walking upstream…
SWV
SWV (Sisters With Voices) — Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George, and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons — formed as a gospel trio in New York in 1988 before crossing over into R&B, fusing new jack swing production with the vocal interplay of church choirs. Coko's Pentecostal upbringing, including a stint in Bishop Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, anchored the group's sound through hits like "Weak" and "Right Here (Human Nature Remix)."
the sound in question
1992
WeakSWV
walk the tributaries ↓
Tramaine Hawkins1980s · Gospel / Urban Contemporary Gospel
Coko cited Tramaine Hawkins directly as one of her biggest influences — Hawkins' contemporary-gospel vocal runs, refined during her time with the Edwin Hawkins Singers and on her own solo hits, shaped the ad-lib vocabulary Coko carried into secular R&B.
listen: upstream & heresource: Cheryl "Coko" Clemons booking bio — cites Twinkie Clark and Tramaine Hawkins among her biggest influences ↗
1985
ChangedTramaine Hawkins
1993
I'm So Into YouSWV
listen forA single word stretched into a cascading melismatic run before landing back on the beat — Hawkins' "Changed" is a masterclass in it, and you can hear the same reflex in Coko's ad-libs on "I'm So Into You."
Patti LaBelle1980s · R&B / Soul / Dance-Pop
Coko has said in interviews that she grew up "listening to and loving" Patti LaBelle and wanting to hit soprano notes like her — LaBelle's theatrical, full-throated belting on ballads set a bar for power and control that runs through Coko's lead vocals.
listen: upstream & heresource: Atlanta Black Star — Coko on growing up wanting to sing like Patti LaBelle ↗
1983
If Only You KnewPatti LaBelle
1996
Use Your HeartSWV
listen forA sustained, chest-voice high note held past where it 'should' resolve — LaBelle does it on "If Only You Knew," and SWV chase the same kind of peak on "Use Your Heart."
The Clark Sisters1980s · Gospel / Urban contemporary gospel
Coko has named Twinkie Clark among her single biggest influences — the Clark Sisters' virtuosic, ad-lib-heavy Pentecostal-choir sound (by way of Detroit's COGIC tradition) is the same well Coko drew from during her own choir years before SWV went secular.
listen: upstream & here
1981
You Brought the SunshineThe Clark Sisters
1992
WeakSWV
listen forThe stacked three-part harmony and the way a lead voice breaks into a florid, church-trained run at the end of a phrase — listen for the same instinct in the a cappella harmonies that open "Weak."