702 girl singer Irish Grinstead dies at 43: ‘She was as bright as the stars’
Irish Grinstead, who was a member of the girl group 702, has passed away at the age of 43. Her sister and fellow group member, Lemisha Grinstead, confirmed the sad news on Instagram on Saturday.
She wrote on Insta, “It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that my beautiful sister and friend has passed away this evening. She has had a long battle and she is finally at peace. That girl was as bright as the stars! She was not only beautiful on the outside, but also within. Sharing the stage with her was a joy I will cherish for the rest of my life! We, the family ask for prayers and respect for our privacy as we grieve an outstanding loss to our family.”
The cause of her death was not revealed, but the group announced in December that Irish was taking a “medical leave of absence due to serious medical issues.”
The group, which consisted of the Grinstead sisters and Kameelah Williams, was named after the area code of their hometown, Las Vegas.
They debuted in 1996 with their album No Doubt, which included singles like ‘Steelo,’ which also served as the theme song for Nickelodeon’s TV show Cousin Skeeter.
Their second album, 702, came out in 1999 and featured the hit song ‘Where My Girls At.’
The girl group went through some changes when Williams left temporarily and was replaced by Cree La’More. They released their single ‘Pootie Tangin’ for the soundtrack of the Chris Rock movie Pootie Tang, and then Williams rejoined the group.
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Their third album, Star, followed, which had the single ‘I Still Love You.’
The group took a break in 2006 and did not reunite until 2021, when the Grinstead sisters appeared in the reality show BET Presents: The Encore, which followed nine former girl-group members as they tried to form a supergroup and make an album in 30 days.
During their career, 702 was nominated for an American Music Award, a BET Award, and several Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. They won best R&B/soul album of the year by a group, band or duo for No Doubt.
