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Getting straight to the point, accusations of theft have led to the breakup of one-time platinum-selling R&B quartet 112.
Once Sean "Diddy" Combs' pride and joy under his Bad Boy label, the Atlanta-based group soared to success in 1996 with the release of their self-titled debut album and first single "Only You."
As the teens grew into young men, their material entered into adult-themed territory as well; exemplified by the 2001 hit "Peaches and Cream" and their last big single in 2005, "U Already Know," after signing to Def Soul in 2002.
Then suddenly, they were gone.
During an interview with former group member Michael Keith to promote his new self-titled solo album, the singer told EUR's Lee Bailey that the group broke up last year after he and Marvin "Slim" Scandrick fell out with another member of the band.
"I had to leave because I found out that a certain member of the group took my publishing check," Keith told Bailey. "It was made clear that it was intended for myself and another member, Slim."
Keith said he won't name names, but he fully expects the guilty party - either Quinnes Parker or Daron Jones - to come forward and defend himself once this story breaks.
"I'm all about trust," says Keith. "And once you lose that trust with me man, it's just time for me to make a move and focus on my solo career. Everybody else was focused on their solo careers, the outside endeavors, and I just decided it was time for me to make that change and go into solo mode, Michael Keith mode."
Keith said the group was not without its infighting throughout the years. Equating it to a marriage, he says, "We did have our arguments, we did have our disagreements, but all in all we saw that the bigger picture was to maintain the brand, maintain the group."
But the singer says he drew the line when his trust was broken.
"Because I am such a trustworthy person, and I teach my son the value of being a trustworthy person, once you negate all that, it's something there that's irreconcilable in my opinion. I've put so much of myself into 112 and into the brand and into these guys. For it to be a situation that boils down to simply money, that's something I can't forgive."
Keith said it was his business manager who discovered the missing money, and the two are "weighing out" a decision to file charges.
"I'm gonna be honest with you, it's hard. It's hard being with these dudes for the amount of years I was with these dudes and to take legal action," he said. "It's something that I just couldn't fathom. But it's a business. This is a music business. And when something is done wrongly, you've got to be a better businessman. You've gotta handle it."
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