Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album
''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's debut included the platinum-selling lead single "
808 808 may refer to:
Music
* Roland-808, Roland TR-808, a drum machine
* 808 (film), ''808'' (film), a documentary about the Roland TR-808
* 808 State, British electronic group
* ''808s & Heartbreak'', the fourth studio album by American Hip hop artis ...
", a second single, "
I Do
I Do may refer to:
* "I do", a phrase used in some marriage vows; used by brides and grooms in response to questions posed by either the officiant or the other marriage partner
Film and TV Film
* ''I Do'' (1921 film), a silent comedic short f ...
", and the international pop hit "
Bring It All to Me
"Bring It All to Me" is a song performed by American R&B girl group Blaque. The song samples Shalamar's "I Don't Wanna Be the Last to Know". The remix and album version of the song features JC Chasez of boy band *NSYNC but is credited to the g ...
". In 1999, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' named Blaque the 4th Best New Artist of the year, with "Bring It All to Me" landing at number 30 on the 2000 Year End Chart.
In 2002 and 2003, the group released three less successful singles, "
Can't Get It Back
"Can't Get It Back" is a song by American recording group Blaque. It was written by Salaam Remi, Marlon Williams, and Hernst "StayBent" Bellevue, and band member Natina Reed for the group's second album, '' Blaque Out'' (2002). Production was he ...
", "Ugly", and "I'm Good", the latter appearing in the film
''Honey''.
Blaque worked on two unreleased albums in the mid-to-late 2000s before their disbandment in 2008. The group attempted a comeback in 2012, but it was cut short by
Natina Reed's accidental death. In 2019, Blaque's intended third album ''Torch'' was released under the label Blaque/The Move Entertainment.
Discovery
Natina Reed and
Shamari Fears
Shamari DeVoe ( Fears; born February 22, 1980) is an American singer. She is best known as the lead singer in the pop/R&B girl group Blaque. She also starred in the reality television series '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta''.
Early life
DeVo ...
both moved to
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, and met while in high school. Reed formed Blaque while Fears formed another group called Intrigue. Intrigue won a recording contract with
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
, and Fears met up with Brandi Williams at a talent show while a member of that group. Fears left Intrigue to join up with Reed in Blaque 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
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...
of
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
. Lisa Lopes signed the group to her production company, Left Eye Productions.
Blaque has said that their name means "Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest for Unity in Everything".
Music career
1997–2000: Debut
In 1997, the group made a cameo appearance in the video
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include:
*
*
*
*
* better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...
's "
Not Tonight (Remix)".
Their
self-titled debut debuted at number 23 on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number 53 on the official
''Billboard'' 200 and was certified platinum by
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. The album's lead single "
808 808 may refer to:
Music
* Roland-808, Roland TR-808, a drum machine
* 808 (film), ''808'' (film), a documentary about the Roland TR-808
* 808 State, British electronic group
* ''808s & Heartbreak'', the fourth studio album by American Hip hop artis ...
" was a success in the U.S. reaching number 8 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and earning Gold certification. The follow-up single "
I Do
I Do may refer to:
* "I do", a phrase used in some marriage vows; used by brides and grooms in response to questions posed by either the officiant or the other marriage partner
Film and TV Film
* ''I Do'' (1921 film), a silent comedic short f ...
" was not a success like the previous singles, reaching number 73 on the R&B/Hip-Hop single chart. The music video for "I Do" was nominated for a
MTV Video Music Award
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
for Best Editing. The last single "
Bring It All To Me
"Bring It All to Me" is a song performed by American R&B girl group Blaque. The song samples Shalamar's "I Don't Wanna Be the Last to Know". The remix and album version of the song features JC Chasez of boy band *NSYNC but is credited to the g ...
", which featured
JC Chasez
Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez (; born August 8, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and occasional actor. He started out his career as a cast member on '' The Mickey Mouse Club'' before rising to stardom with NSYNC, and ...
, was a hit song that made the number 5 position on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and topped the
Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to:
* Related to rhythm
* Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics
* Rhythmic (chart)
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...
charts in late 1999 to early 2000 for six weeks.
In mid-1999, Blaque toured as one of the opening acts for
boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...
'N Sync. Blaque also performed as one of the opening acts for
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's
FanMail Tour
The FanMail Tour is the debut headlining tour by American group TLC. The tour support their third studio album, ''FanMail''. The tour visited North America with dates later planned for Japan and Europe. However, the international dates after the ...
later that year.
In 2000, the group starred as cheerleaders in the film ''
Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:
Books
* ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson
* ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung
Film and stage
* ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...
'' and went to the studio and recorded the
Shelly Peiken and
Guy Roche
Guy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which are " What a Girl Wants", " I Turn to You", and " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". He also co-w ...
song "As If" for the soundtrack that same year.
A remixed version of the Blaque song "Bring It All To Me" appeared in the film, with added rapping by
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
.
