Irish Grinstead, a member of the ’90s woman group 702, has handed away on the age of 43. Her sister, Lemisha Grinstead, made the announcement on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Lemisha posted the heartfelt caption on Instagram, “It’s with nice disappointment that I’ve to let you realize that my lovely sister and buddy has handed away this night.”
“She has had an extended battle and he or she is lastly at peace. That woman was as vivid as the celebrities! She was not solely lovely on the surface, but in addition inside,” Lemisha wrote. “Sharing the stage along with her was a pleasure I’ll cherish for the remainder of my life! We, the household, ask for prayers and respect for our privateness as we grieve an excellent loss to our household.”
Fellow group member Kameelah Williams penned her personal touching tribute on Instagram, noting how “devastated” and “heartbroken” she is.
“I struggled with this put up as a result of to me this isn’t actual. There’s quite a bit I wish to say, however there’s no option to say what your coronary heart hasn’t totally accepted. It’s laborious to acknowledge that is even occurring,” she wrote.
“I do know you’re feeling higher now and hugging your twin Orish which makes me smile cus I understand how a lot you missed her. You & I’ve identified one another since we have been children and we’ve laughed, cried, celebrated, and all the things in between which is why I simply don’t wish to imagine this. You’ll all the time be my “IBG” & I nonetheless love you my perpetually lil sis!!! Relaxation straightforward.”
No reason behind dying has been offered but.
In 1995, music mogul Mike Bivins launched followers to the unique 4 members of the group on a lower known as, “This Lil’ Recreation We Play.” The music was a duet together with his different group, Subway.
The group’s debut album “No Doubt” dropped in 1996. It featured the one “Steelo,” which was used because the theme music for Nickelodeon’s “Cousin Skeeter” and went gold, promoting greater than 500,000 copies in a single 12 months. The album additionally received the Greatest R&B/Soul Album of the 12 months by a Group, Band, or Duo on the Soul Practice Woman of Soul Awards for that 12 months.
Their second album, “702,” was launched three years later and included the hit “The place My Women At,” and went platinum, based on RatedRnB.
Over the group’s profession, the three girls earned nominations for one American Music Award, one BET Award, and 5 Soul Practice Woman of Soul Awards.
The group went on a hiatus in 2006, based on The Hollywood Reporter. Nonetheless, the 2 sisters went on to look within the 2021 actuality sequence, “BET Presents: The Encore,” the place all of them lived in a home with different girls from woman teams (The Cheetah Women, Danity Kane, 3LW, Blaque) to type a supergroup and album in 30 days.
In December 2022 the group introduced that Irish was taking a “medical go away of absence because of critical medical points,” and that they hoped she would “have a wholesome and speedy restoration.”
Followers observed Irish was lacking from the Membership Quarantine Dwell with D-Good at Carnegie Corridor on Wednesday, July 12.
Her transition got here as a shock to lots of her celeb pals, who took to social media to ship their condolences to Lemisha and her household.
One of many group’s fundamental producers, Missy Elliott, wrote, “Multitude of Prayers for your loved ones.”
Rapper Da Brat additionally wrote, “I’m so sorry. Right here if yawl want ANYTHING.”
Tamar Braxton posted 9 damaged coronary heart emojis and wrote, “Sister I’m so sorry.”
Irish Could your lovely soul Relaxation Peacefully within the arms of the Lord🕊️ A Multitude of prayers for your complete Grinstead household🙏🏾🕊️💔#702 pic.twitter.com/Vfqbwfzxqj
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) September 17, 2023
SWV, as a bunch, wrote, “So sorry to your loss. Could she RIP,” with Coco individually posting a coronary heart and prayer arms and Taj writing that she was sorry additionally.
Irish’s dying comes 15 years after her twin Orish’s passing in 2008. She too was a member of 702 as a founding member, and her dying was because of kidney failure.
Irish spoke on her sister’s passing on the Encore actuality present. Whereas opening up about it, she stated, “It was laborious for me to carry that in for therefore lengthy, and it was sort of relieving to have the ability to discuss it and to lastly let it out my coronary heart.”
