ladies these three songstresses from different parts of the country and walks of life came
together to create music magic in the early 90s they may have been small in stature
but they were big on vocals even one of the biggest names in the industry at the time
who would go on to have a profound impact on their career couldn't deny their talent unfortunately
their first album also ended up being their last and they were forced to put their dreams on hold
indefinitely let's find out whatever happened to american r b girl group cut clothes tabitha duncan
from muskegon michigan athena cage from russellville kentucky and lavon battle from
birmingham alabama better known as cut clothes formed a trio in atlanta georgia in 1993 when they
were all in their early to mid 20s their name is in reference to the many similarities they share
their height look and essence in the beginning the ladies had a very different idea of what
kind of music and image they wanted to put out into the world but that all changed when they
hooked up with the man who would help them rise all the way to the top of the charts
r b singer keith sweat it's important to know that contrary to popular belief keith did not discover
the group they discovered him everything came together quite naturally founding member tabitha
was a pka or preacher's kid from a very big family of 15 children nine boys and six girls
and yes if you're wondering all from the same mother and father
growing up as a pk wasn't easy her parents were very strict and she had to adhere to
a lot of rules she ultimately moved to atlanta georgia at the age of 18
with her 17 years older boyfriend to be free and begin her adult life
they chose atlanta because her boyfriend's childhood friend none other than kenneth
babyface edmonds was there they ended up working for him as personal assistants
her boyfriend was also very musically inclined and actually wrote songs and sang with babyface
growing up he would go on to form his own production company and tabitha at that point
inspired by fellow r b girl group tlc decided she wanted to put a group together as well
a friend of hers from indianapolis knew athena's uncle and he passed on her demo tape to tabitha
athena had already begun doing background work for other artists such as country star amy
grant and r b legends the eisley brothers tabitha was blown away by what she heard
and knew she needed to see athena in person after her in-person audition athena was in
lavon was the last piece of the puzzle to be added after she got wind of the auditions
and flew out with her manager to try out lavonne grew up in the church but also
had a love for secular artists like denise williams stacy lattissa and michael jackson
both of her parents were in gospel groups but she chose to rebel a bit and join athena and tabitha
when they joined forces with keith she admits that she felt very uncomfortable saying certain lyrics
however she knew she had to do what she had to do to make her dreams come true
after several months of gelling together they approached keith who they already knew
since he was working with the same production company they were working with at this point
they considered themselves an urban contemporary gospel group and performed under the name nubian 3
however keith had other ideas under his guidance they would quickly transform into sexy r
b divas after signing a seven album deal with keith's label kia records under electra records
and before striking out on their own the world would first get to know them as a featured artist
on the keith's sweat track get up on it released in 1994. it's unclear why it wasn't cut close
featuring keith's sweat since the trio did the majority of the singing on the track
however collaborating with their mentor would turn
out to be a great move for the group throughout their career
the following year their debut single and biggest hit to date i like dropped in february 1995.
the song made it into the top 40 picking up the number 34 position
on the billboard hot 100 and grab the number 8 spot on the hot r b hip hop songs chart
their debut album titled surrender would be released the following month by 1996 another
keith sweat collab would hit the streets and be a very successful experience for both parties
twisted featuring cut clothes was released in june and shot all the way to number two on the hot 100
and remains steady at number one on the r b hip-hop chart for three consecutive weeks
when the time came for work to begin on their second album
things started out great working on their first track with multi-hyphenated super producer
missy elliott however management started tripping keith and sylvia roane
ceo of elektra entertainment group at the time were also not getting along things got
so out of control at one point that the powers that be actually tried to replace
tabitha and lavonne with two new members and according to tabitha athena was in on it as well
the favoritism with athena was actually evident from the very beginning
as soon as their album dropped keith went on tour and took athena with him not cut close
just athena also a few months after twisted dropped another hit was released off of his
album called nobody featuring athena cage naturally all the drama pulled the trio apart
and nothing much was heard from them for the next 14 years
the biggest reason for such a long absence was the fact that individually and collectively the
ladies were still tied to their record label and legally couldn't pursue other avenues
to distribute their music as a result the group members had to eat a lot of humble pie
they had to get regular jobs and resume regular lives they also had to deal with the mental and
emotional struggles of how they were treated by the people they trusted with their careers
tabitha revealed in an interview with halftime chat that the group had a recording and publishing
contract in one and their advance a lump sum of money given to an artist at the start of
a project that they are able to spend freely was only one dollar so without an advance and
the record company taking up to half of their earnings they were essentially working for free
not surprisingly athena embarked on a solo career and signed with priority records her album titled
the art of a woman ended up being shelved after priority who were mainly known for hip-hop acts
folded into capital records everyone who she'd been previously working with were axed a whole
new set of people were brought in and the project never got the attention it deserved
fun fact fans of athena should check out her song on the soundtrack to the american teen dance film
save the last dance called all or nothing which played during sarah's mesmerizing audition scene
that got her into the world leading private performing arts conservatory juilliard
in the summer of 2010 cut clothes came back on the music scene with a new track called let it
ring released to itunes it was apparently in anticipation of their long-awaited second album
however no album ever manifested and another long hiatus would follow
today tabitha is a single mother of two daughters
she's a major fitness buff and posts lots of fitness related content on her social media
over the last couple of years she's also gotten into acting
lavonne has an adult daughter that she's helping to guide in the pursuit of her own singing career
in 2003 athena established the athena cage scholarship fund at her alma mater western
kentucky university the following year her hometown renamed the street she grew up on
athena cage way she's received the highest honor title of kentucky colonel from her
home state awarded to individuals for noteworthy accomplishments contributions to civil society
remarkable deeds or outstanding service to the community state or nation
she also works as a grammy mentor visiting schools across the country promoting music education
as far as how the ladies feel about keith's sweat or whether or not the group would ever work
with him again tabitha summed up the answer in a january 2021 podcast interview with halftime chad
i have no ill feelings whatsoever with keith none he is our musical father you know he allowed us
to to have a way in this business you know what i'm saying but if people were to call us and ask
us to perform a show hell yeah i'm coming you know what i'm saying if he was right here i'd give him
a big hug and a kiss i i tell the truth according to what happened yeah you know what i'm saying
but i'm not going to carry the negativity with me yeah it doesn't no good whatsoever
on december 18 2020 cut clothes debuted their first new song in over a decade
called congratulations fans got a second dose of new music several months later when the
collaboration they did with fellow 90s r b group h town called lose control dropped in march 2021
so far the ladies have no plans to release a full-length album
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