Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

Coi Leray Pays Homage to Left Eye and TLC During 2023 BET Awards Performance

Hip-hop star Coi Leray pulled out all the stops at the 2023 BET Awards on June 25, when she decided to pay homage to some of the most iconic female rappers from past to present day!

Her two-piece custom outfit donned the names of icons and new stars alike, including Left Eye, Queen Latifah, Ice Spice, Doja Cat, Missy Elliott, Lady of Rage, Roxanne Shanté, Saweetie, City Girls, Gangsta Boo, Young M.A, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, BIA, Dej Loaf, Remy Ma, Trina, Khia, Shawnna, Flo Milli, Lola Brooke, GloRilla, Eve, Nicki Minaj and more.

The salute arrived nearly two weeks after Leray pleaded for her fellow female rappers to unite for a collaboration.

“Ain’t been a [No. 1] rap song at all this year,” she tweeted. “Calling all the female rappers to the front. [Hear] me out. ladies night. Hip hop. Unity. let’s make history with a number 1 … together .. with love. #justanidea.”

The last all female rap collaboration was 1997’s “Not Tonight (Ladies Night)“, featuring Lil’ Kim, Left Eye, Missy Elliott, Da Brat and Angie Martinez.

If you thought the black and white outfits looked familiar, that is largely due to the fact Leray used inspiration from TLC‘s iconic performance at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, paying homage not only to their fashion but also replicating the choreography they performed during their set.

The outfits were created by the talented fashion designer OtheezY, who has worked with Leray numerous times in the past, and KRONE, who said, “Coi and dancers in everything KRONE (Hand cut, sewn and stoned) and sleepless nights/countless hours of work by myself and my team”.

To celebrate the success of the performance, OtheezY included a fun fact on her Instagram page about how the performance idea first came together.

“Coi was like, I wanna be on some Left Eye shit, woman empowerment vibe, all leather!”, OtheezY recalls. “She was hyped! As soon as she said ‘LEFT EYE’, I said ‘TLC’! and the 1995 VMA iconic TLC performance came to mind. Coi wanted to give homage to old school and new school female MC’s, and I thought that was so freakin’ cool! Anywho, WE DID THAT!”

Watch the Coi Leray performance which was part of a Busta Rhymes tribute to celebrate his Lifetime Achievement Award!

Announcement, Appearance, Interview, News, Television, Tribute

TLC are Planning a Reality Show and a Fictional Musical Television Series

TLC are almost ready to launch their upcoming “Hot Summer Nights” tour next month along with Shaggy, En Vogue and Sean Kingston, which coincides with the premiere of their new documentary, “TLC Forever“, which airs simultaneously on both Lifetime and A&E on June 3 at 8/7c.

T-Boz and Chilli have been doing the promotional rounds this week to promote their show and tour. Whilst speaking to Entertainment Weekly, they announced that they have something brewing on Broadway, as well as a fictional series centered around their music and a pilot for an upcoming reality show in the works. 

This will be the first time TLC have featured in a reality show together since 2005, when they starred in UPN’s “R U The Girl“, a reality contest show which followed T-Boz and Chilli on a nationwide road trip to find one special girl to perform and record a new song with them, called “I Bet“. The show also gave us lots of hilarious moments of the duo and the iconic chemistry that they have together.

Chilli went on to feature in her own reality show, VH1’s “What Chilli Wants“, in 2010 which ran for two seasons. She also starred in “Girls Cruise” in 2018 with Lil’ Kim and Mya. T-Boz starred in her own reality show, “Totally T-Boz” on the channel TLC in 2013.

According to EW, “TLC Forever” will document the group’s rise to stardom, the friction that they encountered and how T-Boz and Chilli were able to pick up the pieces after tragically losing the beloved Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in 2002. The show will also reveal the group in rehearsals as they prepared to perform at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival.

“You get to see our raw reaction,” says T-Boz, who captured several of the clips on a camcorder she carried around while TLC travelled the world throughout their 20s. “When I did that, I didn’t realize it would be worth so much to us later on. I’m real thankful we got that footage, all of the great times we had together. To be able to watch it so many years later is such a blessing.”

TLC believe that if they were new artists today in the age of streaming, their music would still be as relevant as it is now. “I don’t know about sales, but I know our music would stand the test of time,” says T-Boz. “I do believe if ‘No Scrubs’ or ‘Unpretty’ or ‘Creep’ came out tomorrow, they would be bumping on the radio just the same.”

The ladies are also very proud of the fact that despite their highs and lows, they never disbanded or replaced members. “No matter what happened, we never broke up,” says Chilli. “I mean, we’re gonna be in this group until we’re not here anymore. And the greatest thing of all is that we still want to do this together. I would not want to do this with any other person.”

