What Happened to Kut Klose?

The ‘90s saw plenty of great R&B groups, and one of the most promising was Kut Klose. The trio, consisting of Athena Cage, Lavon Battle, and Tabitha Duncan, were soulful, elegant, talented, and backed by Keith Sweat. Not only were they featured on several of Keith’s massive hits, like “Twisted” and “Get Up on It,” but they moved on from being background singers to landing on the charts with their 1995 song “I Like.” 

Despite their immediate success, they only released one album before they disappeared, and the truth about what happened to Kut Klose following their affiliation with Keith is messier than you could ever imagine.

Here’s what happened to Kut Klose.

Linking up with Keith Sweat

Although she was born into a family of 15 children, Tabitha searched for a sense of sisterhood outside of her overprotective upbringing. While working at LaFace Records, she became a fan of TLC and decided to form a girl group of her own.

Since her then-boyfriend was connected to several people in the industry, including Babyface and Keith Sweat, Tabitha was able to get the group an audition in front of Keith. 

During the audition, Keith asked them to sing the song “Get Up On It,” and he liked what he heard.

Keith was signed to Elektra, and the company gave him the opportunity to sign his own artists to his imprint called Keia Records. He immediately added Kut Klose to the roster, and they joined his R&B group Silk.  

Kut Klose signed a shady contract

Tabitha told Halftime Chat YouTube channel that they tried to do things the right way, they even got their own lawyer to look over the contract. But they soon realized that everyone in the industry was in bed with each other. So while their lawyer was supposed to work in their best interests, they still got screwed in the end when they signed on for a seven-album deal.

There was a publishing contract included within their recording contract and it gave up the group’s rights to their publishing for just $1 dollar. Meanwhile, everyone else who helped them record their music received huge publishing payments of $150,000 dollars. Tabitha told Halftime Chat, “To know that you’re screwing somebody is disheartening to me.”

But the ladies figured that after releasing successful albums, they would be able to renegotiate their contract.

Solo success

“Get Up On It” was featured on Keith’s 1994 album of the same name and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album was eventually certified platinum, which meant Kut Klose was exposed to a larger audience. People were starting to take notice of them, and the ladies were ready to do their own thing. 

Their debut album, entitled Surrender, dropped in 1995 and was predominately written and produced by Keith. According to The New York Times, their single, “I Like,” was a “surprise success” and became their only top 40 hit, peaking at number 34 on the Billboard chart. 

While Athena was the lead singer and seemed to be favored by Keith over the others, it wasn’t a big deal to Tabitha at first because understood Athena had a unique singing gift. Lavon, on the other hand, felt a bit slighted because she started out as a solo singer, and then she had to take a backseat to Athena. 

Two more singles, entitled “Lovely Thang” and “Surrender” followed. However, the songs didn’t perform as well.

Some people weren’t surprised that the songs weren’t dominating the charts. In an article published by The Washington Post, a journalist wrote that while the members had “attractive voices,” they didn’t have a, quote. “distinctive group sound.” 

The writer also pointed out that since the songs were written by Keith, the lyrics were inauthentic and only served male fantasies. The journalist added, “There’s something smarmy about powerful industry figures who sign up young women desperate for stardom and who then direct those women to moan and croon.”

They weren’t making enough money

The ladies continued working with Keith and were also featured on his 1996 single, “Twisted,” which ultimately became his biggest hit, peaking at number one and spending 33 weeks on the charts. But, if you notice, the music video doesn’t even say “ featuring Kut Klose,” although the group members have songwriting credits on the track as well. When it came time for Keith to record his 1996 song “Nobody,” Athena was the only group member featured on the track. 

While Keith’s songs rose to the top of the charts, the ladies weren’t even making enough money to take care of themselves, and Tabitha began to address her concerns directly with Keith. According to Tabitha, Keith told them if they didn’t have enough money, they should get jobs and take the bus to work.

Tabitha then took her concerns to Sylvia Rhone, the then-CEO of Elektra Records, the parent company of Keia Records. 

Tabitha told Sylvia, “We’re signed to a record deal, but we can’t work and are gonna get kicked out of our house.” Sylvia understood what was going on, but her hands were tied and she couldn’t do anything because they were Keith’s artists.

