Talk about a throwback done right. Blaque is back on stage in Atlanta, and FreddyO was front and center as Shamari DeVot and Brandi Williams took it all the way back to 1999, performing their smash 808 live. Two decades after the song first hit, the voices are still in place, the harmonies are still tight, and the room ate up every single note.
If you came up on late-90s R and B, you already know what Blaque means. Mentored by TLC’s Lisa Left Eye Lopes, the trio burst onto the scene with 808 and Bring It All to Me and held their own in an era full of girl groups. Hearing Shamari and Brandi run 808 now, with grown-woman seasoning on those vocals, hits different — it is nostalgia, yes, but it is also proof. Real singers do not expire.
The timing is perfect, too. Shamari is having a whole moment as the newest peach in the Real Housewives of Atlanta mix, and instead of leaning only on reality TV, she is reminding everybody what got her here in the first place: that voice. And every time Blaque performs, the sisterhood on stage carries the memory of Natina Reed with them — gone too soon, never forgotten, and honored every time these ladies open their mouths and take it back to where it all started.
Press play above and watch Blaque sing 808 live — a little taste while we finish up the full interview with Brandi Williams and Shamari DeVot — then keep scrolling for more FreddyO exclusives, and check the full photo recap right here on FreddyO.com. Where were you when 808 first dropped? Talk to us in the comments.
Watch more exclusive videos on the FreddyO YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@freddyo1983
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