TLC also had a fun interview with Xfinity, where amongst discussions about fashion trends and their growth, they reveal which Left Eye verse was their favorite and show the world they also have bars like their TLC sister.

“It was fun going back down memory lane, reminiscing about all the times that we’ve shared together, especially with Lisa”, says T-Boz. “And times that we haven’t forgotten, but they’re just not on your mind at that moment. So yeah, a lot of great memories”, adds Chilli.

T-Boz and Chilli unamously agree that the rap that they would sing if they switched roles for a day would be one of Left Eye’s raps in “Hat 2 Da Back“. After singing the verse together in perfect harmony, T-Boz exclaims, “yeah, we can rap too!” Despite the iconic status of their records, TLC insist that they do not listen to their own music when they’re not at work.

“We don’t even bump it in the car at home”, reveals T-Boz. “We practice [for concerts] 6 to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week — that’s a lot”. Chilli agrees, adding, “In rehearsals, we practice 8 hours a day, it’s a real job, listening to her voice, my voice — play something else, please!”

Tickets to TLC’s “Hot Summer Nights” tour are on sale now!

Tune in to watch “TLC Forever” on Lifetime/A&E on June 3 at 7/8c

Announcement, Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

Chilli Accepts TLC Legacy Award at 2023 Variety Power of Women Ceremony with Full Speech

The beautiful Chilli was honored to accept the Variety 2023 Power of Women Legacy Award on behalf of TLC on April 4, 2023 in New York.

Her TLC sister, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins was unable to attend the event due to sinus infection she was still recovering from. Chilli joked that they do not like to share one award, so hopes the event provides them each with the prestigious award.

Chilli started off her acceptance speech for TLC’s Legacy Award by giving thanks to God for her talents. “When I say that he has been there for us — and still is — I’m just so thankful to him”, Chilli said. “You always want to be sure you’re doing what’s right — and we always should — but I just want to make sure that I’m being a good daughter to my Lord and Savior, that’s very important to me”.

Chilli then got emotional as she recalled some of the group’s hardest moments and their biggest triumphs as women of color in the music industry.

“When you are a woman of color, it’s real hard — it’s a huge struggle,” she told the audience. “I’ll always remember when ‘No Scrubs’ came out and it was actually our first number one entering in. I always wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine…we didn’t get the cover. I won’t say who got it, it’s okay because he deserved it too but we also did. The message was ‘the last time we had someone Black on the cover, it didn’t really sell well.’” To clarify, the Rolling Stones cover went to Eminem that month.

She continued, “I have to say that just because you hear many ‘no’s’ does not mean that you don’t have the talent because you do — we never stopped believing in ourselves and each other.”

Chilli took a moment to give TLC’s long-term manager, Bill Diggins, his flowers for sticking around with the ladies through their highs and lows, since the loss of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes in 2002. “Bill Diggins believed in us when we were on top of the world. And when everything happened — losing our sister — and no one believing in us anymore, thinking that it was over…he never felt like that, ever”, Chilli reveals.

Chilli vowed to “forever keep our sister Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes’ memory alive through everything that we do.” Whilst addressing the rumors that the group had been on the lookout for a replacement after their reality talent show, UPN’s ‘R U The Girl‘ in 2005, Chilli joked, “We never ever even thought about replacing her — even after she burned the house down…by the way it was an accident!”

Announcement, News, Tribute

Funko To Release TLC Pop! Album vinyl set

Celebrate an iconic moment of music history! Superstar girl group, TLC, is here to take the stage in your music collection! Jam out with T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye.

This TLC ‘Oooooooohhh… on the TLC Tip‘ Deluxe Pop! Album Figure with Case features the groups debut album’s cover art and the three band members as Pop! figures.

Comes packaged in a window display box complete with a hard case! Each figure measures approximately 3 3/4-inches tall, while the hard case measures 12 1/4-inches tall x 23 1/2-inches wide x 3 3/4-inches deep.

This Pop! Album set includes a special hard display case. The case does not open, and the figures are not removable, which makes it perfect for putting on display! Also, it does not include a playable vinyl record.

This marks the first time TLC have received the special Pop! Albums Funko treatment. It will be released as part of the Funko Fair 2023 event, which will be a 3-day event spread out over several weeks as opposed to a week-long marathon.

Funko has been very supportive to TLC. The first line of TLC Pop! figures were released in 2021 in the style of the “Waterfalls” music video. The second set were released in August 2021 in the style of their debut single, “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg“. Funko then released an exclusive set of TLC GOLD 5″ premium figures in 2022.

The TLC Pop! Album set is scheduled to be released in March 2023 according to Entertainment Earth.

Pre-order the TLC set at Entertainment Earth, Funko.com and Funko Europe.

What are your thoughts on the latest TLC Funko Pop! set?