Funky fans, now we know we all love 90s R&B and the many artists that set the 90s off right! Can we bring up some more sisters that can sang though? How about Sisters with Voices? Oh yes y’all we are getting into SWV! These ladies made us Weak each time we heard their voices and even today we still can’t get enough.
SWV began their careers as gospel singers in ‘88 with Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. These sisters were surely blessed by the almighty to gift them and us with such amazing voices. They eventually caught the eyes of RCA executives after a live performance; the execs signed them to an eight-album deal and it was up from there. SWV became one of the 90s biggest R&B girl groups next to Xscape and En Vogue. Their debut album, It’s About Time, gave us much heat with hits such as “Right Here”, “Weak”, “I’m So Into You” and many others. These songs alone topped R&B charts holding the No. 1 and 2 spots and, of course, the album went multiplatinum. Their most iconic song from this album is “Human Nature” derived from Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”. This song was a severe bop with a video to match.
In the following years, SWV’s career began to soar in the mid-90s as they made appearances on soundtracks such as Booty Call with their song “Can We” and one of the most popular soundtracks of the 90s, Waiting to Exhale. They were featured on the albums of other artists and wrote music for several more. SWV’s voices gave everyone a breath of fresh air and a sense of reassuring love. We all fell in love anytime we heard the sounds of these songbirds. They worked with producers such as Pharrell and The Neptunes for their second album, New Beginnings. Their signature song from the album was “You’re the One” with its new jack swing feel. This song was another bop for the collection.
By ‘98, the group split to work on their own solo careers. While they had little victories along the way, it was not more than the commercial success they received as a group. They decided to reunite in 2005. They appeared on talk shows such as The Wendy Williams Show to announce their union and upcoming albums. Today, SWV is still together and pumping out music. As of recently they performed on Verzuz, an Instagram live music battle of legendary artists who have been in the music game for at least 20 years, against Xscape and when we say hits baby, we mean HITS! SWV was the breath of fresh air we needed and they gave us spiritual, emotional and mental love and these are the best forms of love to give!
The nostalgia that comes from Verzuz is just uncanny and unmatched! We just hope that we are bringing you guys the same energy here!
Stay tuned for more artists profiles and feel free to browse around and remember the times when we were funky!