702
In its original form, 702 was comprised of the Grinstead sisters, LeMisha, Irish and Orish. While students at Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas, the girls would go to the lobby of Caesars Palace during boxing matches and sing. During one such performance, the girls caught the attention of actor/comedian Sinbad, who visited the sisters family and convinced them to help the girls get a music gig.
Sinbad set the girls of 702 up in a music competition in Atlanta, Georgia where they went by the name "Sweeta than Suga," a name Sinbad bestowed upon the girls. At the conference, the girls performed before Michael Bivins of Bell Biv DeVoe who agreed to work with the girls. He changed the girls name to 702 after Las Vegas area code and the group expanded to a quartet, adding the girls' cousin Amelia to their line-up. However, this four girl roster did not last long, only appearing on Subway's track "This Lil' Game We Play." Following the track, Amelia left the group and was replaced by their good friend, Kameelah Williams.
The new quartet recorded several demos together including the tracks "Steelo" and "Get It Together." However, Orish decided to leave the group around this time. After Orish left, the girls released their debut album, No Doubt, in 1996. 'Steelo,' the album's first single, was the theme song on the Nickelodeon television show, Cousin Skeeter, and reached #12 on the R&B charts and #32 on the Hot 100. The album's second single, 'All I Want' was featured in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger. The group's biggest hit from the album was 'Get It Together' which reached #3 on the R&B charts and #10 on the Hot 100. Through the success of the album's singles, it managed to go platinum.
The girls released their second album, 702 in 1999. It had strong early success, largely credited to its single 'Where My Girls At?' The song performed strongly on the charts, making it to #4 on the Hot 100. Despite the poor performance of the album's other singles, the album managed to go platinum. Following the release of the album, Kameelah left the group in pursuit of a solo career and began to work closely with Faith Evans.
In 2003, the group reunited to release their last album together, Star. However, with poor sales, the girls decided to go their separate ways.
The three sisters, Irish, LeMisha and Orish came back together and sought to put out another album together in 2006. However, Orish tragically died on April 20, 2008 of kidney failure when she was 27 years old. She had been ill for quite some time and was also suffering from cancer that had yet to be treated.