A group of R&B “divas” have had it with the negative portrayal of women on reality TV. And they’ve got a solution. Faith Evans has teamed up with singers Monifah, Syleena Johnson, Keke Wyatt and former Brownstone member Nicci Gilbert for R&B Diva, an unscripted show that aims to shine a positive light on the reality genre. 

Popular female-centered reality shows like Love & Hip Hop and Basketball Wives have built a wide audience through high drama, back-stabbing, and fist-fights. Divas promises to avoid the stereotype. 

“Divas was created to help instigate balance,” Gilbert said in a statement. “We are mothers, wives (and) positive women first. R&B Divas will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that we can captivate an audience without hurting them.”

R&B Divas, which is set to premiere on August 20th on TV One, will follow the daily lives of these female artists from their romantic relationships, battling personal demons, and their dealings with the music industry.

“(R&B Divas) will follow them solo, together and in different combinations as they not only fight to get their lives on track but also to pay their good fortune forward,” announced TV One. “Divorce, parenting, drugs and alcohol, physical abuse and more – these ladies have survived it all and continue to deal with life’s battles each day.” 

In other R&B Divas news, Monifah opened up to Just the Fab about the death of her friend, hip-hop great Heavy D, and her battles with cocaine addiction.

“I didn’t realize I was depressed,” she explained. “I was drinking a lot…the addiction [to cocaine] came later. I’ve been clean a year and a half. I was using for seven years. [I] was trying to find my way. And not just about this business…our experiences shape us as children. That’s the story.”

—Keith Murphy, CBS Local