Coko of the legendary R&B trio SWV recently shared a moment that felt straight out of a family photo album—unexpected, warm, and layered with history. While staying at the Renaissance Hotel on 125th Street in Harlem, she stepped off the elevator and was greeted by a face she never thought she’d see again: Attallah Shabazz, the eldest daughter of iconic civil rights activist Malcolm X.
“Ok so, I stayed at Renaissance in Harlem this past weekend. Absolutely beautiful hotel right in the heart of Harlem on 125th street. I get off the elevator and I see this beautiful lady. My son has no clue who she is, but I’m so excited to see her. She was a part of my childhood. She was beautiful then and she’s beautiful now. I’d often think of her and would ask my Uncle Bennie how she was doing. So I was definitely going to speak but I was so nervous!” Coko wrote in her caption.
It wasn’t just a passing encounter. Shabazz recognized her right away, not as the iconic singer she is, but as the little girl she remembered from back in the day.
“I go up to her and she instantly remembers me as the little girl she knew back in the 70’s and she was just as happy to see me all grownup,” Coko recalled.
The exchange instantly took her back to her childhood, when, thanks to her mother’s singing career, she often found herself surrounded by icons and cultural giants.
“As a kid, because of mothers singing, I was always in the presence of greatness that I will NEVER forget! Ladies and gentlemen please show love to the one and only Miss [Attallah] Shabazz! The daughter of the revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist, Malcolm X!!!✊🏾#childhoodmemories❤”
For those who grew up on SWV’s hits in the ’90s, there’s something deeply nostalgic about watching Coko beam over a figure tied to her childhood the way we beam over her music. It’s a reminder that icons also carry their own heroes, and that Harlem—always a crossroads of culture and legacy—still has a way of bringing people together in the most beautiful and unexpected ways.
Cover photo: Coko of SWV Shares Heartfelt Harlem Reunion With Activist Attallah Shabazz/Photo credit: Coko Gamble/ Facebook