Watch 702 Perform on ‘BET HER LIVE! Hosted by Yo-Yo’
Treated to a standing room only performance of their 1999 classic “Where My Girls At,” 702 members LeMisha Grinstead Fields and Kameelah Williams rocked the “BET Her LIVE! Hosted by Yo-Yo” stage in their native Las Vegas to discuss their legendary career.
While the original group included Fields’ twin sisters, Irish and Orish Grinstead, Williams joined the group after Irish left. Orish’s passing from kidney failure at 27 in 2008 left the group stunned. Fields and Williams said they felt blessed to have had an impact on the world and to still have fans who love their music.
The group released three albums and opened for and toured with hitmakers like New Edition, Keith Sweat, and Brandy. Among their successes, there were moments when the challenges of being in a girl group became overwhelming. “There’s a negative connotation and a stigma [associated] with being in a girl group, and we weren’t exempt,” Williams noted. “We definitely went through some things.”
RELATED: 702 - "Where My Girls At?"
And when Yo-Yo asked for their opinions on the hyper-sexualization label often bestowed on today’s hip hop artists, they both thought otherwise. “For me, I’m a mother, I’m a grandmother now, I’m a wife... [there’s] just certain lines, I won’t cross those boundaries out of respect for my husband, out of respect for myself,” Fields noted. Williams said she’s struck by how different the music of girl groups is today versus when 702 first launched. “Sex sells,” she said. “It seems like it’s all about image now. When we were coming up, it was all about the vocals, and the talent.”
To close their Las Vegas set, 702 rocked the crowd with their 1996 hit “Steelo.”
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, here are five things to know about the ladies of 702.
SINBAD HELPED 702 GET THEIR START
While singing in the lobby of Caesars Palace, comedian Sinbad spotted the talented sisters LeMisha and Irish. He convinced their parents to send the girls to Atlanta for a music competition, where they wowed super producer and New Edition member Michael Bivens. Sinbad suggested the girls call themselves Sweeta Than Suga, but Bivens renamed the group 702 after their Las Vegas area code.
THEY WRITE FOR GRAMMY WINNERS
The ladies are still making their mark on the music industry. Fields revealed to Yo-Yo that she penned Jhene Aiko’s first song on the Barbershop soundtrack (“Sneaky” performer with Lil’ Fizz). Williams has written for both Faith Evans and Macy Gray while also writing songs for a solo album. When Yo-Yo asked if it was difficult to write songs, Williams was adamant: “Now that I’m a woman of a certain age, I actually have life that I’ve lived, I can write these stories. It’s a lot easier for me now to write what I’ve been through and not just sing like a demo.”
LEMISHA HAS NFL SWAG
LeMisha Fields’ son, Tony Fields II is a six foot, 222lbs. linebacker who plays professional football for the Cleveland Browns.
702 SIGNED WITH A MODELING AGENCY
When they first started out as a group, 702 also signed a deal with Wilhelmina Models in 1999.
702 BECAME MUST SEE TV
In 2021, Irish and LeMisha joined the reality show BET Presents: The Encore (alongside members of other R&B groups like Total, Danity Kane, 3LW, Blaque, and Cherish) to record a supergroup album in 30 days.
Watch 702 perform on “BET Her Live! Hosted by Yo-Yo” and look for this and other episodes of the series featuring Lil Mo, MC Lyte, and Da Brat.
