By Marcus Scott
“Back in the day, we loved the tour buses. Didn’t we?” Taj says, beaming.
“I ain’t said nothing. But somebody used the back of the bus, our bus, [for] humpin’,” says Coko, dishing out gossip.
“Well, it wasn’t it me,” Taj proclaims. Coko and Leelee return in jest, with head-snapping whiplashes and boggled side-eyes speaking volumes. “It was you!” Leelee notes playfully, with belly laughs.
Coko recalls: “I came on [that] bus like, this bus don’t smell right…” Get it! And, so began what seemed like a return to rare form for the ladies of SWV who were combating some of their inner demons—past and present—last week. Here they were, not making outrageously catty remarks, not placing blame on each other or invisible outside forces, or working angles for their own personal ambitions. Here, they are just being friends. Weird, huh?
But not all is as it seems: Taj has only slept under the same roof with her husband only two days out of the last month, and met briefly to kiss in the airport before parting ways again. Not everyone has a story book sugar plum fairytale marriage like Jay-Z and Beyoncè; celebrity marriages take work, time management skills and attention that Taj may or may not have. More on that later…
En route through Cleveland, NC, it was made quite clear that Leelee and Taj are fans of the tour bus, embracing the slumber party aesthetic of it all. But surprise! “First Class ‘Ho” Coko isn’t a fan, and prefers the non-stop one-way flight option any day. Regardless, they make it work as they stop at a mom-and-pop shop to grab a bite. Cory, dressed like a long lost back-up extra from Scream, reminds the ladies of their schedule.
For starters, they have an early-morning photo shoot with Today’s Black Woman as styled by Shun Melson that may disturb Coko’s beauty sleep; They have a performance at the intimate Taboo 2 Bistro & Bar; And Lelee’s son Khiry will make an appearance as a guest star, getting his stage feet for the first time in front of a live audience. The ladies will also meet with celebrated hit-maker Sean Garrett—the A-List producer behind such gems as Ciara’s “Goodies,” Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons,” Usher’s “Yeah,” and Chris Brown’s “Wall to Wall”—in hopes of scoring a chance to record a new self-penned song. But there seems to be some confusion: When do they have time to write?
According to the ladies, not much and that falls on Cory to find the time and schedule the trio to write between interviews, concerts, promotions, etc. But isn’t that what touring is all about—experiencing life and writing on the road? After all, that’s what their peers, older and younger are doing. Things come to a head later when Cory and Taj get into a heated quarrel about songwriting duties and his role as road manager. Cheap shots are fired below the belt, as usual.
Then again, they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them. Their breakthrough with therapist Terrie Williams may have worked to extinguish 21 years of resentment, but feelings still linger and incidents are still being discussed. Taj’s never revealed to her “sisters” that her ex-boyfriend Antoine used to physically abuse her while on tour years before, and Coko now must open lines of communication, especially in light of recent circumstances: Her oldest son ran away from home while the trio visited London and hasn’t returned with so much as a phone call. On her Skype session with her husband, it’s discovered that her son’s court date for a vandalism charge is soon and if he doesn’t show, he faces juvie. She can’t miss it.
Taj was tweeted by a blogger who posted a story that was over a year old based on rumor that her husband had cheated on her. What turned into a phone call for comfort, turned into a rise of blood pressure as Eddie’s pay-no-mind attitude clashed with Taj’s anger. Things got bit more heated when she later confides in Leelee. Keeping it real, Leelee beseeched her to question whether Taj’s husband has been as faithful she so claims him to be. After all, he is an NFL All-Star. A feud between the two comes to a halt during their jam session with Garrett, while tinkering with a cheating man / girl power anthem “I Ain’t The Reason,” which has Top 40 written all over it (even in its rough draft!). Each of the gals has three different takes on the song, and how they want to interpret it. All it takes is Garrett’s pedagogical voice to steer them to craft the song from each perspective to get them back on track.
And just in time for the strip club! Leelee played hostess—and a great one!—by taking Taj out for a night on the town at the infamous Magic City, while Coko, staying true to her gospel image career, declined. Not to mention, Taj showed off her amazing pole dance moves. Practice, no doubt, for the next day when her husband surprised her with flowers and some good old-fashioned make-up nookie before the show.
As expected the concert is a success. Leelee’s son, Khiry shows promise as a rapper. Yet to zero astonishment, Coko waits until the last minute to let her band members know about the legal issues plaguing her son, Jazz. Things come to a head when she drops the bomb that the concert scheduled for the following week—one they’ve been pushing for some time—must be cancelled in light of the circumstances. With two episodes to go, will Coko learn to communicate before to its too late?
“SWV: Reunited” airs Thursdays at 10PM ET/PT on We TV.