Today NPR‘s “Tiny Desk” concludes their Black Music Month celebration with the catalyst for the all-female lineup, legendary SWV.
The lineup also included; Tems, Chaka Khan, Tierra Whack, Kierra Sheard, Lakecia Benjamin, Meshell Ndegeocello, Brittney Spencer, and Flo Milli.
The special series theme is “Giving women their flowers.” After each concert, musicians are given their favorite flowers in honor of their impact and legacy in music.
“The Queens of R&B Tour” with Xscape, kicked off last night in Concord, CA, with SWV opening to rave reviews.
Check Out The “SWV: Tiny Desk Concert!”
SWV emerged from the projects and conquered the world of music. Founded in the early 90s, they incorporated New Jack Swing & Hip Hop into their style of R&B. Making them a stand-out group, from the rest of their peers. With their tomboyish street soul, down to earth personalities, beauty and extreme talent…the world wasn’t ready, for what they were about to bring.
New York City-bred Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Tamara Johnson-George and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons make up the trio known as SWV (Sisters With Voices).
The music for them started in their Brooklyn and Bronx school days as Female Edition, their so-called female answer to New Edition. Then it wasn’t to be stars themselves, they just wanted to meet NE. Having already gained the invaluable experience of singing weekly before a church congregation, Coko (whose mother is a noted gospel vocalist) and Lelee, as well as Taj, who attended a performing arts high school, had all the raw materials for building a successful music career. Motivated by their mutual quest for a career in music, as well as promising talent show performances, all three remained dedicated until fate led them to producer Donald “Dee” Bowden, who took them into the studio to record demos, and to their manager, Maureen Singleton, who landed them a contract with RCA Records.
In 1992 they dropped their debut album, “It’s About Time.” The album was recorded in six months.
SWV‘s debut album scored a string of top ten R&B hits. To be clear, every single released from the album hit the Top 10. “I’m So Into You”, “Right Here”, “Downtown”, “You’re Always on my Mind” and the classic “Weak.” “Weak” sold 50,000 singles in one day. This established the trio as a commercial force in early 1993. Teddy Riley helped the group craft their sound further with “Right Here/Human Nature, the remix to their hit “Right Here.”” The remix features samples of Michael Jackson’s hit, “Human Nature.” The remix also went #1 on the R&B charts, for seven weeks to be exact and went #2 on the Pop charts. “I had no goals honestly [when we started], I just wanted to get out of the hood. I had no idea that SWV would become so big!” Coko recently told UB.
SWV’s remix of “Anything” with Wu Tang Clan was released from the Above the Rim soundtrack and became a top R&B hit in the spring of 1994. The single went gold. All of this was achieved on the strength of Coko‘s voice and SWV‘s round-the-way girl appeal. Subsequently “SWV: The Remixes” was another gold seller for the group which featured the hits thus far from the ladies.
“It’s About Time” would go on to sell more than 5 million records worldwide, and would become the #2 best selling album of 1993. As LeLee once stated, SWV didn’t have an image, they were just being themselves with the first release. However Coko was known for her four-inch fingernails, which started a trend in the hood.
SWV returned with their platinum sophomore release in 1996 “New Beginning.” Unlike their debut album, they were given more time to record. A process that took two years to complete. The album was preceded by the #1 hit “You’re the One,” which was written by Coko & Taj. The Neptune’s produced the follow-up hit “Use Your Heart” which was another top 10 hit for the ladies. The third single from the album, was a first from SWV — a single release with Coko not on lead vocals. The single “It’s All About U” features Taj doing the main leads on the song.
Coko recently told UB her Top 5 favorite SWV songs. Three are from “New Beginning.” “You Are My Love,” “Fine Time” and “Love Is So Amazing.” The other two are “Rain” & “I’m So Into You.”
