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SWV - Lelee, Coko and Taj
Popular 1990's girl group SWV, an acronym for Sisters With Voices, release this week, "I Miss Us," their first album in 15 years. In 1997, they released their last two albums, "Release Some Tension" and "A Special Christmas."
Though SWV, known for hits "Right Here," "I'm So Into You" and "Weak," reunited in 2005 and have since toured with the likes of Bobby Brown, En Vogue and Bell Biv DeVoe, they have also maintained separate pursuits.
In 2011, they appeared on a remix of Chris Brown's "She Ain't You" that sampled their 1992 hit "Right Here (Human Nature Remix)."
After the breakup, lead singer Cheryl "Coko" Clemons embarked on a solo career. That year she sang the chorus for the "Men In Black" theme song performed by Will Smith and made her debut in 1999 with "Hot Coko." While "Hot Coko" did not achieve the success of SWV's records, Coko was well received in the gospel circuit making her mark with her 2006 album, "Grateful." In 2007, she performed on BET's Celebration Of Gospel.
Coko is married to Mike "Big Mike" Clemons, who is the drummer in the gospel recording group Israel And New Breed. They have two sons, Jaylon and Jazz. Jazz's is also Coko's son with Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, former member of Digable Planets.
Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George signed a two-year contract with the Ford Modeling Agency after the group disbanded. After her modeling stint, she began dating former Tennessee Titan Eddie George and they wed in 2004. They had their first child, Michael, the following year. They also have an older son, Jaire David, from George's previous relationship.
SWVTaj also spent some of her time after the group in college. In 2004, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Nashville's Belmont University. In 2007, Taj and George starred in a reality series, "I Married A Baller." That same year, Taj co-authored the book, "Player hateHER: How To Avoid The Beat Down And Live In A Drama-Free World." In 2009, Taj competed on "Survivor: Tocantins."
Leanne "Lelee" Lyons had a tougher time after the group's breakup. In a 2007 interview with "Sister 2 Sister" magazine, Lelee discussed falling on hard times and even becoming homeless. The mother of two adult children, Margaret and Khiry, has never been married but said in a recent interview with V101.5 that she has been engaged four times.
SWV admits that feuding lead to their demise. "We started hating each other," Lelee told V101.5, adding that they allowed intermediaries to pit them against each other. But they eventually put their differences aside and decided to "get together and make money and do something for the people."
When recording "I Miss Us" the group insisted on keeping their classic sound. "We were like, 'No. We know who we are. Don't try to give us what someone else is doing. Give us SWV. So we didn't stop until we got what we wanted."
"I Miss Us" has received positive reviews. The lead single "Co-Sign" was most added at Urban AC radio stations. The group said they are in talks to host a reality show.