Total (group)

For other uses, see Lox (disambiguation).

Total
Origin	Newark, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1994–1998
Labels	Bad Boy (1994–1998)
Associated acts	LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., Mase, Black Rob, Swizz Beatz, Puff Daddy
Past members	Kima Raynor Keisha Spivey Pamela Long

Total was a former American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records imprint during the 1990s. The group consisted of members Kima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pamela Long. Total is best known for their hits "What You Want" (Featuring Mase), "Kissing You", "Can't You See" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.), and "What About Us?" & "Trippin'", both featuring Missy Elliott. Long also featured on The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit song "Hypnotize", singing the chorus.

Career

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 "New Jersey Drive". 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 Chart. Their self-titled debut album was released nearly a year after the single. Total produced two more R&B top ten singles including: "No One Else" (and its remix featuring Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and Da Brat) and '"Kissing You" (and its remix featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

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 Pamela Long was the feature on the massive hit "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 did not 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.

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 and the songs "Quick Rush" to Bait movie soundtrack.

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 from their album Brace 4 Impak.

On November 30, 2014, Total sang the chorus, originally sang by Elliott, of "Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)" along with Lil' Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, & Left Eye via video at the 2014 Soul Train Music Awards. Angie Martinez was the only one on the song who did not perform. In May 2015 TOTAL toured with R.Kelly, on the Funk Fest. All shows where sold out.

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]