Total Kima, Keisha & Pam CD

Total: Kima, Keisha, Pam (vocals).
Additional personnel: Missy Elliot, Mase, Carl Thomas, Moocha, Erica Spivey, Adrina Green (vocals); Gerard Thomas, Lenny Holmes, Timbaland, Darryl "Day" Pearson (various instruments); Ali Boudris (guitar); Kris Kellow (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Johnny Dangerous (programming).
Producers include: Darryl "Day" Pearson, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Mario Winans, Steven "Stevie J." Jordan.
Engineers include: Drew Coleman, Joe Perrera, Ed Raso.
Personnel: Total (vocals, background vocals); Erica Spivey, Missy Elliott (vocals); Ali Boudris (guitar); Kris Kello (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Johnny Dangerous (programming).
Audio Mixers: Joe "Smilin' Joe" Perrera; Jimmy Douglass; Michael Patterson ; Mick Guzauski; Paul Logus; Tony Maserati.
Recording information: Daddy's House Recording Studios, New York, NY; Master Sound Recording Studios, Virginia Beach, VA; Record Pla.
Photographer: Norman Jean Roy.
Arranger: Kris Kello.
On their second album, '90s soul sistas JaKima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pam Long sex up their lives, and everything around them, quite a bit. Turning their fairly standard take on the hip-hop girl group into a late-night bath of delight, they invite a who's-who roster into the tub with them (producers here include Missy Elliott, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and Heavy D, among others). The best track, "Trippin'," is an Elliott-produced slice of robotic R&B that combines the gals' sweet harmonies with state-of-the-soul-art studio savvy. But the studio-powered Kima, Keisha & Pam ultimately loses its individuality while trying to be a part of the streets and scene, brimming with the sounds of the world around it. ~ Michael Gallucci
On their second album, these '90s soul sistas sex up their lives, and everything around them, quite a bit, turning their fairly standard take on the hip-hop girl group into a late-night bath of delight. But by inviting a who's-who roster into the tub with them (producers here include Missy Elliott, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and Heavy D, among others), Total -- the JaKima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pam Long of the title -- are barely heard. Brimming with the sounds of the world around it, Kima, Keisha & Pam is a studio-powered album that loses its individuality while trying desperately to be a part of the streets and scene. The best track, "Trippin'," is an Elliott-produced slice of robotic R&B that combines the gals' sweet harmonies with state-of-the-soul-art studio savvy. But an album's worth of the sexy same unveils Total's ultimate limitations. ~ Michael GallucciRolling Stone (2/4/99, p.63) - "...the "bad girls of Bad Boy" slip out from under Puff Daddy's shadow. Silky as lingerie, the ladie's voices rasp and sidle in erotic counterpoint...girls and boys are welcome in this pleasure dome..."
Entertainment Weekly (12/18/98, pp.86-87) - "...Despite all the heavy breathing, the diva trio's pillow talk peters out. However, bed-board-bangin' beats from Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Heavy D., and the Puff master himself turn this into a partial, if not total, bump-and-grind masterpiece."
- Rating: B