It's About Time was released on October 27, 1992 to a voluminous R&B fan base and it was fully embraced upon its release. At a time where female groups were in relative obscurity, SWV arrived on the scene around the same as their other competition, mainly TLC, Jade and En Vogue. Their debut album was a far cry from the sound their contemporaries were producing and it helped the trio reach unparalleled success.
New Jack Swing was the dominant production being played in heavy rotation on the urban radio and television formats but SWV, alongside the production talents of executive producer Brian Alexander Morgan, crafted a sound of their very own. They ultimately became one of the highest selling groups of the decade behind the powerful vocals of Cheryl 'Coko' Clemons, Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George and Leanne 'LeLe' Lyons, the group founder.
Like most R&B groups, SWV musical foundation was built in church. SWV was originally formed as a gospel trio in 1990 in New York City, but moved to secular music once they saw more of an opportunity in singing R&B music. After sending out a five song demo tape to all of the major record labels in the United States, they were eventually signed to RCA Records in 1992 after
Teddy Riley heard their demo cassette and helped to secure them a recording deal with the record company.
Between February 1992-February 1993 the majority of
It's About Time was recorded in Homeboy Studios in New York City and GreenSwap studios in Sacramento, California.
Soul Culture recently sat down with Brian Alexander Morgan, the executive producer of SWV's debut album, It's About Time to talk about how the album came together from a creative and artistic standpoint.
