1996 Rewind: Remembering SWV’s New Beginning

1996 is one of the most beloved years in hip-hop and R&B, so we’re going to spend all month celebrating its greatness! All 2026, we’re turning the clock back 30 years to review, revisit and relive the most pivotal moments of Black music in that era. And, of course, I’ll be joined by a host of music homies as we debate the best of the best.

In 1992, SWV established themselves as one of R&B’s premier acts with their debut It’s About Time. It took us almost a half-decade to get a follow up, but 30 years ago today, we finally got New Beginning, an album that despite giving us memorable hits, is often overlooked. My boy Vocalz Getupradio is back to talk about SWV’s return, what went wrong and what went so very right.

Let’s get it in! Share your memories of when you first heard New Beginning.

Vocalz: The anticipation for this album was extremely high after the widespread success of It’s About Time, which was on constant rotation for me and many others. To this day, that intro interlude of “Anything” and “You’re Always on My Mind” get more spins from me, after all this time, than most new artists. I worked in the French Quarter and I remember going into Tower Records that morning before work and grabbing that CD and preparing to dive in. I dropped it in my portable CD player – yes, I had one. The opening interlude was good, but didn’t jump out like the one on the debut album, so I was nervous. Then “You’re the One” came on and I was relieved because it was a banger. This set the tone for a very solid sophomore effort from our Sisters with Voices. Over the course of listening to it over and over, I realized it was a mixed bag of great, good, OK, and not going to revisit. The highs were in the stratosphere and everything else stayed tethered to down to earth. You could almost hear the groundwork being laid for the future Release Some Tension album by them adding more hip hop flavor. I think like many people we assumed Brian Alexander Morgan would have more of presence on this album, considering he was the architect of their biggest and most memorable hits, but that wasn’t the case. I like many others were probably highly disappointed he only had what felt like a sprinkling of an appearance. This was a grave mistake in my opinion. He did give them “Fine Time” and “Soul Intact” which is the SWV sound I love. Pharrell and the Neptunes did provide a timeless R&B smash with “Use Your Heart” though.

Edd: This is yet another album I heard years after it dropped, despite being a pretty big SWV fan. It all came down to two things – the single choices and being cashed strapped. Remember, children, we didn’t have immediate access to every album that dropped on release day. If you wanted to hear it, you had to – gasp – BUY it. And what usually motivated me to buy an album depended on how much I loved the singles. Sure, I adored single no. 2, “Use Your Heart,” butI thought first single “You’re the One” was just OK  (and it didn’t help that they played it TO DEATH on BET). And I liked the final single “All About You” even less. I didn’t hear the project in full until I merged music collections with my future wife in the early 2000s, and I must say, I missed out. There were several album cuts (and interludes!) that outshined the singles and while it’s not a perfect album, it was a solid second coming for the Sisters.

Talk about your pick for best song

Vocalz: “Use Your Heart”

Everything about this song is chef’s kiss.  From the sample, to the tempo, the accoutrements that Pharrell and the Neptunes sprinkled though out the track, the simple straight-forward lyrics, and finally Taj with her different vocal texture and approach to her verse and adlibs. This song is one of those songs that just stand the test of time in the culture.  A certified R&B classic.  It just feels good whenever it comes on.

Edd: “Use Your Heart”

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. The ladies sounded like angels, the production (shout out to my Virginia brethren The Neptunes) felt warm and serene and the lyrics were downright poetic. Real love, purified. I won’t front, the interlude version allllllllmost surpasses the OG in my eyes, but I can’t in good conscience put it over a full song. Voclaz is right, this is a feel-good R&B classic.

What’s the best video from this project?

Vocalz: “Use Your Heart”

This was tough because visually it looked like they were all shot by the same director and in the same New York style.  Similar locations, etc., but that being said, pairing thae classy yet sexy clothes, the purposeful oversaturation of light in the shots, the angles of the close ups along with an amazing song like “Use Your Heart” separated that video from the others.  Also, seeing Taj get more camera time really broke the monotony of Coko getting the bulk of the visuals, and rightfully so as the lead singer.  All those elements together made this a really simple yet good video.

Edd: “Use Your Heart”

No contest here. The sound of the coin drop into the SWV arcade machine on “You’re the One” is STILL triggering 30 years later – have I mentioned how they PLAYED THIS VIDEO INTO THE EARTH’S CORE IN 1996!?!?!? Along with that, muscle dudes fake playing a video game certainly didn’t help my mood. And there’s not much interesting going on with the “It’s All About You” visuals. Well, there is a scene where it looks like they’re trapped in Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity” room, but besides that, meh. The only option is “Use Your Heart,” which is shot as beautifully as the song is performed. Yeah, the CGI effects look like they’re from Sega Saturn, but it’s still the best video by far.

