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Shamari and Brandi of R&B group, Blaque recently stopped by The Progress Report to speak on coming up in the music business in the 90s with popular hits, “808” and “Bring It All To Me”, being signed to Left Eye of TLC, and the tragic death of their third member, Natina Reed.
The ladies also speak on appearing in their first film, ‘Bring It On’ and Gabrielle Union helping them prepare for their roles. Brandi speaks on her experience signing the hook on Nelly’s 2005 single, “Grillz” and thoughts on the current state of R&B.
Many of us may remember when Natina Reed, member of the 90’s R&B group, Blaque, tragically died a few years ago, but sadly, most of us had no idea that her sister also died less than a year after Natina…
here was a moment, around the turn of the millennium, where everything went Blaque. Discovered by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, the teen three-piece perfected the slinky stutters of that era’s R&B pop, with imagery that repacked Missy Elliott’s third-eye Afrofuturism for a gel pen-loving generation. As a kid-friendly TLC, Shamari DeVoe (née Fears), Brandi Williams and Natina Reed shared their predecessors’ intolerance for scrubs. If men featured in their videos, they were eyeballed like pick’n’mix and then discarded, unworthy of being in their orbit.Blaque’s boldness – down to their homemade bubblewrap look – turned out to be their special sauce. With 1.5m debut album sales and tour dates with ‘NSync and TLC, they were poised to become 00s pop’s next mammoth girl group. Second album, Blaque Out!, however, was scrapped (it showed up on iTunes a decade later), while its feisty lead single Can’t Get It Back flopped and became a hit for Mis-Teeq instead. Then, following the death of Left Eye in 2002, Blaque lost their biggest cheerleader. “I definitely felt let down by the industry,” says DeVoe, also a cast member on Real Housewives of Atlanta. “There was a point where I lost my passion to ever want to sing again.”
After Reed’s tragic death in a road accident in 2012, fan clamour for another unreleased Blaque album, 2003’s Torch, began to grow. Encouraged by a petition, the group won back the rights to their recordings from one-time manager Matthew Knowles, and the album finally came out last month. “It feels really good to finally release it,” says Williams. “And with us able to own these songs now, and our fans still wanting to hear them, I actually think this is perfect timing.”
Despite its of-the-time production, Torch is a way more fun and inventive R&B album than recent releases from Blaque’s millennium-era peers such as Ciara or Usher. Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Linda Perry contribute, and Missy Elliott brings an out-of-the-box spirit to five tracks. The album closes with Her Name Is, a tribute to Left Eye. “Lisa was so much to us,” says Williams. “She was a true friend, a big sister, a mother figure. For us to lose her at such an early time in our career was just a devastating blow.”
Blaque are now planning a string of US shows as a two-piece, as well as brand new music soon. “Twenty years ago, you had to have a major label behind you,” says Williams. “Now, artists are able to put their careers in their own hands. Shamari and I are really interested in taking the independent route.” In a career marked by label disputes and personal tragedy, Blaque have weathered the knocks and are ready to thrive again. “I wanna make sure that we continue to keep Natina’s legacy alive,” says DeVoe. “We’re doing this for Natina and Lisa.”
Natina Reed's life was cut short following a tragic accident. The singer and actress enjoyed a successful career in her short life and starred in several films, including Bring it On and Honey, per IMDb. However, fans also know Reed for her killer vocals and amazing rap skills, and she was a member of the '90s R&B group Blaque.
Blaque was basically a "kid-friendly" TLC (per The Guardian) with three members — Shamari DeVoe, Brandi Williams, and Reed. The popular group sold 1.5 million copies of their first album, and their second album titled Blaque Out! was also incredibly successful. The girl group also famously toured with NSYNC (which means they were pretty popular back in the day). According to Cheat Sheet, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes managed the group, and she was the one who discovered Reed as the two shared similar rap styles.
Reed was profoundly impacted when Lopes was killed in a car crash in Honduras in 2002. "Every night, me and Lisa would just laugh and talk about old memories. We lived together previously within the last three months right before my son was born," Reed told BET (via Cheat Sheet) after Lopes' death. "She was the kindest person on Earth... she took very good care of me while I was pregnant."
Little did Reed know that she would meet a similar fate just 10 years later. Keep scrolling for more details on the tragic accident that took the rapper's life.
Natina Reed passed away at just 32
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It's very eerie that just 10 years after Natina Reed's good friend, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, was killed in a car accident, Reed died in a similar fashion.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the singer died in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 2012. At the time, she was only 32 years old. Reed was crossing the street when a car struck her. The driver of the accident reportedly called 911 and stayed at the scene and "was determined to be not at fault and there are no charges pending," Atlanta police said. Several celebrities, including Bring It On co-star Gabrielle Union, took to social media after the accident to pay tribute to Reed.
Fellow Blaque members Shamari DeVoe and Brandi Williams released a gut-wrenching statement following their friend's death, per HuffPost. The women shared that they were "devastated" by the news, especially since they were working on a reunion that included an album and reality show at the time of Reed's death. "Natina continuously embodied the pioneering spirit of Blaque, and her undeniable creativity touched the hearts of fans everywhere," they wrote. "Natina was a mother, sister, accomplished songwriter, artist, and friend." The ladies asked fans for prayers for Reed's family and shared that her influence would live on forever. "We thank God for the experiences we shared."
The singer left behind a 10-year-old, Tren Brown, who she shared with Ricardo Brown, better known by his rap name Kurupt. According to BBC, the couple got engaged in 2001.