Total (group)

This article is about the R&B girl group. For the British experimental musician, see Matthew Bower.
Total
Origin Newark, New Jersey
Genres R&B, hip hop soul
Years active 1994–2000, 2012–present
Labels Bad Boy Records
Members Pamela Long
Kima Raynor
Past members Keisha Epps

Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records imprint during the 1990s. The group consisted of members Kima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pamela Long. Total is best known for their hits "Kissing You", "Can't You See" (featuring The Notorious BIG), and "Trippin'" (featuring Missy Elliott).

Emergence and Total

New Jersey R&B trio Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy". Garnering attention for the new group, they were also featured on the original version and "Hip Hop Remix" of his next single "One More Chance". They then immediately hit the studio with Bad Boy Records CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs and began work on their debut album. The first single "Can't You See?" first appeared on the soundtrack to 1995 motion picture "New Jersey Drive". The song featured The Notorious B.I.G. and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #2 on the R&B Chart. Their self-titled debut album was released nearly a year after the single. Total produced two more R&B top ten singles including: "No One Else" (and its remix featuring Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and Da Brat) and '"Kissing You" (and its remix featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Guest appearances and Kima, Keisha, and Pam

While recording their second album, they appeared on numerous top ten singles, including LL Cool J's "Loungin'/Who Do U Love?", Foxy Brown's "I Can't", and Mase's "What You Want" and Pamela Long was the feature on the massive hit "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G.. The group also released another single, the Missy Elliott and Timbaland track "What About Us?" from the Soul Food soundtrack.

Their follow-up album, Kima, Keisha, and Pam, debuted to strong reviews, sales, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The first single, another Missy Elliott collaboration, "Trippin'", reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their next release, "Sitting Home", which made Top 10 of the Billboard R&B Singles did not garner the same attention. While in heavy rotation on video networks like BET, radio chose not to play the song. A remix of the track featured rap artist Shyne.

After the release of Kima, Keisha, and Pam, the girls sang the chorus to rap duo Gang Starr's 1999 single "Discipline" and in 2000 they were featured on the Tony Touch single "(I Wonder Why) He's the Greatest DJ". They also contributed to the songs "Crave" to 3 Strikes and the songs "Quick Rush" to Bait movie soundtrack.

In their last official appearance together, they were thanked in the credits for their collaboration with Da Beatminerz and Talib Kweli - Anti-Love Movement in 2001 from their album Brace 4 Impak.

Reunion

In 2014, Total joined concert promoters On The Rocks Entertainment Enterprise to produce a comeback concert that is scheduled to kick off on March 22, 2014 in New York City. On November 30, 2014, Total sang the chorus, originally sang by Elliott, of "Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)" along with Lil' Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, & Left Eye via video at the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards. Angie Martinez was the only one on the song who did not perform.

Other information

Discography

Main article: Total discography

Videography

References

  1. ↑ Rogers, Jazmine Denise. "Pam Long From 90′s R&B Group Total Weds Former Pretty Ricky Singer, J.Long". article. madamenoire.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  2. ↑ "Remember Pam From TOTAL? She's Now MARRIED To "Unofficial" Pretty Ricky Member J.Long". article. theybf.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  3. ↑ "iTunes - Music - ByMySelf - Single by Pamela Long". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2013-12-05.