XSCAPE Is One of the Most Iconic Girl Groups to Come Out of the '90s — Here's Why
A fateful gig at Jermaine Dupri's birthday party in 1991 would lead to XSCAPE taking over the world of R&B in the '90s.
The sultry voices of XSCAPE helped create the soundtrack of the '90s with hits like “Just Kickin’ It” and “Feels So Good.” The four women behind the chart-topping music melded perfect harmonies as they crooned about love, understanding, and just having a good time.
Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Harris and sisters Tamika Scott and LaTocha Scott-Bivens are the ones who made up the girl-powered group after catching the eye of Grammy Award-winning musician Jermaine Dupri, who launched their career.
But after three multi-platinum albums and nearly a decade of success, the group was torn apart by internal drama, causing the four to part ways for years before reuniting in 2017 to perform at the BET Awards.
Now, the women will star in the upcoming Bravo limited series SWV & XSCAPE: The Queen of R&B, alongside the women of SWV, another iconic ‘90s R&B group, as they prepare for a special one-night collaborative concert.
Get to know XSCAPE and rediscover the most memorable moments that made XSCAPE so famous:
XSCAPE Gets Discovered
The four women got their start singing in church together. Kandi — who now stars in The Real Housewives of Atlanta — paid homage to their humble beginnings in 2022 while the group was awarded the prestigious Lady of Soul award at the Soul Train Awards.
“Singing in church together until now, that’s what helped us learn our harmonies and how we blended,” she said, according to Vibe.
After meeting in 1990, the group got their big break while performing the following year at a birthday party for rapper and music producer Jermaine Dupri, The Vogue reports. Dupri was so impressed, he signed the women to his label, So So Def Recordings.
“He had a vision when, you know, a lot of people didn’t and for that we are forever grateful to be able to still be here on this stage because he opened the door,” Kandi said at the Soul Train Awards.
XSCAPE Releases a Debut Album: Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha
Their debut single “Just Kickin’ It” was released in late summer of 1993, eventually earning its way to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.
The full album, Hummin’ Comin’ At ‘Cha — which included hits like “Understanding,” “Tonight,” and “Love on My Mind” — followed in October of that year and soon went platinum, paving the way for the quartet to compete with other popular female groups at the time like En Vogue and SWV.
A Second Album Off The Hook Is Released
Two years later, the group released its second platinum album, “Off the Hook,” which showcased more of their personality.
Of the 10 songs on the album, XSCAPE co-wrote six. They also shed the baggy clothing prominent in the music videos from their first album for a sleeker, sexier look.
“Our first album didn’t have any real love songs and we prefer mid-tempo and ballad songs,” Kandi told The Spokesman-Review that year. “So we got to put a lot more of ourselves into this one.”
The album featured hits like “Who Can I Run To,” which eventually peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, according to Billboard.
“The music on this album appeals to people across the board,” Tony Anderson, then senior vice president at Columbia Records, told The Spokesman-Review at the time. “The ladies are growing up and so are their original fans, so their evolved sound reflects a growing maturity.”
RELATED: Movie Soundtracks, a Hit Remix and More Moments That Sealed SWV as R&B Icons
XSCAPE Has a Breakup
Shortly after releasing their third album, Traces of My Lipstick, in May 1998, which featured hits like the sexy “My Little Secret” and “The Arms of The One Who Loves You,” tension among the group members hit an all-time high and XSCAPE disbanded.
What the Members Did After the XSCAPE Breakup
After going their separate ways, sisters LaTocha and Tamika continued to sing together as XSCAPE, while also relishing in their own individual accomplishments. LaTocha starred in TVOne’s R&B Divas: Atlanta while Tamika sang tunes featured in the soundtracks for movies The Mask and Why Did I Get Married?, The Daily Dish previously reported.
Tiny and Kandi teamed up too, co-writing the Grammy-award winning TLC song “No Scrubs” together.
Tiny later married rapper T.I. in 2010. The couple starred with their family on T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle on VH1 for six seasons until 2017.
Kandi made her own name in the reality television world, starring in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and launching a series of business ventures including Kandi Koated Entertainment, Bedroom Kandi, and several Atlanta-area restaurants. As a song writer, she also co-wrote Destiny Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills" and Pink’s 2000 hit “There You Go,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
XSCAPE Reunites Again
After decades apart, the group reunited in 2017 to perform at the BET Awards and launched a reunion tour that same year. Bravo’s Xscape Still Kickin’ It followed the women’s triumphant — yet sometimes dramatic — return.
Where Is XSCAPE Today?
The ladies were recognized for their trail-blazing mark on the industry last year when they received the Lady of Soul Award at the 2022 Soul Train Awards. The honor was presented by Dupri, who described the women as “prolific and ground breaking,” BET reports.
“XSCAPE is one of the most notable R&B supergroups of all time. Their powerful vocal harmonies laid the foundation for ‘90s R&B and some of today’s chart-topping hits,” Connie Orlando, EVP of specials, music programming & music strategy, said while announcing the honor, according to TheGrio. “Their sound is undeniably unique and masterful. We look forward to honoring these multi-talented artists collectively on R&B’s biggest stage, Soul Train Awards.”
As they accepted the award, LaTocha encouraged others to follow their own dreams.
“Continue to shine your light for the world to see and when you’re shining your light bring somebody up, don’t do it to dim their light,” she said. “Embrace love, love yourselves because it took me a while to get to love myself, but now we all are here and I just want everybody to understand that, we’re just all about love.”
The upcoming SWV & XSCAPE: The Queen of R&B premiering March 5 at 9:30/8:30c on Bravo, once again brings the women from both groups together as they strive to pull off a collaborative concert.
