April 2, 2007

Candidly Coko

When the April issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine hit newsstands recently, it sent shockwaves through the music industry with its tell-all interview with SWV founder Leanne "LeLee" Lyons. In the Jamie Foster Brown exclusive, LeLee detailed how she was nearly "destitute" after the group broke up in 1998 and how she would "go to gay clubs and meet girls just to have someplace to sleep."

The alarming fall from grace story had online chat rooms and blogs buzzing about the state of LeLee and her fellow Sisters With Voices singers. The group's lead singer Cheryl "Coko" Clemons told me in an exclusive interview that she was just as surprised as everyone else by many of the stories LeLee disclosed in the interview.

"I was not aware of the interview prior to it coming out," Coko said. "When the magazine first came out, I got a few phone calls from people telling me about the interview and they read some of the things she said in it. I went to get it myself and discovered it was...quite something! I was shocked! I never expected her to say all of that stuff."

LeLee told Sister 2 Sister's publisher that she was financially strapped following the group's demise and was "homeless" for some time. Those allegations have many questioning why Coko or fellow group member Tamara "Taj" George didn't step in to help. "I didn't know any of that stuff because we weren't speaking during that time. We didn't really start talking again until like 2003," Coko offered.

The 34-year-old, Bronx-bred LeLee also confessed that when SWV disbanded in 1998, she only received a check for $25,000 from RCA Records and was sent on her way. "I was still on the label as a solo artist so that's not what happened to me," explained Coko, who in addition to releasing a solo record 'Hot Coko' in 1999 went on to collaborate with everyone from Will Smith ("Men In Black" theme song) to L.S.G. ("All The Times" featuring Faith Evans and Missy Elliott). "I've been blessed! I'm not broke and if its God's will, I'm never going to be broke," said Coko.

As disheartening as LeLee's reality is, Coko said that LeLee's situation isn't a reflection of her or Taj. "I can't really speak for Taj, but LeLee's situation is unique only to her," explained Coko. Apparently during SWV's heyday, LeLee's reputation for missing dates and causing trouble on the road had RCA ready to replace her, a la Destiny's Child style. "That's true," Coko admitted, before adding: "Taj and I were against that. We didn't want to replace her with anybody. It was going to be the original members or we weren't going to do it at all. She put the group together and we weren't going to sing with anybody else."

The hoopla surrounding this Sister 2 Sister story has shocked Coko. "We ain't have this much buzz when people learned we were getting back together," she laughed. And while they've been performing regularly with acts like After 7, Bobby Brown and Blackstreet since reuniting in August of 2005, Coko shared that their Toronto tour date with New Edition in late June will serve as an indefinite hiatus for the girls again. "It's not where I am right now. The reunion dates over the last two years offered us a chance to fix our friendship and helped us launch individual projects of our own," she confessed. "Spiritually, I couldn't perform some of those songs we used to sing before and I felt as though if we kept taking songs out the show, we weren't going to have anything left to sing after a while. That isn't fair to the fans that are coming out to see us. The next chapter of my life is focusing on my gospel project, 'Grateful,' which came out last fall."

Will the group ever perform together again? "Yeah, we may occasionally reunite for some major events or television specials or something. But just doing spot dates for sake of doing spot dates isn't where I am right now," she said.

Coko, who is married to percussionist/producer Mike Clemons and has two sons, just received two GMA Dove Award nominations for 'Grateful.' She's also been doing spot dates on Fred Hammond's "Free To Worship" tour along with Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore. Her latest single, "I Get Joy," was the most added song at gospel radio last week.

Taj is still married to former football player turned sports commentator Eddie George and they have two sons. Their life is being detailed in the TV One reality series 'I Married A Baller,' which debuts April 21. This summer, the singer will publish her first book, 'Player HateHer: Why Can't Women Just Get Along?' (Amistad/Harper Collins). She also runs Visions with Infinite Possibilities (VIP), a non-profit organization founded by her husband to enrich the lives of women and children affected by domestic abuse.

LeLee has plans on launching an entertainment company to develop new artists. In addition, she recently shot a pilot for a syndicated radio show that she hopes will get picked up. She also commented about the online backlash from her Sister 2 Sister interview on her MySpace page. She wrote: "Lelee is not homeless. I sleep very well at night (smile). PS. The media is really concerned about who I'm f@&#in. Is she gay or what? To satisfy everyone's curiosity who is interested please go to www.kissmyass.com."

Hollywood Fresh Face

Over the next couple of weeks, "BV Buzz" will feature a series of stories about on-the-rise actors, musicians and entertainers who are next for their turn in the spotlight. This week's subject is actor Gregory Keith, best known for playing Trey on the Logo series 'Noah's Arc.' After two successful seasons on MTV's alternative lifestyle network, fans of the series were shocked to learn the show was being cancelled and possibly brought to closure in a film.

