| Blaque | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | R&B, Pop, Hip Hop |
| Years active | 1999–Present |
| Label(s) | Columbia (1996-2001) Elektra (2002-2005) |
| Website | BlaqueFan.com (U.S.) BlaqueIvory.net (UK) |
| Members | |
| Natina Reed (1999-2004, 2004-present) Shamari Fears (1999-present) Brandi Williams (1999-present) |
|
| Former members | |
| Erica Pullins (2004) | |
Blaque is an American R&B vocal trio. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Natina Reed (born October 28 1979) is an American actress rapper and songwriter in the R&B trio Blaque. Shamari Fears (born February 22 1980 Brandi Danielle Williams (born October 5 1982) is an American actress singer and songwriter Erica Pullins (born July 29, 1983 in Cincinnati Ohio) was in a group with her brother (Yung Staccato back in 96-98 called "Anomisity" who The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Blaque stands for Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest for Unity in Everything. The group was originally known as Blaque Ivory and is still known by that name outside the United States. The group consists of members Natina Reed, Shamari Fears and Brandi Williams. Natina Reed (born October 28 1979) is an American actress rapper and songwriter in the R&B trio Blaque. Shamari Fears (born February 22 1980 Brandi Danielle Williams (born October 5 1982) is an American actress singer and songwriter
Natina Reed departed the group to go into ministry in 2003. They replaced her with Erica Pullins. Erica Pullins (born July 29, 1983 in Cincinnati Ohio) was in a group with her brother (Yung Staccato back in 96-98 called "Anomisity" who Blaque never debuted with their new member. Shamari was signed with Darkchild and set to debut in 2006, but plans were changed when her and the other original Blaque members reunited. Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (born July 29 1977 in Pleasantville New Jersey) is a Grammy Award -winning Songwriter, Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Contents |
Music career
Discovery
Reed and Fears both moved to Atlanta, Georgia and met while in high school. Reed formed Blaque Ivory while Fears formed another group called Intrigue. Intrigue won a recording contract with Elektra Records, and Fears met up with Williams at a talent show while a member of that group. Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Fears left Intrigue to join up with Reed in Blaque Ivory and Williams joined the group shortly thereafter. Reed met Ronald Lopes while singing jingles to earn extra cash and he introduced her to his sister Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC. Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27 1971 – April 25 2002 better known by her Stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, Singer, TLC was a Grammy Award -winning American Contemporary R&B, hip hop and pop group consisting of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Lisa Lopes signed the group to her "Left Eye Productions" and then to Columbia Records. Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company
1997-2001: Rise to Fame
In 1997, the group made a cameo appearance in the video Lil' Kim's "Not Tonight (Remix). "
Their self-titled debut Blaque debuted at number 23 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number 53 on the official Billboard 200 and was certification platinum by RIAA. Blaque is self-titled debut album from the R&B group Blaque. The album debuted #53 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and went platinum See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard The album's lead singe "808" was a success in the U. S. reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and Gold certification. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The follow up single "Bring It All to Me" which featured JC Chasez, was a hit reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Joshua Scott Chasez, better known as JC Chasez, is an American Singer, Songwriter, Record producer, and occasional Actor The last single "I Do" wasn't a success like the previous singles with only reaching #73 on the R&B/Hip-Hop single chart. The album also featured a cover version of "Time after Time" originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released " Time after Time " was a single by singer Cyndi Lauper, the second from her She's So Unusual album and it reached #1 on the U Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22 1953 is an American Grammy - and Emmy award winning Singer-songwriter and Their only single to be nominated for a MTV Video Music Award was "I Do" for Best Editing. MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. The MTV Video Music Awards were established in the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top Music videos of the year
They later made their film debut in Bring It On in 2000.
2001-2002: Car crash and trouble with Blaque Out
While their self-titled album went platinum, their second album Blaque Out was set for release in 2001, but the group were dropped from Columbia Records for unknowed reasons. Blaque Out is the second studio album by American R&B trio Blaque. Their video for the first "Blaque Out" single; "Can't Get It Back" was never released. Blaque Out is the second studio album by American R&B trio Blaque. " Can't Get It Back " was the second single from Mis-Teeq 's second album Eye Candy. The album was soon leaked on the Internet. When their mentor Lisa Lopes died in a car crash on April 25, 2002 in Honduras they signed with Elektra Records and began work on their 3rd album. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records An alternate version of the shelved album was released to iTunes on May 22, 2007. iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc
2003-2004: Torch
Their third album Torch featured a number of A-list music industry figures including Missy Elliott, songwriter Linda Perry, and producer Rodney Jerkins. Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1 1971 is a five-time Grammy Award -winning American rapper, singer, Songwriter, and Linda Perry, born April 15 1965 in Springfield Massachusetts, to parents of Portuguese and Brazilian descent is an American rock musician Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (born July 29 1977 in Pleasantville New Jersey) is a Grammy Award -winning Songwriter, The buzz single was "No Ganksta" which was an answerback song to 50 Cent's song "Wanksta". An answer song (or answer record) is as the name suggests a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song normally by another artist Missy Elliott produced the intended first single "Ugly". " Ugly " is a song by Blaque feat Missy Elliot released as the debut single from Blaque's unreleased third album Torch. However, because radio did not pick up the song, it was decided to release "I'm Good" instead.
