PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – R&B legends SWV, or Sisters with Voices, are one of the headliners for this weekend’s Something in the Water music festival.

You may know some of their iconic tunes such as I’m So Into You, Weak, and Right Here. But did you know that Hampton Roads is where lead singer Coko Gamble calls home?

Since the 1990’s SWV, with hits recorded in Hampton Roads, has fortified the staying power of R&B music. Gamble stopped by 10 On Your Side for a recent interview in advance of SITW 2023. With 10 On Your Side employee/fans watching in the wings, Gamble described the scene in the 1990s when Hampton Roads was a hot spot in the music industry.

“It was a great experience just to be part of that whole music scene,” Gamble said. “[Teddy Riley of Blackstreet], they were New Jack Swing and we were the New Jill Swing. So it was really good,” said Gamble.

Gamble has lived in Hampton Roads for nearly 20 years and she is proud to call Chesapeake home. She recently spent months away from home for the production of a reality TV show: SWV and Xscape, the Queens of R&B. The show takes you inside the lives of the ladies who topped the charts beginning in the 1990s. Gamble’s son, Jayee Michael, is a member of the cast. His plans to return to college to study medicine made the cut.

Regina Mobley: Hampton Roads is excited about seeing the entire SWV on stage for Something in the Water but we are really excited about the fact that Jayee is going back to college.

Coko: Ha, ha, ha, ha, yes…I’m excited too.

Regina Mobley: Your mom was so excited to hear that. Why did you decide to go back to college (UNLV)?

Jayee Michael: I just got the wave; just shut everybody else off, call it a day and give my mom what she wants.

In their own reality TV show, Mother and Son Chronicles, the talented team takes on tough topics such as sexual orientation. Jay is a gay advocate for the LGBTQ community as rights, all over the country, are under attack.

“It’s more so open now but we still have much more fighting to do to get us to those rights,” Jayee Michael said.

Jay will take his human rights message around the region when he performs, in some cases with his mother, at several Pride events in June.

Gamble proudly keeps family first.

She recently adopted her cousin’s twelve-year-old twins after their mother died of Lupus. Gamble told 10 On Your Side the twins are adjusting to life with their extended family in the 757.