Hot Coko

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Hot Coko
Right Track Recording, Sony Music (New York City)
  • Studio 17 (White Plains, New York)
  • Pacifique (North Hollywood, California)
  • Brandon's Way Recording (Los Angeles)
  • Vanguard (Oak Park, Michigan)
  • Enterprise (Burbank, California)
  • Record Plant (Hollywood, California)
    • Genre
    Length51:32
    Label
    Producer
    Coko chronology
    Hot Coko
    (1999)     		Grateful
    (2006)
    Singles from Hot Coko
    1. "Sunshine"
      Released: July 12, 1999[1]
    2. "Triflin'"
      Released: November 1, 1999[2]

    Hot Coko is the debut solo studio album by American

    SWV
    earlier in the decade.

    The album debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200 and entered the top 20 of the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Hot Coko spawned two singles that found minimal Billboard chart success, with its lead single "Sunshine", reaching the lower ranks of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached the top seventy, becoming her sole appearance on that chart to date. Shortly after the album's underperformance on the Billboard charts, Coko departed RCA in late 1999.

    Background and recording

    Coko first rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the trio SWV. Following the group's disbandment in 1998, she pursued a solo music career.[4] In a 1999 Billboard interview, Coko said that she had been unable to record solo music due to her SWV obligations.[5] Her debut studio album was recorded in various studios in California and New York.[6] Coko took more creative control of her music by co-writing songs and picking producers.[5] She co-wrote music with Rodney Jerkins who also produced songs for the album.[5][7]

    Although she described

    urban crossover market" as her primary demographic.[5]

    Composition and lyrics

    soul ballads.[12] Flick compared Coko's vocals for "Bigger Than We" to Gladys Knight, specifically due to the song's "layer rhythm-harmony arrangement".[12]

    "Triflin'", featuring a rap verse from Eve, is an R&B song with hip hop influences and lyrics about a woman teasing her boyfriend.[13] The hook includes: "Ghetto / Sorry / Oh no / Tired game / And that's such a shame / ... pitiful."[12] Entertainment Weekly's Matt Diehl cited "Triflin'" and "I Ain't Feelin You" as examples of hip hop soul.[14] Flick wrote that "I Ain't Feelin You" was a "funk anthem" and referred to "Everytime" as "smooth [and] warmly romantic".[12] Coko recorded "If This World Were Mine", originally a 1967 single by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, as a duet with Tyrese.[15] Flick described the cover as a slow jam.[12] The standard edition of the album ends with "So Hard to Say Goodbye" which features backing vocals from Babyface and Kevon Edmonds.[15]

    Reception

    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[16]
    Billboard(favorable)[17]
    Entertainment WeeklyC+[18]
    Rolling Stone[19]
    Vibe(favorable)[19]

    Hot Coko was released to a generally mixed to positive reception. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "[Coko] isn't the most charismatic singer, but she is blessed with a strong voice that sounds very inviting when placed in the right settings." He awarded the album three out of five stars.[16] Matt Diehl from Entertainment Weekly found that Hot Coko "plays like a game of 'Name That Diva': Too often, she obliges Mary J. Blige fans with copycat vocals of their idol while faithfully replicating Faith Evans’ smooth sound. But when Coko’s flamethrower pipes cook the chocolaty-good hip-hop soul rhythms that drive ”Triflin”’ and ”I Ain’t Feeling You,” she’s not just a sister with a voice but with an attitude."[18]

    Track listing

    Hot Coko track listing
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    1."Intro"
    • Shawn Carter
    • Trevor Job
    		 0:40
    2."Don't Take Your Love Away"
    		Jerkins4:10
    3."Sunshine"
    		Jerkins4:07
    4."You and Me"
    • Daniels
    • Gamble
    • Jerkins
    • Jerkins III
    • Anthony
    		Jerkins4:26
    5."Bigger Than We"Brian Alexander MorganMorgan4:37
    6."Try-Na Come Home"
    • John Daniels
    • LaShawn Daniels
    • Gamble
    		J. Daniels4:28
    7."Triflin'" (featuring Eve)
    • Bink!
    • Morgan
    		4:47
    8."I Ain't Feelin You"
    		Jerkins4:27
    9."Everytime"
    • Gamble
    • Morgan
    		Morgan5:07
    10."All My Lovin'"
    • Daniels
    • Gamble
    • Jerkins
    • Jerkins III
    		Jerkins5:02
    11."If This World Were Mine" (featuring Tyrese)Marvin GayeMichael J. Powell5:21
    12."So Hard to Say Goodbye"
    • Eric Jackson
    • Damon Thomas
    		Thomas4:21
    European bonus track
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    13."He Be Back"
    • Timothy Mosley
    		Elliott4:52
    Japanese bonus track
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    14."This Ain't Love"Laney StewartStewart4:19

    Charts

    Chart performanc for Hot Coko
    Chart (1999) Peak
    position
    US Billboard 200[20] 68
    US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 14

    References

    1. ^ "ADDvance Notice" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 9, 1999. p. 57. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
    2. ^ "Gavin Top40/Rhythm: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2278. November 1, 1999. p. 9.
    3. ^ "Billboard". July 17, 1999.
    4. ^ Phares, Heather. "Coko: Artist Biography by Heather Phares". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015.
    5. ^ a b c d e Hay, Carla (July 17, 1999). "SWV's Coko Aims To Make Solo Splash". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 29. pp. 24, 28. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
    6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hot Coko: AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018.
    7. ^ "Coko Breaks Down SWV Break-Up". MTV News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018.
    8. ^ Mao, Andrea Duncan (August 24, 1999). "Coko Sounds off On Solo Debut". MTV News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018.
    9. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (March 4, 2015). "Girl Group Solo Songs: The 10 Best (Non-Beyonce) Singles of the Modern Era". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
    10. ^ Marcus, Ezra (March 7, 2019). "Lil Tracy's Third Life". The Fader. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019.
    11. ^
      Noisey
      . Retrieved March 15, 2019.
    12. ^ a b c d e f Flick, Larry (October 1999). "Hot Coko". Vibe. 7 (8): 177–178. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
    13. ^ Taylor, Chuck (November 20, 1999). "Singles: Triflin'". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 47. p. 25. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
    14. ^ Diehl, Matt (August 13, 1999). "Music Review: 'Hot Coko'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015.
    15. ^ a b Verna, Paul (August 28, 1999). "Hot Coko". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 35. p. 26. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
    16. ^ a b "Hot Coko - Coko | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
    17. ^ "Billboard". August 28, 1999.
    18. ^ a b Diehl, Matt (August 13, 1999). "Music Review: 'Hot Coko'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
    19. ^ a b "Vibe". Vibe Media. October 1999.
    20. ^ "Coko Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
    21. ^ "Coko Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2020.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hot_Coko&oldid=1211391981"