached #14 on the UK Singles Chart. The girls also sang with Busta Rhymes new artist Rampage and made cameos in the sitcoms Sister, Sister and Moesha.
After going gold with their debut album, the self-titled album “702” was released in 1999. The first single "Where My Girls At" peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained in the top 20 for more than 30 weeks, which earned 702 an American Music Award nomination. The album sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide certifying its platinum status.
702 toured with Brandy on her “Never Say Never” tour and was also a part of Brian McKnight's “Back at One” tour. With the success of their sophomore album, 702 encountered several opportunities which included singing the national anthem for the WNBA's season opener, a cameo appearance in the ABC TV movie “Double Platinum”, and a feature on the Stuart Little soundtrack with the song "He Rules".
702 decided to go in different directions. Since that time, Williams has: collaborated with Missy Elliott on the song “Take Away” on Missy's "Miss E" album co-wrote songs on Faith Evans "Faithfully" album, was featured on the song “Cool” on Snoop Dog's "Ego Trippin", and Co-wrote "On and On" on Macy Gray's release "The Sellout ".
Meelah now is the mother of a boy, Zac, who is fathered by Musiq Soulchild. They have been in the studio writing and working on a new music for her upcoming solo album. The producers on the project include Kannard Garrett, he also produced a children's album tilted "We are different", whose content was co-created with the help of Meelah and is featured on nine of the thirteenth songs. Meelah also has been approached for upcoming film and TV features.
On April 23, 2014, she joined the TV One reality show "R&B Divas Atlanta." On the 2nd episode of R&B Divas, Musiq was introduced with a caption "Meelah's husband".