Xscape was orginally a quintet made up of Tameka Tiny Bottle, Kandi Burruss, LaTocha Scott, Tamika Scott, and Tamera Coggins-Wynn.
via: The Blast
Xscape was a quintet of female R&B vocals that was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992. The popular group was initially made up of Tameka Tiny Bottle, Kandi Burruss, LaTocha Scott, Tamika Scott, and Tamera Coggins-Wynn.
They released their first album in 1993, which had two of their most outstanding hit singles, “Just Kickin it” and “Understanding.”
The group also successfully sold out three platinum albums in the 90s and reunited after splitting in the late 1990s for a sold-out tour and album release. Although the group started as a quintet, it was officially recognized as a quartet because a member was asked to leave.
Tiny explained that they were having a successful career as a quartet group when they signed to Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def record label.
Furthermore, she revealed in an interview with DJ Vlad that Xscape became a group of five female artists under the label. However, she was only given a chance to audition for the group because the manager wanted her to replace Coggins.
Tiny further said, “she (Coggins) was in the group before me and at first they thought – well, I think when they called me to come in and audition for the group, they were thinking about maybe replacing her because I think they felt that she was not as much into it as the rest of the girls.”
Tiny then explained that the plans for her to replace Coggins was not successful. She said, “They had me come audition but when they had me audition they wanted me, but they didn’t want to necessarily get rid of Tamera either so it became a fivesome.”
According to Tiny, after a while, Xscape began working with a new manager who finally decided to let Coggins go. She explained that an argument between Coggins and the new manager led to her dismissal from the group.
She said, “They had a very big argument one time while we were at the studio and it just went left field, and he said she was out of the group.”
During an episode of “TV One’s Unsung” in 2017, a rumor ensued that Coggins was voted out of Xscape due to their manager’s pressure.
Burruss’ mom alleged that the manager was not happy with Coggins, and he complained that “she was not a good singer”.
However, Burruss verified Tiny’s story that Coggins and their manager had a major argument, which led to him asking that the other four members reach an ultimatum to vote Coggins out or drop them as his artists, and they chose to vote Coggins out.
Coggins revealed that she felt terrible and was hurt, but she preferred not to be in a group with members who did not have her back.
She said, “If the people in the group didn’t think enough to say, ‘Hey, we are a group, we are a family, we are one unit’ then I don’t want to be around you,” Coggins explained. “I just said, ‘OK, that’s fine. I’ll be fine.’ And I’m great now.”
She later went on to become a realtor and an investor, totally abandoning her musical career, and she also owns a non-profit organization in Atlanta. According to Tiny, they are still friends, and Coggins even served as a bridesmaid at Burruss’ wedding in 2014.
I love Xscape but they always seem to have some mess going on within the group dynamics.