"Well part of me is and the other part of me is saying, hey you know what, they're going to do a movie so we're stepping up to the next level. We'll be putting 'Noah's Arc' on more of a global scale as opposed to just Logo. Not taking anything away from Logo, but I always felt like 'Noah's Arc' needed to be on a universal platform instead of a small TV thing," Keith told me over lunch at the famed Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n' Waffles in Hollywood. According to Keith, the four principle actors (Darryl Stephens, Rodney Chester, Christian Vincent and Doug Spearman) and the director are currently in contract negotiations for the film.

Anytime a Hollywood actor plays a prominent gay character, there's always questions about the possibility of them being typecast. "Well, it wasn't necessarily a concern for me. I had more concern from my family members and what not. My whole outlet was, hey, I'm an actor and as long as the writing is good, it's a good thing. If the writing was B.S., I wouldn't have done it even it was a straight character. What I did initially was read the character as if they were a woman and a man. If it still made since and there still was that connection there and still that harmony, then its good writing," he shared.

And in case you're wondering, this Detroit-bred actor is heterosexual. "I'm not gay in real life," Keith laughed. "Once you get past the whole I'm gay, I'm straight thing; it's just work!"

The popularity of the show had the cast of 'Noah's Arc' jet-setting the country making appearances on behalf of the show. Many appearances were at gay-themes parties and alternative nights at clubs across the country. "It was crazy. I was in D.C. one time and had a couple of incidents. I had a couple of people who really tried to take it to the next level...the whole meet me in the room type situation. But with those exceptions it's probably been one of the most positive experiences in my life. Because I have so many people come up to me and say that Greg and Rodney's relationship on the show has helped my relationship or the way Greg portrays a gay male helped me to come out. That's something I hadn't even thought of and I never thought we'd affect people in that way," said Keith.

While details are ironed out for the film adaptation of 'Noah's Arc,' Keith is set to star opposite Dewayne "The Rock" Johnson in a forthcoming action film. The actor also has a reality series called 'What's Funny' that is being produced by 'Noah's Arc' producer Patrik-Ian Polk. Keith is also a songwriter. "I've been writing songs since I was 11-years-old. I got to be that renaissance-type cat. If I don't, someone is going to past me up," he closed.

Buzzworthy

Congratulations to singer Faith Evans. She and husband Todd Russaw are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy named Ryder Evan Russaw, who was born on March 22. The 33-year-old Capitol Records recording artist has three other children, including Christopher Jordan Wallace Jr, the son of the late Notorious B.I.G.

Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad is making her directorial debut in Seattle with August Wilson's drama "Gem of the Ocean" for the Seattle Repertory Theatre. The production, which opens April 11, will star Khalil Kain ('Girlfriends') among others. Best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show,' Rashad will reprise her Tony-winning role from the Broadway revival of 'A Raisin in the Sun' with Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Sanaa Lathan, Bill Nunn and Audra McDonald for a forthcoming ABC special.

'Dreamgirls' actress Sharon Leal is not dating former 'NYPD' star Henry Simmons like some online blogs are reporting. Leal is actually married to writer/actor Bev Land ('What Are the Odds') and the two have a son named Kai Miles Land.

'American Idol' contestant turned Broadway superstar Frenchie Davis is not-I repeat, not-managed by "civil rights" leader Najee Ali of Project Islamic H.O.P.E. Though the publicity voracious "activist" did spearhead the campaign against 'American Idol' in lieu of them keeping 2007 semifinalist Antonella Barber in the competition despite racy photos surfacing online, he is not her manager like numerous media outlets keep reporting. Davis told Karu F. Daniels of "The BV Newswire" that she is managed by Belinda Foster. Davis will head into the recording studio after completing her four-year run in 'Rent' in late May to record her debut album for Warner Bros. Records.

Special thanks to Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Producer at Black Entertainment Television. I was Gentry's guest at the 63rd Annual Dinner for the White House Radio & Television Correspondent's Association. The posh affair featured speeches by President George W. Bush, ABC's Bob Woodruff and US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; in addition to a performance by actors from 'Who's Line Is It Anyway.' I'm sure they're still repeating the event on C-Span if you want to see it for yourself.

Can't Say Names ...

Sources at a nationally syndicated variety show are fuming mad that the talent that agreed to host the next season abruptly backed out. Producers for the series had to quickly find someone else to host the new season of the veteran series. At the eleventh hour, a top-draw Hollywood funnyman saved the day.