For “New Beginning,” Coko & Taj also wrote “Whatcha Need,” while Taj wrote “Love Is So Amazing” & Coko wrote “I’m So In Love.” The album went on to sell over a million copies, making “New Beginning” SWV‘s second platinum release
In 1997, SWV released their third album “Release Some Tension.” “Someone,” the first single from the album, paired SWV with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who both produced the track and raps on it. The second single, “Lose My Cool,” a rhythmic duet between SWV and rapper Redman. The albums biggest hit “Rain,” is a trademark torch song ballad written and produced by first album collaborator Brian Alexander Morgan.
SWV also teamed up with none other than rap icon Snoop Dogg, on “Gettin’ Funky.” Not to be left out, other hip-hop notables came to the SWV party: Foxy Brown is on the title cut, the saucy, sensual “Release Some Tension.” There are also songs with Lil’ Ceasar, Lil’ Kim and with rapper E-40, on “Come And Get Some,” a tune co-written by Coko.
The album also features their smash “Can We” featuring Missy Elliot and produced by Timberland, which was also featured on the Booty Call soundtrack. Some feel that album was rushed, due to the huge success of “Can We.” RCA pretty much tried to change SWV‘s image off of that one song, and rushed them in the studio with other artists. This album was more, SWV & Friends.
They followed “Release Some Tension” with their acclaimed “A Special Christmas” holiday album and 1999‘s “SWV: Greatest Hits.”
Participating on the “Booty Call” soundtrack was only one of many SWV endeavors during that time. Coko was the featured vocalist on Will Smith‘s huge hit “Men In Black,” from the hit movie’s soundtrack; she also did a duet with Johnny Gill on the “Booty Call” soundtrack; and she did a song and video with rapper AZ. Taj and Coko appeared in Lil’ Kim‘s video for “Ladies Night” and “Tell Me How You Want It” was recorded for the “Money Talks” soundtrack.
After a 15-year gap between studio albums, “I Missed Us” arrived in 2012 as a smart update of SWV‘s ‘90s sound. The release debuted at #6 on the R&B chart. The album earned them a Grammy® nod in 2013 for “Best Traditional R&B Performance.” “Co-Sign” was the lead single that featured a hot video directed by Derek Blanks.
In February 2014, Coko released a new solo gospel single “At Your Feet,” Taj & Lelee joined Coko on stage to perform the single at BET’s Celebration of Gospel. A month previous, fans saw as Coko recorded the song on SWV‘s hit WE tv reality show “SWV Reunited.”
Coko talked to UB about “SWV Reunited” at the time and told us what we could expect, “You know us as SWV the music, but I don’t think you guys know our individual personalities. You think you know us, but you don’t really know us. Like most people would consider me to be a b*tch and whatever! But you really get to see like who we are. How we operate in our everyday life with our family. Our family and how we come together within the group. You get to learn about our break-up. You have three different stories, so you guys can believe whatever story you want.”
The show didn’t disappoint, and aired for three seasons. 2016‘s “Still” was SWV‘s fifth album and the best SWV album since “New Beginning.” The album was led by “Ain’t No Man,” a typically sweet mid-tempo track that showcases Coko, Taj, and Lelee‘s harmonies while referencing the 1980 quiet storm classic “Love’s Calling,” originally recorded by the James Ingram-fronted Zingara.
2016 also saw the ladies being spotlighted on TV One‘s hit series “Unsung.” Although the episode showcased the ups and downs of the trio throughout their career. The ladies wasn’t necessarily happy with the way the episode was edited and presented. Regardless it was one of the most watched episodes of the series.
In 2017, the 25th anniversary of Sisters With Voices! The ladies started the year, recording with childhood idols Bell Biv DeVoe for their album “Three Stripes,” on the hot single “Finally.”
BET honored the ladies with their first ever, televised musical award throughout their 25 years, at the Soul Train Awards. SWV took to the stage to perform a melody of their hits; “Weak,” “Right Here” and “Rain.” They closed out their set with “Anything” remix with appearances from Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man & U-God. The honor was a long time coming and well deserved!
Coko told UB the best part about receiving that honor, “Just finally being recognized. We’ve been in the industry for so long. Never part of any cliques, just us.” She went on to say “So we’ve always had to fight a lot harder than the rest. So, to finally be recognized was awesome! I just wanted the flowers before I was dead and gone.”
