Kandi Burruss Recalls the Highs & Lows of Xscape

The #RHOA star reveals secrets from her chart-topping stint in the legendary '90s girl group.

By Jocelyn Vena Jul 9, 2015, 9:01 AM ET

As the legend goes, before Kandi Burruss was one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta she was one of the members of girl group Xscape. And as it turns out, being in a girl group can bring almost as much shade and tea-spilling as does appearing on RHOA. Kandi recalled her '90s days on TV Ones's Unsung, which aired Wednesday (July 8). Missed it? Well, find out some of the secrets from Kandi's '90s days.

How to Watch

Watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Peacock and the Bravo App.

1. Not tough enough?

Kandi wasn't thug enough in the beginning, according to mentor Jermaine Dupri. "He didnt feel like I was hood enough at the time," she said. "So he wanted me to get a nose piercing and he wanted me to have a tatoo. It didn't happen."

2. She had priorities.

At the time, she may have been in a high-demand girl group touring with fellow R&B star R. Kelly, but she was also focused on getting her high school diploma — which meant that she brought her homework with her. "I was still in high school at the time," she recalled. "I was determined that I was gonna finish school and graduate with my class. So while we were on the road, the rest of the girls was able to kick it, chill, have fun after the shows. But I had to do work."

3. So. Much. Drama.

In addition to balancing work and school, the group had to deal with real issues, including rotating members, an unexpected pregnancy for Tamika Scott, and the struggle with their hard, hip-hop flavored image. "One of the things that we were dealing with at [record label] So So Def, with Xscape was an image problem," explained Jermaine. "Everybody in the industry just calling this group the 'ugly girls' that were singing...Biggie had said something about them, his statement about Xscape in [his song] 'Dreams,' like, haunted us for so long."

"It was all about being pretty," Kandi added. "And we looked like guys."

4. Even more drama...

After several hits and lots of touring, drama began to escalate to reunion-level proportions."For whatever reason, I don't know why, [La]Tocha [Scott] and I always bumped heads," Kandi recalled. "It was always some time of beef."

Eventually things got so heated between the two, they ended up fighting one another. "Everything she said had nothing to do with business. She was just going in on me personally or whatever saying crazy stuff about me," Kandi said of the scuffle. "Next thing I know she started my way and we went for blows."

5. Mixing Business with Pleasure...

Kandi and Jermaine had a thing, "it wasnt that deep." "We hooked up a couple times — and that was it," she explained.

6. Was Xscape underappreciated?

The group never felt like they got the love they really deserved, despite all their success. "I just remember that whenever people would talk about who was the top group, for some reason they wouldn't mention us," Kandi said. "All hail to TLC and SWV had sold a great bit, but outside of them we were the ones that were still going platinum but it still felt like people weren't respecting that."

7. Kandi literally writes Chapter 2.

Of course, Kandi and bandmate Tameka "Tiny" Harris would go on to work with TLC on Grammy-winning single "No Scrubs." After they tried to continue as a duo, Kandi kicked off her next chapter as a songwriter. "That allowed me to do more stuff, writing for Destiny's Child, and you know Pink and Mariah Carey," she explained.

8. The legacy lives on

While Bravo fans may know Kandi as a Housewife, the Xscape legacy lives on. "To this day, people still say 'Oh, I loved you guys'," she explained. "They have nothing but great things to say about our music."

Speaking of legacy, here's an Xscape playlist to help you get through the day.

After the Unsung aired, both Kandi and Tiny headed to social media to open up about the episode.