Coko Clemons - Bio, Career, Failed Marriage, 5 Facts You Didn't Know

Coko Clemons is an American singer and songwriter who is better known as Coko. A highly successful musician, she started her career in 1988 and since then she has sold more than 25 million copies of her albums and has received many awards in the process. More than a singer, she is also an actress, producer, and TV personality.

Although the career aspect of her life has always attracted so much attention as a result of the successes she has registered in that department, her personal life has not gained as much attention as it deserves even though there are many who always wish to know more about the award-winning singer.

Personal Profile

  • Full name: Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble
  • Date of birth: 13 June 1970
  • Age: 53 years old
  • Parents: Lady Tibba Gamble
  • Citizenship: American
  • Ethnicity: African-American
  • Marital Status: Divorced
  • Spouse: Mike Clemons (m. 2003)
  • Children: 3- Lil Tracy, Jalen Clemons, Jazz Butler

Table of Contents

Biography of Coko Clemons

Coko Clemons is an American singer and songwriter who is better known as Coko on June 13 1970 in The Bronx, New York, the United States. She was brought up by her mother Lady Tibba Gamble as an only child. However, there is not much information that is available about her father.

Because her mother is a gospel singer, she also got introduced to singing at an early age and by the time she was three years old, she started learning to sing. She soon joined her church choir when she was still a little girl in The Lord’s Church in Bronx, New York.

As regards her education, the singer went to the Walton High School although there is no indication that she continued with her education after this as she continued with her music on a professional basis.

She Has A Very Successful Career

The singing career of Coko started when she was 12 years old when she sang in the New York Community Choir before she became a member of the Hezekiah Walker’s Love Fellowship Crusade Choir.

In 1988, she joined her childhood friends Tamara “Taj” Johnson and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons to form the Sisters With Voices (SWV) gospel group. The group was later signed by RCA records, helping it to get the attention of the world. The group was together from 1988 until 1998 when it disbanded. It reunited in the 2000s but did not work on anything until 2011 when it released the I Missed Us album. Here are all the albums Coko released as a member of SWV:

Albums

  • It’s About Time (1992)
  • New Beginning (1996)
  • Release Some Tension (1997)
  • I Missed Us (2012)
  • Still (2016)
 

After leaving SWV, the singer launched her solo career under which she released four albums; Hot Coko in 1999, Grateful in 2006, A Coko Christmas (2008), and then The Winner in Me (2009.

Coko Was Married To Mike Clemons For 15 Years

Outside of her highly successful career life, the personal life of Coko has also mostly been a successful journey. She got married to Michael Clemons who is also known as Big Mike on October 19, 2003. He is also a musician who made a name for himself as a drummer. He also started his career when he was very young and he came to play for many big names in the music scene.

Mike Clemons and Coko met back in the 1990s when he played the drum for SWV. At the time, their relationship was said to be professional. They later started dating before getting married in 2003. In the same year that they got married, Coco Clemons and her husband gave birth to their son, Jaylon Clemons on February 26th, 2003.

Unfortunately, the marriage was not one to last forever as the pair got divorced in 2018. According to the singer, she had hoped that they would always be together through the ups and downs, but it was unfortunate that they had to part ways. Nonetheless, they still maintained a good relationship for the sake of their son.

Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Her

1. Her son is gay

The singer’s son with her ex-husband Mike has since come out as gay. The 21 years old who has the aspiration of becoming a dentist came out of the closet in 2021, and his mother made it clear that she has accepted her son without any regrets even when people think she has failed as a mother.

2. Jalen Clemons is not her only son

Although she is closer to Jalen, he is not the only child of the SWV member. She has one other son, Lil Tracy (Jazz Butler). She had her older son from her previous relationship with American rapper Ishmael Butler. Her relationship with the rapper ended when their son was still very little.

3. She has passed her musical talent to her children

There is no denying the fact that music is one thing that Coko has in her blood. Her mother was a singer and she also became a singer while the father of her older son is also a rapper. The man she married for 15 years, Mike Clemons is also a drummer, and so all around her, there has always been music.

Looking at this, it is not surprising that she has also passed the gene to her sons. Her son, Jazz Ishmael Butler who was born on October 3, 1995, and better known as Lil Tracy is also a rapper like his father while. Jalen has also shown the potential of following in the footsteps of his mother even though he wants to be a dentist.

See Also: Shekinah Anderson- 7 Facts About Her, Why Did She End Her Friendship With Tiny?

4. Her group was initially named TLC

Coko Clemons’s SWV was first named TLC when it was formed. She revealed that before they could go anywhere with the name, a cease and desist was issued to them. The group’s name was gotten from their names; Taj (Tamara Johnson), LeLee (Leanne Lyons), and Coko.

5. Coko Clemons has won several awards

The celebrated musician has not only released many works and sold into the millions, but Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble has also won some important awards including the following:

Awards

  • Grammy Award Nomination for Best New Artist (1994)
  • Billboard Music Award Nominations (1993, 1994)
  • Soul Train Award – Soul Train Lady of Soul Award (2017)
 

Other Details

  • Education: Walton High School
  • Net worth: $10 million
  • Source of Wealth: Music
  • Sexuality: Straight
  • Social Media:  Instagram
 

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