Author: Leon@TLCArmy

History, Interview, Lifestyle, News

Monica Recreates Left Eye’s Mugshot For Halloween and T-Boz Shares Story Behind The Dress

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy Leave a comment

R&B superstar Monica went viral on social media on Oct 30, 2022 when she posted her Halloween outfit on her pages, posing as TLC‘s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes‘ mugshot after being arrested for arson in 1994 for burning the mansion of her then boyfriend Andre Rison.

Monica posted a picture of the VIBE cover that TLC took part in, posing as firefighters to let the world know that the members of TLC knew how to poke fun at themselves and would not be offended of situations like Left Eye’s arson incident being highlighted for Halloween.

TLC member Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins saw the post and gave Monica her approval as well as sharing a story about why Left Eye was wearing the floral dress she had on, which wasn’t her usual style. “Haaaaaaaa U crazy love it!!!!”, T-Boz replied on the post. “Funny story I dressed her that day…. And My Mama Said Why U Give Her That Ugly Ass Dress… And I Said That’s What She Picked”, T-Boz continued. “But Like WHY Did I Hv That Dress In The First Place lol Miss My Sister. Funny… U Did That”.

Monica was delighted with the response from T-Boz and shared the humor in the story behind Left Eye’s floral dress before sharing why she loves the ladies of TLC. “OMG YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DRESS… I can hear Ms Gayle saying this”, Monica exclaims. “And why did you have it? But ok ok lol I LOVE U!”.

Monica went on to explain to T-Boz what TLC has done for her over the years. “Watching you all work was so impactful to me as a child but your continued support then always helped me stay on track! Both yours and Lisa’s ability to stay true to who you are left a mark of authenticity and humility on me that I’ve kept close to my heart for decades!”

Although some fans found the portrayal distasteful, it was worth noting that Monica grew up in the industry with TLC and was very close to the members of the group, and was signed to the same label Arista Records.

Other celebrities also chimed in to show what they thought of Monica’s Left Eye Halloween 2022 outfit. Cardi B said Monica ‘Bodied’ the look, Jermaine Dupri reacted with a “Wow!!!”, Ludacris added laughing emojis and Fat Joe wrote, “My girl.”

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West‘s daughter North West also paid homage to TLC this year. North and her friends decided to recreate the iconic “No Scrubs” music video, with North playing the role of Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

Responding to the super cute video, Chilli excitedly wrote, “#demtlcbabies nailed it!!!”, before also calling the recreation “toooo cuuute” in her Instagram story. T-Boz followed when she also shared it and wrote, “yyyyyyyeeeee. Okayyyyyy PrettyGirls … #NorthWest And Her Girls Smashed #TLC This Halloween @kimkardashian #demTLCGirls #DemTLCbabies Love The Love #tboz #Tbeezy #Nori”

The official TLC account also posted about the little superstar trio, sharing the same TikTok in a series of Instagram stories. “Yes! Looking incredible ladies!” the caption read. The account also said North West and her friends “nailed it,” before calling them “soo cute.”

Announcement, Appearance, Interview

TLC Partnered with Khloe Kardashian’s Good American Fashion Line

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

On October 26, 2022, TLC were announced as the exclusive new faces to front the size-inclusive fashion brand, Good American. Co-founded by Khloe Kardashian and Emma Grede, Good American is a brand made for real women with real curves. The fashion line has sizes to fit every woman and encourages women to love and embrace themselves as they are.

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas took part in a gorgeous photo shoot for Good American, posing candidly wearing various outfits available in the fashion line that the ladies have tentatively titled, “CrazySexyGood“, a play on their record-breaking 1994 album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘.

“It’s so amazing. We have not done a photo shoot together like this in years!”, Chilli confesses in the behind the scenes promo video for the photo shoot, which was shot by KESH. “It’s been a minute”, T-Boz adds. “It took Good American to make this happen”.

