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Irish Grinstead of R&B group 702 dies at 43

Ms. Grinstead and Kameelah Williams of 702 performed at the Funk Fest Tour in Atlanta in 2018.Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Irish Grinstead, a member of the R&B trio 702, known for its 1999 hit “Where My Girls At?,” died Saturday evening at the age of 43, according to her sister.

A cause of death was not immediately available, but the group announced in December that Grinstead was taking a “medical leave of absence due to serious medical issues.”

LeMisha Grinstead, Irish Grinstead’s sister and bandmate, said in an Instagram post announcing her death that she had “had a long battle and is finally at peace.”

“That girl was as bright as the stars! She was not only beautiful on the outside, but also within,” LeMisha Grinstead wrote. “Sharing the stage with her was a joy I will cherish for the rest of my life!”

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The Grinstead sisters and Kameelah Williams made up 702, which was named for the telephone area code in Las Vegas, where they were from.

“Devastated & heartbroken,” Williams wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. “There’s a lot I want to say, but there’s no way to say what your heart hasn’t fully accepted.”

The group’s 1996 debut album, “No Doubt,” included a song called “Steelo,” featuring Missy Elliott. A version of the track was the theme song for the Nickelodeon show “Cousin Skeeter.” The song was also sampled in a 2019 dance music hit produced by Diplo.

“Irish May your beautiful soul Rest Peacefully in the arms of the Lord,” Elliot wrote in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

702’s defining hit was “Where My Girls At?,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1999, according to Billboard.

As news of Ms. Grinstead’s death circulated, fan tributes flooded social media in the form of music video clips featuring her dancing alongside her sister and Williams in distinctive ’90s glam and choreography.

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The group released its last album, “Star,” 20 years ago but continued to perform shows, with several scheduled through the rest of this year.

Ms. Grinstead’s twin sister, Orish Grinstead, died in 2008, according to IMDb.