Athena gets pushed to the front

The ladies could’ve made some money on tour, but Tabitha alleges that Keith only took Athena out with him on the road. And, obviously, this led to division and animosity between the group members. 

The group flew out to New York to work on their second album. They hit the studio to record with Missy Elliot, and that’s when things really started to go downhill. 

The label only wanted to utilize Athena’s voice for the verses and the background, and Lavon and Tabitha wondered why they were even there if they weren’t going to be singing on the track.

Tabitha told our friends over at Halftime Chat that the higherups were really trying to shake things up. They wanted the project to be presented as Athena Cage featuring Kut Klose. And, of course, the other ladies weren’t having it. Even Athena was uncomfortable with how much they were trying to push her to the forefront.

While listening to the radio one day, Tabitha heard that Kut Klose was looking for two new members. Apparently, Keith wanted to replace Tabitha and Lavon….and Athena was in on it to some degree because she started meeting with the replacement singers without Tabitha and Lavon’s knowledge.

The song with Missy was never released and Kut Klose never completed their second album. 

Going back to their everyday lives

Athena signed on as a solo artist with Priority Records. Her single, entitled “Hey Hey” peaked at number 18. She did see some success with her song, “All or Nothing,” which was featured on the 2001 soundtrack for Save the Last Dance. But it was clear Athena needed Kut Klose just as much as they needed her. 

The label wasn’t happy with how Athena’s music was performing, so before her solo album could be released, she was dropped from Priority Records.

Athena and Lavon went back to their hometown, while Tabitha stayed in Atlanta. Tabitha confirmed that since they still owed Keith’s label six more albums, they weren’t able to work on any new projects until their contract expired, which was sometime around 2003.

They started families and tried to readjust to living a regular, low-key life. Tabitha told Halftime Chat YouTube channel that working a regular job out in the public was an unpleasant experience. People weren’t too kind as they mocked what they perceived to be her fall from grace. So she got a job as a nanny and working behind closed doors shielded her from the public’s negative scrutiny.

Is Keith Sweat shunning them?

After almost ten years apart, the ladies squashed their issues and reunited as sisters. They shared the stage with Keith a few times and, in 2010, they released the song “Let It Ring.” Another single, entitled “Congratulations,” dropped in 2020.

In July 2021, Keith appeared on Verzuz alongside Bobby Brown. Everyone expected him to bring out Kut Klose so they could perform the songs they recorded together. However, Keith didn’t invite the ladies to participate in the event.

In an interview with The Marty A. Johnson Show, Tabitha said they were baffled by Keith’s behavior. She added, “We could’ve been represented on that Verzuz. It would’ve been a huge help for us and would’ve put us back in the game.”

Instead, they revealed that despite being an important piece of Keith’s music catalog and contributing to several of his number one hits, he has shunned them during the last ten years or so. 

And that’s when Marty A. Johnson dropped a major bombshell. 

Marty confirmed that he invited Keith on his show prior to the Verzuz battle. Keith’s team did their research beforehand and apparently noticed a March 2020 video Marty had conducted with Kut Klose. Keith’s team agreed to do the interview on Marty’s channel. However, they told Marty: “Don’t ask about Kut Klose.”

What’s next for Kut Klose?

So, what happened to Kut Klose, and what is Keith’s beef with the group? The ladies aren’t sure, but they threw around several ideas: Maybe Keith doesn’t want to perform with them because they’re women? Maybe he thinks they need to have more hit songs of their own before they can share the stage with him again? Or perhaps he’s embarrassed and keeping his distance because he knows he jacked them for their publishings…allegedly.

Despite everything they’ve gone through, Tabitha still considers Keith to be their musical father, and she loves him because he gave them a shot.

In May 2022, the ladies announced on their Facebook page that they were ready to record their long-awaited second studio album … but they needed some help. They launched a GoFundMe with a goal of $100,000, and as of this video, they have collected a little over $2,600 dollars. We’ve included a link to their campaign in the description box.

These days, Kut Klose still tours and their goal is to show the world that they’re much more than Keith Sweat’s background singers. They are beautiful and talented, and they deserve to be recognized as an important piece of music history.

Let us know if you’re surprised by what happened to Kut Klose.