T-Boz explains why having a fashion line like Good American is so important and appreciated for women of all shapes and sizes. “It’s made for these type of bun buns. I love it. It makes every woman feel good. It’s amazing that there is a line like that, because a lot of times you do go to the store and it’s like, it’s just almost there.”

T-Boz went on to reveal that the struggles of finding the right size to wear whilst on a weight loss journey can leave us between sizes that aren’t always reflected in fashion lines. “Yesterday, she told me that [my size] was just in the middle — and I am in the middle, because I’m in the middle of losing more weight, and I’m right there in the middle. So, [Good American] has a size for me. We didn’t have to alter them, and they just came on and slid right on my butt, so I love it”.

T-Boz and Chilli also touched on forever honoring the late, great Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in everything that they do. “She may not be here physically, but you’ll feel the essence of Left Eye always, no matter what we do”, T-Boz states. “We’ll always keep that legacy alive”, Chilli adds.

TLC make it clear that it is important to never change for anybody — which serves as a key to how they have remained so successful for 30 years as the biggest selling US girl group of all time. “We never changed for the label, or whatever fad was going on at the time”, Chilli says. “We always stay true to ourselves, and our style and lyrical content, the way we carry ourselves and the whole thing — we never changed for anybody”. T-Boz agreed and adds, “I don’t think nobody should change for anybody, change for yourself. If you want to better yourself, do it for yourself, and ONLY yourself. We are living proof that that works”.

TLC spoke to Cosmopolitan earlier in the week and revealed how their thought-provoking #1 single, “Unpretty“, served as a major inspiration behind the Good American campaign. “The lyrics and message of “Unpretty” represent something that was, and still is, very significant. We want to empower women to be strong, and confident in their own skin and know that you don’t have to look, act, or speak in one particular way to be ‘pretty,'” explains Chilli.

“Like “Unpretty”, this campaign empowers women to be their authentic selves, and shares the message that you do not have to meet unrealistic beauty standards.” T-Boz adds, “The message that we hope to convey through “Unpretty” and this campaign is to be confident, resilient, and not to let hurtful comments change who you are”.

TLC teased that they have some exciting projects in the works, so stay tuned. “We have a lot of exciting stuff in the pipeline, but this campaign really was a highlight for us,” Chilli shared. T-Boz adds, “We’re also really looking forward to a few more shows we have through the end of the year (in Australia) and will definitely be packing our Good American faves to bring on the road with us!”

Check out the TLC ‘CrazySexyGood’ range now at American Good.

Interview, News

Nicki Minaj Addresses Her Thoughts on Left Eye, Lil Kim and Female Rappers Before Her

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

Nicki Minaj is celebrating 15 years in the music business this year, and is riding high on the Billboard charts with her record-breaking number one smash hit single, “Super Freaky Girl“.

Nicki spoke to Jada Pinkett-Smith this week for publication Interview Magazine (Oct 18). During the interview, Nicki opened up about how she is balancing motherhood with being a super force in the music industry, whilst remaining true to her artistic legacy.

She also shared her views on what she thinks about the current state of the music industry today. “I wish there was some more singing. I remember listening to Monica’s first album, for instance, and I couldn’t put it down. Or, of course, ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘.”

Nicki also touched on how she wishes the new era of rappers focused more on originality. “So many new artists are trying to become the person they looked up to instead of giving us a new flavor. And it’s irking the crap out of me!”, Nicki admits during the interview. “I know I could see so much talent in some of the new artists, females, males, whatever. But they lose me when I’m seeing the person who they are trying to be like or sound like more than I’m seeing who they are.”

While discussing the rappers that came before and inspired her to become a rapper herself, Nicki explains that each artist stood out and sounded much different to the next artist. “When I started falling in love with rap, I felt like everybody was their own unique thing. Whether it was the Jay-Z‘s and the DMX‘s or the Wu-Tang Clan‘s or the Nas‘s or the Pac‘s or the Biggies.”

“Even the female rappers, whether it was Eve, MC Lyte, who I’ve always loved, even Left Eye’s voice was so unique, to Salt-N-Pepa. [Lil] Kim and Foxy [Brown] never even sounded alike to me. Everyone had their own thing.”

