Live Strong: SWV Singer Coko Shares Personal Pain on New CD
SWV front woman Coko (real name: Cheryl Gamble Clemons) has released her sophomore gospel opus, ‘The Winner in Me,’ on Light Records.
The follow-up to 2006’s critically acclaimed ‘Grateful,’ the newly released CD landed at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Charts.
Coko said ‘Winner’ was birthed from dealing with her real-life issues.
“The songs on this CD were inspired by my own issues that I have dealt with and some that I continue to deal with,” she shared. “Depression, fear, insecurities and just the hardships that life in general present are things that even a person like me in the entertainment business has faced, and I wanted to offer music to help people cope with those things.”
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aking the decision to transition into the gospel realm was no easy move for Coko, because that genre is known for being overtly judgmental to singers who’ve performed secular music.
The New York-bred singer, who currently resides in Virginia Beach, Va., said her decision to showcase her faith through song was “all about God and not about the haters.”
“The reception has been different with this second CD, and that makes me feel really good,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I’m really happy about it. I guess they are getting past whatever they thought previously and are seeing that I’m just a real person that really loves the Lord. What you see is what you get with me, and I was going to sing His praises whether they wanted me to or not.”
Like her R&B counterparts Kelly Price, Ann Nesby, Regina Belle, Patti LaBelle and others, Coko hopes to help her sisters in song change the notion that singers can’t sing about Jesus while continuing to sing clean R&B about “life, love and relationships.”
Best known for her string of R&B hits like ‘Weak,’ ‘Right Here,’ ‘Rain’ and ‘Anything’ with her R&B trio SWV, Coko still performs spot dates with her group members Tamara “Taj” George and Leanne “LeLee” Lyons.
Though the group has opted to remove several risqué songs, like ‘Downtown’ and ‘Can We,’ from its repertoire, Coko said she doesn’t feel like she compromises by continuing to perform R&B music.
“I’m still the same Coko in those settings. I’m me where ever I go! So, whatever I sing, I’m taking you to church. Whatever I do, you’re going to see the God in me, because that’s just who I am now. God has been real good to me, and I want the world to know,” she offered.
‘The Winner in Me’ is in stores now and features collaborations with Price, Canton Jones, Israel Houghton and Coko’s mother, Lady Tibba Gamble.
August 21st, 2009 at 3:48 pm