Tragedy has a way of bringing people together, even those who have endured the deepest of rifts. Q Parker of the R&B group 112 hopes that will be the case after making a public appeal to reconcile with his former bandmates Slim and Mike.
Like many, Q is still wrapping his head around the untimely passing of 702 vocalist Irish Grinstead, who died on Sept. 16 at the age of 43 after a private health battle. Her funeral and memorial service was live-streamed on YouTube from Giddens Memorial Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, Sept. 29.
With emotions already running deep, he then learned that his close friend Brandon Casey was involved in what could have been a fatal car accident. Casey, who is a member of Jagged Edge, miraculously survived the accident that left his vehicle mangled.
Trending Today:
The combination of incidents was something of a wake-up call for Q. “It just really had my heart heavy,” he said in a self-recorded video circulating online. The clip appears to be taken one day after Parker received news about Grinstead’s passing.
He then added, “To Slim and Mike, man, call me back. It’s way beyond the music; just call me back, bruh.”
The “Cupid” quartet, which also included group member Daron Jones, broke up for good in 2018 after years of infighting, a financial dispute and a legal battle over the 112 trademark, which is owned by Slim. At the height of the four men’s tensions, Slim explained that he filed for ownership of the name after it was abandoned.
Keith Sweat casually jumping on the Jagged Edge and 112 battle made my whole evening 👑🔥 #VERZUZ #verzuztv pic.twitter.com/HDj44OChzq
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 26, 2020
Q and Daron have remained friends, but the business fallout severed the relationships they once shared with Slim and Mike. The latter two singers have continued to operate and perform xas a duo under the group’s name.
In 2021, a federal judge awarded Slim’s production company, M3 Productions Inc., $100,000 in damages in a civil case, barring his former bandmates from using the 112 name in any capacity for business.
Fans had given up all hope of a reunion in 2020 when the foursome was unable to band together for a “Verzuz” showdown against Jagged Edge. Only Slim and Mike were present for the event. Now it seems that all hope may not be lost.
“Take a page from the New Edition playbook. Its always love for your group members. Make things right while y’all are all still here. You never have to perform together again, but just make things right” wrote one person in the comments section of Q’s post.
A second user wrote, “That’s maturity bro! Rise above the bs. Relationships matter most. God Bless. And a third chimed in, writing, “Yesssss We Need The Whole Entire Group Back.”
It is unknown if Slim and Mike are open to reconciling or if they have returned Q’s call.