Blaque

In 1994, Shamari Fears formed her first girl group with a rotation of members, including Atlanta high school classmate Natina Reed.

[5] They soon met a producer, who was looking for an urban country singing act and took them under his wings,[5] naming the four member band Buutz.

[5] Still in training, Reed left the group a year later, after her father Paul, a reverend, no longer agreed with his daughter performing non-religious and secular music.

[5] Lopes, the co-owner of a production company named Blaque House, agreed to manage her and hired Reed to write for his sister's band TLC.

[5] In hopes of securing the trio a jump start to their career, Lopes looked to his sister who began mentoring the group and arranged demo recordings and photo shootings for them.

[5] Six months after their formation, Left Eye had them audition for Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola who offered Blaque a deal with Columbia Records.

[5] Fast-tracking the production of their debut album, Columbia Records set up recording sessions with several producers for the trio, with Jean-Claude Olivier and Samuel Barnes from hip hop production duo Trackmasters eventually emerging as the album's executive producer alongside Left Eye and Cory Rooney.

[8] In 2000, the group starred as cheerleaders in the film Bring It On and went to the studio and recorded the Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche song "As If" for the soundtrack that same year.

Shortly after, the group contracted with artist manager Inga "Nandi" Willis, and started working on an album and a reality television show.

[13] Blaque's intended third album, Torch, featured Missy Elliott, songwriter Linda Perry, and producer Rodney Jerkins.

In addition to being in music, Reed, Fears, and Williams appeared in the 2000 film Bring It On as members of the East Compton Clovers cheerleading squad, fronted by Gabrielle Union.

Blaque appears on Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's 2001 solo debut album, Supernova, on the track titled "Head to the Sky", which was only released internationally.