Natina Reed

Natina Tiawana Reed (October 28, 1980 – October 26, 2012) was an American singer, rapper and actress. She was born in Queens and raised in Atlanta, where she pursued a career in music beginning in her early teens. Discovered by rapper Lisa Lopes, she worked as a writer for the girl group TLC. Reed gained notice in the late 1990s as a member of the girl group Blaque. They released two albums: their 1999 debut album Blaque that peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200, and Blaque Out.

Reed starred as a cheerleader in the 2000 teen comedy film Bring It On. She later appeared as herself in the comedy-drama television series V.I.P. and the 2003 dance film Honey. Blaque disbanded after an unsuccessful transition to Elektra in 2003 and failed an attempt at a reunion in 2010. Reed took a hiatus from music to further pursue acting. In the early 2000s, she was engaged to rapper Kurupt and gave birth to their son. On October 26, 2012, Reed died after being struck by a car near Lilburn, Georgia.

Life and career 1980–1996: Early life and career beginnings Reed was born on October 28, 1980, in Queens, to Paul Reed, a reverend, and Tamara Goodridge. The family moved to Atlanta, when Reed was age four. She had two sisters, Niesha and Genni Reed, and one brother, Michael Whalen. Her parents divorced, resulting in Reed having a stepfather, Mark Goodridge, a stepmother, Luci Reed, and seven step-siblings who live in London. Reed initially wanted to be either Miss America, a veterinarian, an actress, and entertainment attorney. By age eight, she had modeled for Macy's and Bloomingdale's advertising campaigns and acted in a hot dog commercial. Reed also wrote poems and jingles, with one being purchased by Sprite. and hired her to write for TLC. and worked together on other music projects including an urban country group. They had met Williams during an audition for Lopes' production company Left Eye Productions. and media outlets identified Reed as Lopes' protégé. Reed explained Blaque's sound and style: "The vibe we want to get across that we're universal. We're not just urban and R&B." In 1999, they performed as the opening act for NSYNC's NSYNC in Concert and TLC's FanMail Tour.

The group recorded their first album Blaque with producer Dallas Austin in a Miami studio. They also worked on the record at Lenny Kravitz's home for two weeks. The trio collaborated with rappers Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah during the recording sessions. Her tracks were published through Dotted Line (Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)). while Bruce Britt of BMI characterized her musical style as "brash hip-hop rhymes". In her 2008 book Pop Princesses, author Beth Peters wrote that Reed's reputation was "notoriously naughty" and "wild, fiery, and feisty". Blaque peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200; on April 10, 2000, the album was certified platinum and had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was promoted through three singles: "808", "Bring It All to Me", and "I Do". The first two tracks charted at number eight and five on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. On June 2, 1999, "808" was certified gold for selling over 500,000 copies worldwide. A writer for BET noted the group's music videos had a "futuristic feel", and Reed said: "We're straight out of the year 2080."

2000–2002: Bring It On and continuing music career Reed played cheerleader Jenelope in the 2000 teen comedy film Bring It On, her first acting role. She described the character as "the one with the attitude" and "ghetto and cute at the same time". Reed, Williams and Fears would often look into the camera when delivering their lines, because of their lack of acting experience. On the 15th anniversary of its release, Union said that people erroneously associate Reed's lines ("Can we just beat these Buffys down?" and "You been touched by an angel, girl") with her character.

Reed appeared as herself in a 2001 episode of the comedy-drama television series V.I.P. The same year, she was featured on the hook for her then-fiancée Kurupt's single "It's Over" from his third studio album Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey, and appeared in its music video flirting with him. Jazmin Perez of Vibe included it as one of the "tracks to watch", "It's Over" peaked at number 88 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Billboard chart. Blaque was featured on the song "Head to the Sky" on Lopes' debut solo album Supernova also released in 2001.

