Music

Total consisted of three members: Kima, Keisha, and Pam. They released two charting albums while on Bad Boy Records in the 90s. Total was initially just two members.

Published on July 10, 2022

Sean “Diddy” Combs is responsible for some of the biggest acts in music. One of which is the R&B trio Total. The group was a staple on Bad Boy Records, having their own hits and major features that topped the charts. But had it been up to Pamela Long, she would not have initially been a part of the group.

Total was initially a duo before Pamela Long joined

The group first met during the early 90s. Their individual styles is what captured the audience’s attention. Kima Raynor was the member who dressed on the casual-chic, Keisha Spivey had a more sexy look, and Pamela Long was the tomboy one of the bunch.

“I come from the straight-up ghetto and that’s who I am. I hung out with guys my entire life, because I thought females were petty,” Long told The New York Daily News in 1996. “My brother (James) would let me hang out with him and he would school me on the ways of men. I love the way guys move and that’s how I learned how to dance. I always hated the way females danced too prissy.”

The group’s “prissy” style was actually what turned Long off. She first met her future group mates when they rehearsing as a duet in a studio near their hometown in Somerset. New Jersey. At the time, Long was a solo artist. When first approached with the idea to become a trip, Long admitted she said, “No way!” Thankfully, she quickly gave in. “But I learned I couldn’t judge someone from the outside,” she says. “And now look where we are.

The group had major success

Their success was nearly instantaneous with Bad Boy Records. They were the first act to be signed to the label, along with The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie) and Craig Mack. But it was something that the members say they didn’t know would happen as Diddy did not initially seem impressed.

“He asked us a few questions and then after we answered them, he was like, ‘You girls are really good. I wish you a lot of luck. Just stay together and don’t give up.’ We kind of felt a little bad when we left,” Spivey told ESSENCE. They received the phone call with a contract offer later the same night. 

The group released two albums: a self-titled album in 1996, and Kima, Keisha, Pam in 1998. They had a string of hits, including a feature on Mase’s “What You Want”, as well as their own with “Kissin’ You”, “Can’t You See” (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.), and “What About Us?” and “Trippin,’” the latter two both featuring Missy Elliott.

They split and reconciled for the Bad Boy Reunion Tour

After their second album, Spivey reportedly left the group. In a 2018 documentary following the Bad Boy Reunion Tour, Spivey admitted that the death of Biggie put a damper on things for her, seemingly as a contributing factor to her exit. She married Love & Basketball star Omar Epps and together they have three children. 

Long and Raynor continued performing the group’s hits as a duo until Spivey agreed to do the Bad Boy Reunion Tour. It would be Spivey’s final time with the group.

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