{"id":51336,"date":"2025-11-10T02:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T02:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/702-talks-30-year-anniversary-of-debut-album-memories-of-irish-future-plans-exclusive-interview\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T02:34:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T02:34:25","slug":"702-talks-30-year-anniversary-of-debut-album-memories-of-irish-future-plans-exclusive-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/702-talks-30-year-anniversary-of-debut-album-memories-of-irish-future-plans-exclusive-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"702 Talks 30 Year Anniversary Of Debut Album, Memories Of Irish &#038; Future Plans (Exclusive Interview)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>We had a chance to interview 702 as they are set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album \u201cNo Doubt\u201d. In this interview, Meelah and Misha reflected on their early days, the group\u2019s legacy, and how they continue to honor the late Irish Grinstead. We also talk to the group about their work experience with R&amp;B legends such as Donell Jones, Troy Taylor and Pharrell as these are hits that they are able to tour off today. Lastly we talk to the group about their plans in the future including a solo project from Meelah.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"702 Talks 30 Year Anniversary Of Debut Album, Memories Of Irish &amp; Future Plans (Exclusive Interview)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WN1IlUTYuM0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: You guys are obviously celebrating 30 years next year \u2014 an exciting time for you both. It\u2019s a huge milestone to make it to this point. Meelah, take me back to 30 years ago when you put out that album. What comes to mind with that album and all the success that came with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: A very long time ago. What comes to mind? We were kids. We were fresh out of high school \u2014 literally, Misha and I had just graduated.<\/p>\n<p>Misha: I was just going to say that \u2014 graduation!<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Yeah, I think the first album came out in October of 1996, and we graduated in May of that year. So, gosh, all I can say is I\u2019m so grateful to still be able to celebrate. We were babies, and to still be here doing this in Irish\u2019s honor is nothing short of a blessing. We\u2019re just grateful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Misha, it\u2019s kind of crazy \u2014 people don\u2019t realize, or some people might, that 702 actually came out the year before with the Subway record. Subway had that big record with you guys, but their album didn\u2019t do as well as expected. When you came out the next year, did you have that same fear? Like, \u201cHey, we have a hit record \u2014 will it translate into an album?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: Sure, sure. That\u2019s always a concern. An album is like a baby \u2014 you give birth to it, and you want everyone to appreciate your child. You don\u2019t want them saying, \u201cOh, you\u2019ve got an ugly baby there!\u201d So yeah, you get nervous jitters about whether it\u2019ll be received the way you hope. But we were lucky and blessed. \u201cThis Little Game\u201d was a great song to start our career from \u2014 and it\u2019s recently had a resurgence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: And I think what\u2019s also cool is that the debut album moved slow at first, then eventually broke through and became what it was. Talk about how it felt to go through that and become an established group afterward.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: It was fun. We were kids, so for me, it was all new \u2014 shooting videos, getting styled by famous stylists, having our makeup and hair done. It felt like playing dress-up. You don\u2019t know what to expect coming into the music business, especially with no one close to you who\u2019s been in it. So, I\u2019d say it was just fun \u2014 a really good experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Now, before this interview, I reached out to Troy Taylor and Donell Jones to ask what it was like working with you on that album. They both made the same remark \u2014 they said, \u201cLet Meelah know we were really hard on her in the studio.\u201d You said it too! Looking back, was there a method to the madness?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Yes, for sure. Troy Taylor produced some of our real favorites from the first album \u2014 \u201cAll I Want,\u201d and some others that weren\u2019t singles but are among our faves. And yes, Troy Taylor was definitely difficult \u2014 I say that with love, Mr. Taylor! He pulled me out of my comfort zone and challenged me for sure. And so did Donell Jones. But \u201cGet It Together\u201d is one of our biggest hits. They knew what they were doing. Like Misha said, we were kids \u2014 I was just happy to be there. What I thought was great, they pushed me to do even better. So, thanks, guys.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Misha, earlier I was listening to \u201cWord Iz Bond,\u201d and of course Irish sang lead on that one. You were all living out your dreams then, but what was it like being beside your sister and watching her live out hers?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: You know\u2026 yeah, I miss that girl. I really miss her. It\u2019s kind of hard now because you look over your shoulder and she\u2019s not next to you. It\u2019s difficult now, but watching her grow into womanhood and seeing her in her element \u2014 that was always a passion. It was beautiful. I just wish she were still here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Rest in peace to Irish. I want to move on to the second album. Meelah, I think an underrated gem in your discography is \u201cYou\u2019ll Just Never Know.\u201d I felt like that was one of your strongest vocals. What do you remember about recording that one?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Really? Thank you! Sorry, there\u2019s a little club right there, guys \u2014 I\u2019m a little distracted. laughs \u201cYou\u2019ll Just Never Know\u201d was a beautiful song \u2014 very pretty and emotional. I can\u2019t listen to it often, honestly. Not because of a bad experience, but because Irish is in the intro, and if you really listen to what she\u2019s saying, it\u2019s eerie. It\u2019s hard to listen to that one right now. It\u2019s still a favorite, though \u2014 we just have to put it aside for a bit until we get through this grief. But it\u2019s interesting that of all songs, that\u2019s the one that stood out to you \u2014 we love that. It lets us know you really listen to the songs that weren\u2019t singles. That means you\u2019re a real day one.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: There are a lot of great records in the 702 discography. You also worked with The Neptunes during their prime when they had every song on the radio. We\u2019ve seen videos of you recording \u201cStar\u201d with Pharrell, and of course \u201cI Still Love You\u201d is still on every playlist. Talk about that experience \u2014 working with Pharrell and Chad in that moment, because that was an amazing time in music.