"I'm Good" also appeared on the soundtrack for the film Honey as well as themselves. Honey is a 2003 Motion picture released by Universal Pictures.
Due to the poor success "I'm Good" achieved, the release date for Torch was pushed back. Finally, news came up their next single would be "Hopeless" - a man bashing, Darkchild produced song. But it failed to be released. In 2004, Natina left the group to go into ministry. She was soon replaced by singer/rapper Erica Pullins who performed with them overseas although no one really knows where she came from. They recorded some new songs and re-recorded old ones with new member, but the album failed to be released and Blaque disbanded. several bootleg copies were sold on the ebay site by dodgy german sellers, some copies fetching as much as £300. Torch was confirmed to be released exclusively to iTunes in 2008, nearly 5 years after its completion. iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc A release date has yet to be determined due to pending legal rights between Atlantic Records (the current legal owner of the album), Geffen & Music World Productions.
Temporary Split
Natina went into ministry in early 2004. She has a son named Tren with rapper Kurupt. Kurupt (born Ricardo Emmanuel Brown) is an American rapper and former Executive Vice President of Death Row Records.
Shamari was signed to Darkchild Records in 2005. Brandi managed to get a record deal and started working on a solo album. She also appeared on Nelly's first single, from his 2005 album "Sweatsuit," "Grillz". Grillz features Nelly, Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp and, of course, Brandi Williams although she is not credited, promo wise. " Grillz " is a 2005 rap single from the album Sweatsuit by Nelly featuring Paul Wall and Ali & Gipp (a duo Cornell Haynes Jr (born November 2 1974 Highly successful Nelly has sold over 20 million records in the United States Paul Slayton, better known by his Stage name Paul Wall, was born March 11, 1981. Ali (born Ali Jones on July 13, 1972) is a American Hip-Hop artist Big Gipp born Cameron Gipp (born on April 28, 1973 in Atlanta Georgia) is an American Rapper from the South There is no information regarding Erica.
Reunited
In 2004 Shamari Fears, Brandi Williams & Natina Reed reformed Blaque. They performed on several occasions in Germany and other countries. During that time, Erica Pullins kept fans up to date via the internet. She stated she is currently working on a solo record.
A new album is in fact being recorded and the process is being chronicled on a new reality series titled, "Blaque in the House". (See 'reality series')
Other media
In addition to their recording work, Reed, Fears, and Williams appeared in the 2000 film Bring It On as members of the East Compton Clovers cheerleading squad fronted by Gabrielle Union. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Bring It On (2000 is a Film about two competing high school Cheerleading squads starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Gabrielle Monique Union (born October 29, 1972) is an American Actress and former model. Williams also had a small role (playing herself) in the 2001 movie On the Line. On the Line is a 2001 American romantic comedy starring Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui. Blaque also appears on Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's 2001 solo debut album, "Supernova", on the track titled "Head to the Sky", which was only released internationally. In 2005, two clips of Shamari's solo songs titled "The One" (Covered & released by Megan Rochell in 2006) and "NJ2" were leaked onto the internet. Megan Rochell is an American Contemporary R&B singer who was formerly signed to Def Jam Records.
Reality Series
Recently in November 2007, it has been reported that the group is in the post-production stages of filming a TV reality show called “Blaque In The House,” which will include the members living under the roof of TLC's Tionne (T-Boz) Watkins. It is said that the show will highlight the group's past separation and the predicted success of their highly anticipated 2008 CD release. The reality show's trailer was released via YouTube in March 2008.
Trivia
- 50 Cent once wrote for Blaque when he was signed to Trackmasters.
- The first official 50 Cent single from a major label was "Bring it All to Me (Trackmaster Remix). " He was originally signed to Columbia, but never saw a commercial release until he signed with Interscope.
Discography
Albums
- 1999: Blaque
- 2002: Blaque Out
- 2004: Torch
- 2008: Beauty
Compilations
- 2007: Blaque By Popular Demand
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "808" | 8 | 4 | 31 | Blaque |
| "Bring It All To Me" | 4 | 15 | — | ||
| "I Do" | — | 73 | — | ||
| 2002 | "Can't Get It Back" | — | 91 | — | Blaque Out |
| 2003 | "Ugly" | — | — | — | Torch |
| 2004 | "I'm Good" | — | 95 | — |
Awards & Nominations
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Nominated | Best Editing In A Video For: "I Do" |
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Nominated | Best Female Group For: "Blaque" |
Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Nominated | Best R&B/Soul Or Rap New Artist For: "808" |
| 2000 | Nominated | R&B/Soul Album Of The Year, Group, Band Or Duo For: "Blaque" |
Billboard Video Awards
| Year | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Won | Best New Artist-R&B For: "Bring It All To Me" |
Filmography
Films
- 2000: Bring It On
- 2003: Honey
Album appearances
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Head To The Sky with (Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes featuring Blaque) | Supernova |
External links
- [1]
- Columbia Site (No Longer Active)
- Elektra Site (No Longer Active)
- All Music Guide page
- MTV page
- Blaque Unlimited
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic