Natina Tiawana Reed (October 28, 1980 – October 26, 2012) was an American singer, rapper and actress. She was born in New York City and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, 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 eponymous debut album that peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200, and Blaque Out (2001).
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, just 2 days before her 32nd birthday, 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, New York, to Paul Reed, a reverend, and Tamara Goodridge. The family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, 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. She was singer Farrah Franklin's cousin. 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 played drums at her father's church and performed as part of its drama ministry. She would often beatbox and create beats by hitting walls while writing lyrics to match the melodies. Reed also wrote poems and jingles, with one being purchased by Sprite. Around the ages of 13 or 14, she submitted a song for a competition and won; Reed said that after this experience, she had tried to be more open about her songwriting and allow other people to hear her work. Lisa Lopes discovered Reed through her talent scout brother, and hired her to write for TLC. Reed said that Lopes helped to build her confidence. Following the encouragement of Tommy Mottola, Reed worked as "the official writer" for TLC. She attended Cedar Grove High School.
1997–1999: Blaque
Lopes created the girl group Blaque, an acronym for Believe, Life, Achieving, Quest, Unity and Everything, as "an outlet" for Reed. The group included singers Shamari Fears and Brandi Williams; Lopes described Reed as the rapper and writer of the trio. Reed and Fears were school friends, 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. Reed was 19 when Left Eye Productions signed the trio. Lopes mentored and managed the trio 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." According to Billboard, Blaque's music contains elements of R&B, pop music, and rap music. Jean-Claude Olivier of Trackmasters said that Blaque was more pop in comparison to TLC. Blaque first appeared as a group during a cameo appearance in the music videos for the remix of Lil' Kim's 1997 single "Not Tonight" and Jermaine Dupri's 1998 song "Someday at Christmas". In 1999, they performed as the opening act for NSYNC's NSYNC in Concert and TLC's FanMail Tour.
The group recorded their eponymous debut album 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. Reed was the primary writer for Blaque, having co-writing credits on seven of the album's 14 tracks; "I Do" was written entirely by Reed. Her tracks were published through Dotted Line (Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)). A Los Angeles Sentinel writer identified Reed as "the sassy MC who gave hits like '808' their punch", 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".