Seemingly out of the blue, former En Vogue crooner Dawn Robinson has left her post as lead singer for the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl. Fellow band members Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (formerly of Tony Toni Tone and A Tribe Called Quest, respectively) have recruited Dallas Austin acolyte Joi to fill her shoes.

While there's no word on what went wrong with the partners, insiders say that Robinson was "in the way," when the trio performed. "There wasn't enough room for both Raphael and Dawn onstage," a source close to the group said. Reps for the band haven't given an official reason for Robinson's exit because, according to their publicist, there wasn't one. But when asked whether they were surprised at Robinson's exit, their publicist simply said, "No," before adding, "she left En Vogue, she worked with Dr. Dre and left him. There came a point where the band said began to wonder if she was going to leave Lucy Pearl. There was a pattern there . . . Let's just say that maybe it was simmering for awhile."

Robinson's replacement, Joi, has released three solo albums (the last being 1996's Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome) and has collaborated with the likes of Fishbone, Organized Noise and the Goodie Mob. "I'm ecstatic about working with someone of Raphael's and Ali's artistry," she said in a statement. "I can't wait or us to do this the way it's supposed to be done." The jazz-funk singer has already begun rehearsing with the band for their upcoming tour and will be featured on the second Lucy Pearl album.

Lucy Pearl's self-titled debut was released in May.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(November 8, 2000)