SWV Is Still “Right Here” 30 Years Later — Why Did They Ever Break Up?

Mar. 3 2023, Published 1:30 p.m. ET

There’s a explanation why the entire TikTok girlies revel in growing their videos with 1990s R&B in the background. As the technology continues gaining consideration, track enthusiasts must recognize (and thank!) the lady groups who helped pave the way in which.

During the ‘90s, lady teams weren’t hard to seek out. However, SWV ruled the charts when they rose to status in 1992. The Sisters With Voices — Leanne “LeLee” Lyons, Tamara “Taj” Johnson, and Cheryl “Coko” Gamble — have been predicted to be The Supremes in their era because of their harmonies, pitches, and soulful songs like “Weak” and “Right Here.”

After 3 a long time within the track biz, SWV still plays and tours together. In March 2023, they teamed up with their rumored nemesis, Xscape, for Bravo’s SWV & Xscape: Queens of R&B. While SWV is in a position to enter their new technology, they parted on the peak in their careers. Why did SWV break up? Keep studying to find out!

SWV grew up together in New York earlier than their upward thrust to repute.

LeeLee began SWV when she, Coko, and Taj were teenagers. At 17, LeeLee was a mother of 2 and sought after the tune to be how she provided for her circle of relatives. She informed The Root in 2014 that the speculation of starting a girl workforce came when she heard R&B singer Shanice on Star Search. Soon, she enlisted Coko, who additionally lived in her Bronx community.

Then, the teens requested Taj, who lived in Brooklyn at the time, to finish the trio. While they in the end got here up with the call SWV, which stood for “Sisters With Voices,” Coko stated they almost picked a reputation that may’ve led to beef with any other big-name woman group on the time.

“You know, when SWV first got here out, our name used to be TLC. Honey, we were given a cease and desist actual rapid,” she published in an interview with Carlos King, in line with Hot New Hip Hop. “So, we had to alternate our name … We needed to trade our names so rapid, so, you know, we weren’t too satisfied about that. That’s how we went from TLC to SWV.”

SWV didn’t sweat their name trade. In 1992, their first album was once qualified multiplatinum, with over 2 million data offered. Following the luck, they printed two more albums, “New Beginning” in 1996 and “Release Some Tension” the next year. Ironically, "Release Some Tension" used to be the group's closing album earlier than their '90s breakup.

Why did SWV break up? The staff has several different views on the cut up.

In 1998, SWV announced they were breaking up after 5 years in combination. According to LeeLee and Taj, their report label sought after Coko to be the “Diana Ross” of the group and made it clear to her bandmates. Taj additionally said in 2014 that they fought about the whole lot from “the solar, the moon, and the celebrities” prior to in the end parting techniques in 1998. The break up resulted in Coko touchdown a solo maintain the gang’s label, though she insisted her solo goals had nothing to do with SWV’s death.

“SWV were going through some adjustments," Coko defined to MTV News in 1998. "You know, we had communications problems. The team spirit was once gone, and the friendship was long gone, basically. That's the whole thing in a nutshell. It used to be either we had been gonna get it in combination, or we were not. And we couldn't get it in combination, so we had to pass. And that was it."

SWV had a reunion in 2005 and is officially back together now.

SWV’s fans were heartbroken to hear that the group disbanded after a short time in the spotlight. However, the split affected the band members personally and professionally.

Although Coko released her solo album "Hot Coko" in 1999, Taj and LeeLee went on to other careers. Taj started modeling and married former NFL star Eddie George in 2004. While LeeLee pursued a career in music behind-the-scenes, she went back to a corporate job. After getting her GED, she began working at an accounting agency.

In 2005, after seven years apart, SWV reunited when they started gaining a global audience in Japan. The reunion sparked the group to get back in the studio, and in 2011 they debuted their fourth album, “I Missed Us,” followed by their 2014 reality show, SWV Reunited.

While SWV Reunited only lasted two seasons, it gave the group a broader fan base. Since their reunion, they have received multiple accolades, including the Lady of Soul award at the BET Soul Train Music Awards. SWV and Xscape also had one of the most talked about Verzuz battles after they competed towards each other in May 2021.

Fans will see extra of SWV’s dynamic in 2023 by means of their new home at Bravo. SWV & Xscape: Queens of R&B premieres Sunday, March 5, at 9:30 p.m. EST.

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