Which song should have been a single?

Vocalz: “Fine Time”

The song that jumped out to me as a missed single was “Fine Time.”  Brian Alexander Morgan and SWV have a chemistry that is just undeniable.  This would have been a great single.  It could have been a great song to either lead into or follow up “Use Your Heart.” Lyrically and feeling wise they almost felt like two parts of the same song.

Edd: “Fine Time”

OBVIOUSLY “Fine Time” should have been the next single. As I said above, I didn’t cop this album in 1996, so my first exposure to “Fine Time” was the Platinum and Gold greatest hits release that I picked up years later. I assumed it was an unused cut that found new life on the compilation because there was NO WAY a song that good could have gone ignored all those years. But nope, it made its debut on New Beginning and absolutely should have been chosen as the next single over “It’s All About You.” Maybe the label thought it felt too much like It’s About Time-era SWV, but that’s exactly why it works so well. A missed opportunity for sure.

And what’s the most underrated song?

Vocalz: “Fine Time”

Again, I must say “Fine Time.” The instrumentation on that one, and hearing Brian Morgan in the background felt so nostalgic.  Of course, the singles are well known and loved, but “Fine Time” is usually the first or second song I play when I revisit this album.  If I had to pick a second choice it would be “On & On” featuring Eric Sermon.  That song had single potential also.

Edd: “Love is so Amazin'”

“Fine Time” is the easiest and most obvious choice, but I think fans today appreciate that one enough. Instead I’ll go with “Love Is So Amazin’,” a banger that I rarely hear mentioned. Their harmonizing is, well, amazing. And I like that the song isn’t just a mushy declaration of love, it’s an exploration of the joys and pains that love bring – yet there is still an appreciation for it. It’s a very mature outlook on life.

Which song featured the best vocal performance on the project?

Vocalz: “Use Your Heart”

“Use Your Heart” is the obvious choice here.  We have all become accustomed to Coko serving us flawless vocals time and time again.  Having Taj come through with a fantastic bridge and adlibs took this song to the next level by giving us the variety that SWV songs lacked.  Pharrell and the Neptunes brought the best out of the ladies, that up to that date only Brian Morgan was able to do.  Sing ladies, sing.

Edd: “Use Your Heart”

The man’s name is Vocalz, he knows vocals. And yes, Taj on that bridge – and her adlibs at the end of the track – are soul-stirring. Not just the best vocal performance on this album, but one of the most memorable from this era of R&B.

After the group’s third project, Coko dropped a solo project. Do you think the other ladies should have followed her lead?

Vocalz: It would have been an uphill climb for either of the other ladies to go solo.  Taj probably would have had a chance to follow Coko’s lead, but she would have had to drop it while everyone was still on a high from the “Use Your Heart” success.  Even that would have been a mighty task. She would have needed a lot of great writers and producers on board to shape the sound and maximize her vocals.

Edd: It’s tough. Listen, I was all for a Coko solo project and would have bet the farm that it would be massive. But it didn’t work out. And she was by far the most recognized member of the group. I definitely understand why the labels and even the ladies themselves would be gun-shy, despite the obvious talent. At the time, I would have have pushed all three to go solo if the group was on hiatus. But hindsight is 20/20, and with R&B’s landscape beginning to shift, maybe they were just better together.

This album has GREAT interludes. Which one should have been a full song?

Vocalz: “Soul Intact (Interlude)”

Brian Alexander Morgan and SWV were born to work together. He writes and arranges songs that fit them perfectly. It has that gospel feel, with the R&B styling that is magic for SWV. The interlueds are so good, better than some of the songs. I would rank the interludes in this order:
i. “Soul Intact”
ii. “Where is the Love”
iii. “Use Your Heart”
iv. “New Beginnings”

Edd: “Use Your Heart (Interlude)”

SWV smashed these interludes. The moodier version of “Use Your Heart” DESERVES a full version and I swear it probably exists on Chad’s hard drive somewhere in a closet in Virginia. The streets need it! “Where is the Love” is equally fire and deserves to be a song in its own right.

Unfortunately New Beginning didn’t have the impact of the debut. Why do you think that is?