Left Eye in the Calvin Klein Jeans campaign (1998)

Although we know Nicki has praised her inspirations in the past, it’s always a blessing to see her acknowledge Left Eye, as we know Left Eye gets heavily overlooked when it comes to the industry acknowledging legendry female rappers and respecting her work and talent.

Despite being a member of TLC, Left Eye still made sure her style and creativity stood out in the group and on features with other artists. If she was still here today, she would have loved Nicki Minaj — maybe even blessed us with a collaboration. One can dream.

Check out the full Nicki Minaj interview HERE

Announcement, Appearance, Event, History, News, Tribute

TLC Honored with an Exclusive Mural Dedication in Atlanta

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy Leave a comment

TLC were honored with an exclusive Mural dedication and art expedition on October 9, 2022 in their home city of Atlanta, GA. The event served as part of Atlanta’s 2022 ELEVATE Open Spaces Art Festival.

Good As Burgers, Can I Kick It and Press Play Entertainment were the hosts of the community block party and outdoor art mural dedication to multi-platinum, award-winning R&B recording group TLC. The event highlighted Atlanta’s music scene and art culture while bringing awareness to significant issues affecting the community.

The historical TLC mural unveiling is located in Grant Park at the GAB’S House entertainment venue, 670 Terry Street SE in Atlanta, Georgia.

This was the first public art mural dedicated to the legendary group in their hometown of Atlanta. As well as the mural unveiling event, there was also a free VIP Experience before the festivities. Creative agency CAN I KICK IT were the hosts of an interactive art and merchandise experience for VIP registrants featuring lots of TLC personal memorabilia, art pieces, merchandise and displays of other notable hip-hop artists from the Atlanta scene.

Attendees were treated to some performances by rapper Neshanycee and a special dance performance by the D4YL Kids, choreographed by the former TLC dancer Naeemah MC, who also did a phenomenal dance off performance!

BabyFaceBud presents TLC, Reigndrop and Snow with their gifts

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas finally graced the stage after being introduced by King K of the Crown ME Empire served as the event MC host. Friends and peers of TLC took some time to pay homage to the legends including Inga S Willis, Shanti Das, Ian Burke, Ryan Cameron and Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dickens.

“It’s just crazy. I’m excited to see what this looks like,” Ian Burke told The Atlanta Voice. “New York immortalizes their heroes all the time, it’s about time that Atlanta follows suit. There are a lot of people that have influenced the nation worldwide. It’s important that our heroes are immortalized in this way.”

TLC and their closest friends and family with the mural reveal
Artist Shawn Stewart gifts his portrait to TLC

Long-time TLC fan Allon Plummer also spoke with the publication. “I’ve been a die-hard fan since I was a child, I am currently 37 years old and they were the first people I saw on VH1 and fell in love with them,” Plummer said. “This mural is another chapter in history. They have impacted everything from safe sex to how to stand up for your beliefs.”

TLC fan Allon Plummer & T-Boz

The talented BudBox creator De’Anthony aka BabyFaceBud presented a set of exclusive and individually personalized plaques to T-Boz, Chilli, and a 3rd plaque made for Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was accepted by her sister, Reigndrop Lopes, and was gifted to Lisa’s best friend, Trena Smith and god daughter Jakia “Snow” Smith.

Talented artist Shawn Stewart presented an exclusive portrait of TLC on stage to T-Boz and Chilli, and vowed to create another portrait so that they don’t have to share the one he made. Another talented artist from Atlanta Jerell Gantt lent his talents to the event and commemorated the occasion with a unique set of TLC portraits. The resin portraits and prints are available to purchase HERE for a limited time.

T-Boz and Chilli (TLC)

The crowd cheered after a countdown to reveal the incredible TLC mural dedication, created by Dan Stone. The mural was based on the Seb Janiak futuristic photo shoot, which was used as the iconic front cover for their Grammy award-winning ‘FanMail‘ album in 1999.