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my theory about SWV’s lack of pro accolades: they were regular Black girls who sang down. wasn’t no gimmick. their sound was clark sisters + new jack swing. they’re unambiguously Black. there was no way to make them palatable to white audiences. none.
the crossover factor is usually how much white ppl engage and enjoy the art, right? and a lot of times it’s dependent on how hugely popular an artist’s music becomes outside their initial fan base. TLC, SWV, Xscape, DC were all making Black music for Black ppl.
but there was no iconography for white ppl to adopt with SWV. TLC were “raunchy and fun.” bright colors. dressed like teenage boys when they first hit the scene. Xscape called themselves “the female jodeci.” DC had remixes for days and matchy outfits.
Xscape and TLC also had huge production and label shit going on. laface and soso def were running shit. RCA didn’t have a special Black folk imprint IIRC.
just some thoughts I’m thinking.
just some thoughts I’m thinking.
when coko went solo there was no wow factor for white ppl.
they weren’t gonna love a solidly brown skinned breakout star from a strictly r&b girl group. they still aren’t, tbh.
they weren’t gonna love a solidly brown skinned breakout star from a strictly r&b girl group. they still aren’t, tbh.
their sound grew beautifully. the two reunion albums they’ve dropped show a maturity while still being very connected to the church meets boom bap sound they had at the start. it’s a shame because everyone loooOoooOoOooooves “weak,” right?
it’s a mess. a real mess. that song gets sampled, covered, etc TO THIS DAY. and it’s like, “oh wow, they were dope, what happened?”
the neptunes had their first big hit with swv.
ALL 3 OF THEM CAN SING.
I’m upset because they said they never won *shit* until the soul train tribute jawn a couple years back.
ALL 3 OF THEM CAN SING.
I’m upset because they said they never won *shit* until the soul train tribute jawn a couple years back.
never mind the fact that coko is even more karen clark sheard than faith is, but it’s easier to connect KCS and faith because faith is light skinned.
give Black women artists their things.
also, this is a theory. I’m exploring facts as part of figuring out said theory. I’m not making any declarations about the value or worth of SWV or anyone else.
