Total (group)

This article is about the R&B girl group. For the British experimental musician, see Matthew Bower.

Total
Genres	R&B, Hip hop soul
Years active	1994–2000
Labels	Bad Boy/Arista
Past members
Kima Raynor Keisha Spivey Pam Long

Total was an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records imprint during the 1990s.

Emergence & Total

New Jersey R&B trio Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy". Garnering attention for the new group, they were also featured on the original version and "Hip Hop Remix" of his next single "One More Chance". They then immediately hit the studio with Bad Boy Records CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs and began work on their debut album. The first single "Can't You See?" first appeared on the soundtrack to 1995 motion picture "Bad Boys" starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The song featured The Notorious B.I.G. and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #2 on the R&B Charts. Their self-titled debut album was released nearly a year after the single. Total produced two more R&B top ten singles, "No One Else" (and its remix featuring Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Da Brat) and '"Kissing You" (and its remix featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Guest Appearances & Kima, Keisha, and Pam

While recording their second album, they appeared on numerous top ten singles, including LL Cool J's "Loungin'/Who Do U Love?", Foxy Brown's "I Can't", and Mase's "What You Want" and Pam sang the chorus to the massive "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G.. The group also released another single, the Missy Elliott and Timbaland track "What About Us" from the Soul Food soundtrack.

Their follow-up album, Kima, Keisha, and Pam, debuted to strong reviews, sales, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The first single, another Missy Elliott collaboration, "Trippin'", reached the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their next release, "Sitting Home", which made Top 10 of the Billboard R&B Singles didn't garner the same attention. While in heavy rotation on video networks like BET, radio chose not to play the song. A remix of the track featured rap artist Shyne. A third single was rumored, yet never surfaced.

Return of the Bad Girls?

After the release of Kima, Keisha, and Pam, the girls sang the chorus to rap duo Gang Starr's 1999 single "Discipline" and in 2000 they were featured on the Tony Touch single "(I Wonder Why) He's the Greatest DJ". They also contributed to the songs"Crave" to 3 Strikes (film) and the songs "Quick Rush" to ""Bait (film) movie soundtracks.

In their last official appearance together, they were thanked in the credits for their collaboration with Da Beatminerz and Talib Kweli - Anti-Love Movement in 2001.

Currently

• Keisha Spivey married actor Omar Epps in 2006 and is living in California. They have daughter K'marie Epps (July 2004) and son Amir Epps (Dec 2007) together; as well as Omar's daughter Aiyanna Epps from a previous relationship.

• Pamela Long still lives in New Jersey. She is also a member of Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway. Pam is also working on a new album project entitled "Undeniable" coming out this year 2012. Her website is www.pamelalongonline.com

• A track by Kima featuring her sister, rapper Vita, called "What U Want", also recently leaked.

• As of 2008, Total have no interest in pursuing to reband.

Discography

Main article: Total discography

Videography

• From Total (1996)
  • No One Else
  • No One Else (Puff Daddy Remix)
  • Kissin' You
  • Kissin' You / Oh Honey
  • Can't You See
  • Can't You See (Bad Boy Remix)
  • Do You Think About Us
• From Kima, Keisha, and Pam (1998)
  • Trippin'
  • Sitting Home
• From Soul Food (soundtrack) (1997)
  • What About Us? (1997)
• As Guest Artists
  • LL Cool J - Loungin' (Who Do U Love?) (1995)
  • Mase - What You Want (1997)
  • Foxy Brown - I Can't (1998)
  • Tony Touch - I Wonder Why (He's The Greatest DJ) (2000)
• Cameos
  • Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear (Remix) (Keisha from Total) (1994)
  • The Notorious B.I.G. - One More Chance/Stay With Me (1994)
  • Soul For Real - Every Little Thing I Do (1995)
  • 112 - Only You - Bad Boy Remix (Keisha from Total) (1996)
  • Missy Elliott - The Rain (Supa Supa Fly) (1997)
  • Jerome - Too Old For Me (Keisha from Total) (1997)
  • Lil' Kim - Not Tonight (Remix) (1997)
  • The Lox - We'll Always Love Big Poppa (1998)
  • The Bad Boy Family - You (2001) [Featuring Pam & Keisha]