2001–2002: ''Blaque Out''
While their self-titled debut album went platinum, the second album called ''
Blaque Out'', which was set for release in 2001, was shelved as the group was dropped from
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
for unknown reasons. The video for the first single "
Can't Get It Back
"Can't Get It Back" is a song by American recording group Blaque. It was written by Salaam Remi, Marlon Williams, and Hernst "StayBent" Bellevue, and band member Natina Reed for the group's second album, '' Blaque Out'' (2002). Production was he ...
" was never released. The album was soon leaked on the Internet. After
Lopes
Lopes is a surname of Portuguese origin. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning ''Son of Lopo'', itself being derived from Latin ''lupus'', meaning ''wolf''. Its Spanish equivalent is ''López'', its Italian equivalent is '' Lupo'', its French e ...
's death in a car crash in
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
on April 25, 2002, the group signed with
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
. They began work on their third album after Reed gave birth to a son. An alternate version of the shelved album was released to
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on May 22, 2007, but was later taken down. In December 2011, ''
Blaque Out'' was released back onto iTunes.
2005–2012: Reunion, Reed's death
Fears was signed to Darkchild Records in 2005. Williams also signed a new record deal and started working on a solo album. She also provided vocals on the hook of
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
's single "
Grillz
"Grillz" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring fellow American rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, and uncredited vocals from American singer Brandi Williams (of the group Blaque). The song was written by Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Paul Wall, A ...
".
In 2005, Blaque came back together to record their studio album ''Private Show'' (originally titled ''Beauty''). They worked on the album sporadically from 2005 to 2009. Blaque agreed to film a show ''Blaque In the House'' set to air in the summer of 2008; however, the show was never picked up, and the album went unreleased. Blaque released four songs on YouTube: "Cut You Off", "All Nighter", "Blue Jeans" and "High Definition" before they decided to disband.
On July 28, 2012, Blaque reunited for the Left Eye Music Festival in
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...
. At the event, Blaque performed their single "808". Shortly after, the group contracted with artist manager Inga "Nandi" Willis, and started working on an album and a reality television show.
On October 26, 2012, Reed died after being hit by a car near
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. The group broke up shortly after her death. Two days later, "Cut You Off", a song intended for the album, leaked via the internet.
2003–2019: ''Torch'', change in lineup
Blaque's intended third album, ''Torch'', featured
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
, songwriter
Linda Perry
Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for ...
, and producer
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...
. The intended single "Blackout" was derided as a "rip-off" of
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
's song "
In da Club
"In da Club" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). Written by 50 Cent alongside producers Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, the song, which uses an unconventional off-beat rhythm, was rel ...
".
"I'm Good" appeared on the soundtrack for the 2003 film ''
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
''.
''Torch'' was scheduled to be released exclusively to
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
in 2008, nearly five years after its completion by Music World Entertainment, but this was canceled. It has been confirmed that
Mathew Knowles
Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyonc ...
owns the rights to the albums ''Torch'' and ''Blaque Out''.
On May 31, 2019, Blaque released ''Torch'' under the label Blaque/The Move Entertainment.
Other media
In addition to their recording work, Reed, Fears, and Williams appeared in the 2000 film ''
Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:
Books
* ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson
* ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung
Film and stage
* ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...
'' as members of the East Compton Clovers cheerleading squad, fronted by
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
.
Williams also had a small role (playing herself) in the 2001 movie ''
On the Line''. Blaque also appears on Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's 2001 solo debut album, ''
Supernova
A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or when ...
'', on the track titled "Head to the Sky", which was only released internationally. In 2005, two clips of Fears's solo songs titled "The One" and "NJ2" were leaked onto the internet.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Compilations
* 2007: ''
Blaque by Popular Demand''
Other appearances
Tours
*
NSYNC in Concert (1999)
* TLC:
FanMail Tour
The FanMail Tour is the debut headlining tour by American group TLC. The tour support their third studio album, ''FanMail''. The tour visited North America with dates later planned for Japan and Europe. However, the international dates after the ...
(1999)
Awards and nominations
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards
Billboard Video Awards
Filmography
Films
*1999: ''
Soul Train
''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...
'' (cameo)
*1999: ''
Motown Live
Motown Live is an American television series showcasing live performances by music artists in the areas of rhythm & blues, hip hop, and popular music. The show had 13 episodes from 1998-1999.
The show was hosted by Robert Townsend and Montell J ...
'' (cameo)
*2000: ''
Bring It On Bring It On may refer to:
Books
* ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson
* ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung
Film and stage
* ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...
''
*2000: ''
All That
''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...
'' (cameo)
*2000: ''Disney's 2 Hour Tour'' (cameo)
*2002: ''
V.I.P.'' (cameo)
*2003: ''
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
'' (cameo)
*2020: ''
Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta'' (cameo)
Notes
References
External links
Blaqueon Facebook
Blaqueon Twitter
{{Authority control
American contemporary R&B musical groups
Musical groups reestablished in 2019
Musical groups reestablished in 2012
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
American pop music groups
Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state)
African-American girl groups
American musical trios
American pop girl groups