courtesy of electriclibrarycanada.

YSB Magazine

"Sistas of Swing" written by Tony Pendleton November, 30, 1994

Sistas of Swing:

How do you get a record deal?

Ask Sista, a ponytailed posse of four from Virginia who were lucky (and aggressive) enough to catch the attention Jodeci’s DeVante Swing two years ago.

Now, LaShawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, Radiah Scott and Misdemeanor (Missy Elliot) have a new album, "4 All the Sistas Around Da World", and matching tatoos, (DeVante’s influence obviously.)

Chonita, the group’s most enterprising member, had already met Dalvin of Jodeci and given a tape, but she’d never heard back from him. So, when Jodeci came back to Hampto, Virginia, to do a show, she hooked up with Dalvin and brought the rest of the group along to audition for him in his hotel room.

He brought DeVante in to listen, and he liked what he saw and heard. "We sang about hundred times", remembers Misdemeanor. "We had our music, and we sang four songs, and we were dressed alike. People waiting thought we were their dancers. I guess the way we were dressed caught their attention, and DeVante said he would send for us a week later."

Chonita takes up the story. "We were like, ‘Yeah, we’ve been through this before,’" [But] Steve Lucas [one of Jodeci’s managers] called the next week and sent for us."

Their album is the first release on DeVante’s Swing MOB imprint through Elektra Records, for which he will find and produce new talent. He chose Sista to inaugurate his new venture because he felt their style was distinctive and different.

"They had a lot o flava," DeVante says. "They were cute, plus they had a little dancing going on. Misdemeanor had a lot of hip-hop flava when she was rhyming. When I saw Sista, I thought they had the flava that every girl group should have."

DeVante felt that Sista’s existing style and look, as well as their talents, fit in perfectly with the philosophy of his label.

"You gotta have flava," he says. "It ain’t that you got to sing better than K-Ci, JoJo or anybody else. You just have to have something different. I’m trying to keep the artists limited so the label can work the artists. If your good enough to be on Swing MOB, you’re straight."

The album’s title, the group’s name, and their music were purposely chosen to empower other women and to show solidarity with other girl groups. Sista’s members describe their music asn "hard. We’re like a girl Jodeci group, but our album is like on a Mary J. Blige vibe."

But their message is cleary one of female strenghth, even if it’s set hip-hop tracks. "Females can do it, too" say Chonita, in answer to what they wanted their album to express. "We wanted to bring all the female groups together. Instead of competing against each other, we should be together. Everyone has their own style."

Sista’s baggy-pants-and-boots dress code reflects their own approach to personal style, which is comfortable, funky and feminine.

"We don’t have to wear tight clothes to show that we’re feminine," says Chonita. "We don’t knock it, but that’s just not us. We’d rather people look at our music and our talents that look at our bodies and say. ‘Let’s get that album because she’s dope."

Like Jodeci, the members of Sista grew up singing in the church. When they were discovered, the group original nucleus of Chonita, Midemeanor and Radiah were singing in local talent shows and working on a demo with their producer, Timbaland, who brought LaShawn into the group.

Once they relocated to New York, Sista thought things would happen quickly. But like many new groups, they found the wheels of the music industry often move slowly toward the first release. Timbaland did the nuts and bolts production on 4 All the Sistas Around Da World and had recored the entire album on a four-track recorder at home in Virginia.

But with DeVante serving as executive producer, they had to wait until he had finished Jodeci’s album to work on theirs. He helped Sista and Timbaland to upgrade the album to the studio quality needed for it’s release. And he also appears in the video for "Brand New," the group’s first single.

"DeVante was the motor" Misdemeanor says. And a surrogate father, according to the group. "He’s always giving us advice," says Chonita. Adds Misdemeanor, "He helps us with relationships with guys. He’ll say, ‘Don’t listen to that, because I use those lines.’"

Liek some real-life sister, the members of Sista are close. Their laughter is frequent and shared, and they often finish each other’s sentences and overlap each other’s jokes. All grew up in Virginia. Chonita, Radiah and Misdemeanor in Portsmouth, and LaShawn in Willimasburg. Their move from a relaxed Southern lifestyle to New York’s hectic pace quickly taught them to rely on each other.

"When we moved, my mom and my aunt were like, ‘Ya’ll be careful now, ya’ll go everywhere together,’" LaShawn says. That turned out to be good advice, since one of Sista’s first forays into Manhattan’s midtown ended in robbery. They parked their car with most of their belongings in it outside a club where Jodeci was having a party. When they returned, everything in the trunk was gone.

But adjustments have been made, and the group is ready for the next step. After waiting for so long to be heard, Sista is anticipating success. "Our goal is to be large and enjoy what we’re doing, " says LaShawn.

And like their name would indicate, they’ll handle the future as a unity, just as they have done since the beginning. "This is sisterhood, right here," says LaShawn. "We’ve got our problems, our ups and downs, but were always laughing about five minutes later."

Written by Tonya Pendleton, "Sistas of Swing" November, 11, 1994.