Vocalz: A. This album took entirely too long, 4 years, to come out. I think that’s why “Fine Time” and “Soul Intact” sonically sounded other than the rest of the songs, like they were holdovers from the previous album. There was too much competition to be gone so long after such a successful debut. Now you had Destiny’s Child, TLC, En Vogue, Jade, 702, Changing Faces, Total, Zhane, and more on the scene, all fighting for attention and the top spot. Wasted opportunity.

B. Brian Alexander Morgan was less involved. It sounds simple and we all have heard about what was going on between them at the time, but SWV and Brian Morgan not working closely on the bulk of this album was a major misstep. Sometimes it’s hard to look past the human emotions when business is involved, and that can have consequences.

C. While it had it’s moments it didn’t feel crisp and new like the debut.

Edd: Lots of factors, many of which Vocalz touched on above. I agree that this project needed more Brian Alexander Morgan (see “Fine Time” and you’ll see that there was a lot of gas left in the tank in that partnership). I think the single choices were a misstep and they didn’t follow through on the success of “Use Your Heart,” which we knew from jump was a career-defining song from the group.  And finally, I think the project just suffered from poor promotion. “You’re The One” was everywhere, true, but the follow-ups had much less visibility. And the group seemed to quickly get shoved into third album mode,  with Release Some Tension dropping a year and a half after this project released. That’s a relatively quick turnaround in an era when singles would get months-long pushes. It seemed like everyone moved on too quickly.

Why are SWV always a second thought when it comes to female R&B groups?

Vocalz: They are beloved within the culture more than most of their contemporaries.  However, many lists have them behind even En Vogue and Xscape in the rankings.  Is it that SWV were more of a singles group verses albums?  In my opinion SWV’s strength, Coko as the lead and her sisters with voices as the background, felt too Supreme-ish, like the other ladies weren’t needed and this was just a vehicle for Coko to shine.  They never capitalized on Taj’s excellent showing on “Use Your Heart.”  Most really successful groups have multiple leads who can attract fans of their own and bring them all together, like Kelly of DC, the four ladies of En Vogue, and the ladies of TLC, to name a few. It gave them all a stake in the success.  Lastly, they never really went the sexy route early in their careers, which usually attracted casual fans.  Sticking to their model, while admirable and enduring, I believe it hindered them a bit.

Edd: Interesting question. At first I disagreed – in my era, SWV was always seen as THE girl group, with only En Vogue and TLC challenging them for the throne. But honestly that’s nostalgia speaking. Vocalz is correct – in modern day convos, SWV usually trails behind TLC and Destiny’s Child for top honors, sometimes En Vogue too. And it all comes down to influence. Look at Boyz II Men – in terms of album quality, they are leagues ahead of Jodeci (sorry Jodeci stans, it’s true – they’re not beating CooleyHighHarmony, let alone II). But Jodeci’s legacy is stronger because of all the groups they’ve influenced – and are STILL influencing today. Their impact is undeniable. The same goes for SWV. TLC’s DNA is in a lot of modern acts, and Beyonce is arguably the best Black performer on the planet, so DC’s name is still good in the streets. SWV, sadly, hasn’t enjoyed that profile. But Day Ones know how great the Sisters With Voices are, and we know that without them there would be no Destiny’s Child – and many others.

How would you rank New Beginning in SWV’s discography?

Vocalz: Overall – Another solid effort. While it didn’t reach the heights of their debut album, New Beginnings gave us some SWV gems that are staples within their discography like, “Use Your Heart” and “You’re the One.”  This album seemed to repeat the same pattern of It’s About Time, frontloading the album with all the jams early instead of sprinkling them in between the solid album cuts to give those songs more exposure.  This seemed to bog the album down.  No matter what album you play SWV is going to give you some gems, even though the albums may be a bit uneven. A score of 3.5 out of 5 feels right to me.

Edd: New Beginnings is a very good album. Maybe even great in spots. I’ll be more generous than Vocalz and give it 4 out of 5 stars. But relistening to this album for this post reminded me how top-heavy it is. After “You Are My Love” – another underrated gem – the album’s momentum slows way down and the experience begins to slog a bit. Not enough to totally derail it, of course, but better sequencing, as Vocalz mentioned, and leaving a few of the weaker cuts in the archives would have helped. I know I’m the only brother on the planet who likes Release Some Tension (even the ladies hate that project) but I think it’s a bit more consistent. I’d put it above this record, and place New Beginnings as No. 3, behind it and SWV’s obvious No. 1, their debut.

Coko is gonna cuss me out in my mentions for that ranking.

Who are you rocking with on this one, Vocalz or Edd? Let’s talk more SWV below!