*90s R&B icons SWV are gearing up to hit the road with Salt N Pepa, but before they embark on the national tour, the trio is taking fans behind the scenes of their lives with a new reality show, “Ladies Night.”
“Ladies Night” follows Salt-N-Pepa, who are preparing for their Las Vegas residency, and SWV members, Cheryl “Coko” Gamble, Tamara “Taj” Johnson and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons – who will join group on tour.
“You get to see the human side of who we are,” Taj told BOSSIP. “And it’s ok to be human. A lot of times we try to cover up so much being in this business….you get to see us cry. You get to see us in pain, you get to see us fighting – not with each other, but just fighting for something.”
Bossip dished with the hitmakers about the series as well as what fans can expect when “Ladies Night” premieres next week on BET. Check out the conversation below.
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It’s Women’s History Month and I’m excited to announce coming this April, Salt N Pepa with SWV on “LADIES NIGHT” Check out these two iconic groups in action on @BET #Ladies #LadiesNight #SaltNPepa #SWV #BET #WomensHistoryMonth #Peptalk #Pepitup #Pepa #DaPepas #Jamaican ?? pic.twitter.com/rcPy9AgiLX
— Pepa (@DaRealPepa) March 13, 2019
BOSSIP: What was the hardest part about the five months of filming?
Coco: “I went through a divorce during this whole process, so you get to see that.”
Taj: “I ended up having a seizure in Australia and I had to go to the emergency room. But the best part about it was the cost. Honey, it was $149!…Medication costs 10 times that.”
Lelee: “The part that stuck out for me was when we were in Vegas, and they have a Ferris wheel. They were trying to get me to go on the Ferris wheel, and I have a huge fear of heights. I was afraid to go, my nerves were really bad.”
BOSSIP: What have you done to get ready for the show to air?
Lelee: “Preparing for all the haters. Everyone has an opinion. People are mean. Just preparing for social media. When we’re doing our shows, we have our own rhythm and we’re cool in that space, but now it’s going to be magnified.”
Taj: “Whenever you put something out there, you have to be prepared for social media to rip it down before they say anything good.”
BOSSIP: What do you want viewers to take away from the show?
Coco: “For me I want people to know that a lot of people deal with depression, mental illness, and it’s okay to go to therapy. Prayer works, yes God. And therapy is great. And it’s really okay to take medication. I think that there are many black people who don’t even want to do it. And on the show, you get to see me deal with all of that. It’s okay. I’m bipolar and I’m still beautiful. That’s what I want people to see the most and to get out of the show, that I’m just not a diva, I have issues.”
BOSSIP: What was life like for you three in the 1990s?
Taj: “In the 90s, every day was special. The food was good. The clothes were cute, the hair was natural. There were no butt implants. It was just so much fun – everyone has their era, but the 90s was the s**t!”
Coco: “We just had a good time in the 90s. We felt free.”
BOSSIP: We heard that you used to live in the same condo complex as the Notorious BIG. What was that like?
Lelee: “They were very loud! You knew when they were coming in. The cars, they didn’t care! And we lived in a very conservative area.”
“Ladies Night” airs Tuesday nights at 10/9c on BET.
