Coko Responds to Steve Stoute Saying SWV Didn’t Want to be in “Men In Black” Video
Stoute recently shared his take on why SWV wasn’t in the music video for Will Smith’s 1997 smash hit.
SWV performs onstage during WBLS 50th Anniversary With DJ Cassidy's Pass The Mic Live at Prudential Center on November 08, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey.
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage.
Coko of SWV is responding to recent claims made by music industry heavyweight Steve Stoute about her and the group’s involvement with Will Smith’s monster 1997 hit “Men In Black.” In a conversation on Aspire with Emma Grede, Stoute claimed the group sang on the track, but didn’t want to be in the video, with Stoute citing Will’s “happy” image being the reason.
In an Instagram Live, Coko disputed Stoute’s story.
“SWV is not on the song. At all. I did the song by myself,” she explained, before adding that she has no recollection of Stoute being involved or being present at the time. “I didn’t see the guy that’s in the video talking about the song. I didn’t see him. I never saw him.”
“When it comes time for the video, my label was like ‘no,’” she shared. “If y'all think about it—RCA never really let SWV do anything. We never did any features. We were never in peoples’ videos. So they were like ‘No!’
“Now think about it—if I had done that video, that would’ve been such a big flex for me,” she continued. “That would’ve been major. I got paid a nice check—yes I did. But I wanted to be in the video. When I saw the alien, I was like ‘that should’ve been me!’”
Released on the soundtrack for the blockbuster sci-fi film of the same name, “Men In Black” would go on to top the charts in several countries; despite not being released as a commercial single in the United States, the song nonetheless topped Billboard’s airplay chart. It also served as Smith’s debut solo single, reigniting his music career after the dissolution of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and setting the stage for his multiplatinum debut solo album Big Willie Style.