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: Pharrell is a genius. He\u2019s in his element in the studio, and it\u2019s hard to gauge him \u2014 he\u2019s different, very unique. But so talented. \u201cI Still Love You\u201d was a record we begged him for. We were like, \u201cListen, you\u2019re going to give us this record!\u201d laughs<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Yeah, just like Donell and Troy, Pharrell\u2019s a genius. He knows exactly what he\u2019s doing \u2014 a perfectionist. But working with him was fun. It felt like we\u2019d known him forever. He\u2019s very down-to-earth, cool, and chill. He made it fun \u2014 not intimidating at all. He was successful back then, but it was before he became the Pharrell \u2014 before \u201cHappy\u201d Pharrell. But he was always good energy, always a vibe. We loved working with him and would love to again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: One thing that stood out in that \u201cStar\u201d studio video is you were even figuring out choreography for the video in real time. Those must have been fun moments, just figuring it all out together.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Yeah, we kind of did that regularly in the studio.<\/p>\n<p>Misha: Irish a lot \u2014 she was the one for that!<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Now, fast forward to the present \u2014 Meelah, we just featured your new single \u201cAll Eyes on Me.\u201d That was exciting because you\u2019ve been on and off with solo music. I think you\u2019ve committed to start releasing more since you\u2019ve got a bunch in the vault. Talk about \u201cAll Eyes on Me\u201d and your solo career \u2014 we\u2019ve been waiting on that for a while.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: At this point, it\u2019s just a hobby. I\u2019m grateful I can still put music out at my leisure. I started a project before 702 reunited in 2017, but I put it on hold when I signed with Musiq Soulchild.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, we\u2019ve been touring, and life happened \u2014 the world shut down, my mother got sick and passed, and we lost Irish. One thing after another. So, I put music on the back burner because it wasn\u2019t a priority. But I have so much unreleased material, and I was approached to do an Afrobeats project. I wasn\u2019t sure at first, but \u201cAll Eyes on Me\u201d was something fun to try with my guy Cyrus \u2014 shoutout to Cyrus DeShield from Liberia. He told me, \u201cSis, you can do it.\u201d So I did, and it turned out cool. We\u2019re creatives \u2014 while we\u2019re still here, why not use our gifts?<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Misha, the last time we saw you on TV was The Encore.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: Oh, please don\u2019t remind me! laughs<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: What was cool about that was you were honest \u2014 you wanted to get back into music and still had a passion for it. Obviously, that experience was what it was, but do you still want to pursue music now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: Yeah, but probably on the back side of it. One of my stronger points is writing. If I go back into music, it\u2019ll be in that lane. Maybe every now and then I\u2019ll do a song or two, but for the most part, I\u2019m laid back now. That part of my life \u2014 I\u2019m okay with just doing the 702 thing. This is history. But for the future, writing is where I want to be.<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Misha\u2019s always done a lot of writing. When we were younger, she wrote for a few artists \u2014 Jhen\u00e9 Aiko, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Misha: Yeah, and I like it that way. I can tell people what to do and not be in front of the camera. laughs<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: We appreciate you asking about our solo endeavors, though. We\u2019ll always do something to stay afloat. Right now, we\u2019re just grateful to still be touring. 702 is coming up on 30 years, like we said earlier, so we\u2019ll never stop honoring Irish and our legacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: And I\u2019ve got to ask \u2014 30 years have gone by. You\u2019ve been through the hard parts of the industry. Now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor \u2014 touring, celebrating your work. What\u2019s it like to finally be here?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: It feels good. I make the analogy that we\u2019re like a well-oiled machine now. We know what we\u2019re doing. Even with travel and performing, it\u2019s second nature. The nerves and jitters are gone.<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: It feels good because, like I said, it\u2019s almost like a hobby now. We don\u2019t take it lightly that we\u2019re still here, but at this point it\u2019s second nature. We\u2019re grateful to still be received by fans after all these years.<\/p>\n<p>Misha: And the fans keep showing up \u2014 hopefully that continues. Maybe one day we\u2019ll end up back home in Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Meelah: That would be amazing. Our kids are older now, so we can just do our thing, relax, and vibe. It\u2019s more chill now compared to back then, when there was more pressure to win over fans. We were new artists back then; now we\u2019re legacy artists. So, it\u2019s just about maintaining. The industry\u2019s changed a lot, but we\u2019re happy the music still lives on \u2014 that young artists sample us and keep it alive. It\u2019s cool hearing it remixed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: That\u2019s what\u2019s so great \u2014 the younger generation acknowledges what you\u2019ve done and celebrates it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Misha: Yeah, super cool. Little kids still sing our songs and we\u2019re like, \u201cWait, you\u2019re too young to know about that!\u201d laughs It keeps us going \u2014 keeps us working.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouKnowIGotSoul: Meelah, Misha, that\u2019s all I\u2019ve got for you. Anything you\u2019d like to add?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meelah: Just that we\u2019re excited to still have your attention \u2014 thank you! Go ahead and stream \u201cWhere My Girls At\u201d, \u201cGet It Together\u201d \u2014 all of it!<\/p>\n<p>Misha: Thank you for supporting us all these years. We appreciate the love, even when we weren\u2019t out there. You all still looked for us and wanted us back. We\u2019ve done it for the fans, and we love you guys.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/youknowigotsoul.com\/702-talks-30-year-anniversary-of-debut-album-memories-of-irish-future-plans-exclusive-interview\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We had a chance to interview 702 as they are set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album \u201cNo Doubt\u201d. In this&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":51337,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rb","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}