On January 29, 2002, Blaque's second studio album Blaque Out was released only in Japan. It was made available temporarily for digital download in 2007 in the United States and was reissued in 2011. and promoted with a music video. The song charted at number 91 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Reed felt that Blaque Out was the group's best album. In a review of Blaque Out, Demetria Lucas of Vibe criticized Reed's verses and vocals as too similar to Lopes and wrote it "makes for monotony". Blaque made a cameo appearance in the music video for Jermaine Dupri's single "Welcome to Atlanta" (2002). In the same year, Reed's song "Rock Climber" was featured on the compilation album Dragonfly Presents a Better Life Through Chemistry.

2003–2012: Career setbacks and hiatus In 2003, Blaque recorded a third album Torch with Elektra, which was never released. The group worked closely with Missy Elliott on five of the album's tracks. Scheduled for release in August 2003, it was promoted with the single "Ugly" featuring verses by Elliott.

In 2004, Blaque contributed the single "I'm Good" to the soundtrack album for the 2003 dance film Honey, "I'm Good" was Blaque's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 95 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A compilation album Blaque by Popular Demand was released on February 27, 2007.

Reed said that she took a hiatus from her music career "to focus on other aspirations that she ha including acting". After Torch was not released, Reed refused to record secular music and pursued gospel music instead. In 2008, she appeared as herself in the television film Til 6 in the Morning by Platinum Souls. The online magazine Bossip reported that Reed was arrested on April 13, 2010, in Gwinnett County on charges of prostitution, disorderly conduct, and cocaine possession; this news was picked up by other outlets. Reed's management denied the arrest report, saying that the alleged mugshots were photoshopped by someone who had previously hacked into and deleted Reed's Twitter account. (Reed's charges are not listed on the websites for the Gwinnett County Courts or the Gwinnett County Jail.) and was jailed for two days. The album was abandoned because the members had different priorities. Reed had reunited previously with the Blaque group members for a performance at the Left Eye festival. They had planned to be married in the spring of 2001, and rescheduled it to 2002 or 2003 due to conflicts with their work schedules. Reed responded to MTV News:

You can't chase something that doesn't chase you back [...] I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what people think about me. It's petty — it's like people never grow up in this game. You watch Biggie and all that shit that [he] and Pac went through, and people still don't get the message. They still want to start the wars and create fires. Reed's father said that being a mother was "one of her most treasured roles". Tren, who had lived with Kurupt for four years before Reed's death, remained with his father. Reed's father said he planned to raise money to help Tren.

Death On October 26, 2012, the driver of a red Honda Accord struck Reed on the Lawrenceville Highway near Hamilton Road north of Lilburn, Georgia. The driver and the passenger attempted CPR, but Reed was pronounced dead at the Gwinnett Medical Center at 10:59 p.m. (EDT). The Gwinnett County police said that the driver "was determined to be not at fault and there are no charges pending", and they started an investigation into the crash to determine why Reed was in the road. At the time of her death, Reed was living in the StudioPlus Atlanta Peachtree Corners extended stay hotel in Norcross, Georgia. (Reed's mother said that she was living in a hotel during the process of moving into a new home.) Prior to the service, Reed's parents held a press conference in Atlanta to criticize the police investigation. According to their attorney, the police had ignored their requests for information about "the time of incident, exact location, information about the driver and even Reed's personal belongings". Police released a report an hour after the conference was scheduled, responding that "they did not hold back any information". at the 2000 ceremony, they were also nominated for R&B/Soul Album Of The Year, Group, Band Or Duo. "I Do" was nominated for Best Editing In A Video at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, and the group won Best New Artist-R&B at the 2000 Billboard Video Awards for "Bring It All To Me". The group was nominated for Best Female Group at the 2001 BET Awards.

Discography

Singles Year Title Album 2001 "It's Over" Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey

Filmography + List of film and television roles Title Year Medium Role Notes Bring It On 2000 Feature film Jenelope Film debut V.I.P. 2001 TV seriesHerself Episode: "Kayus Ex Machina" Honey 2003 Feature film Cameo appearance Til 6 in the Morning by Platinum Souls 2008 Television film

+ List of music video appearances Title Year Artist "Not Tonight" 1997 Lil' Kim "Welcome To Atlanta" 2001 Ludacris "It's Over" 2001 Kurupt