Announcement, Appearance, Event, History, News, Tribute

TLC Honored with an Exclusive Mural Dedication in Atlanta

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 BurgersCan 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.

Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

TLC Make Their Superb Debut at Glastonbury 2022

TLC embarked on their long awaited UK & European Tour 2022 this week, which landed the ladies in a variety of locations for the first time in their 30 year career!

T-Boz and Chilli kicked off the tour in the Netherlands on June 21, followed by a show in Belgium on June 22. They then travelled to the UK to perform at the Glastonbury Festival on June 24, marking their debut at the iconic festival and was only the third time they have performed in the UK.

Their first ever UK show was at KOKO in London in 2017, followed by a headline set at the Mighty Hoopla festival in 2018. Of course, they would have performed their upcoming O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert in 2020, but Covid-19 forced the tour to be postponed for two years. The sold out show will now take place on June 28.

“Not only did TLC help invent contemporary R&B and become the best-selling girl group in US history but their lyrics also tackled HIV and sexual harassment”, Glastonbury posted in a statement announcing TLC on the West Holts stage.

TLC performed on the West Holts stage to a hungry crowd of more than 45,000 ready for a dose of top quality 90’s nostalgia from the biggest selling girl group in US history, with over 85 million records sold to date. After a phenomenal introduction by DJ Dubz and the talented band and dancers, TLC grace the stage opening with with debut single, 1992’s “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”, with the raps of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes kept intact.

They continued the set with more singles from their debut album, ‘Ooooooohhh… on the TLC tip“, and Chilli took a moment to tell the crowd, “We have wanted to play here for years and years! And finally we are here today”.

TLC then took us on a nostalgic trip to their 1994 sophomore album, ‘CrazySexyCool‘, with a silky performance of “Diggin’ On You” and then their first Billboard #1 single, “Creep”, complete with the infectious horns played by the sensational live band.

Later into the show, T-Boz shared a heartwarming story about her boyfriend who made her feel like she wasn’t good enough for him, which led her to write the 4th #1 TLC single, “Unpretty”, lifted from their 1999 album, ‘Fan Mail‘. “But don’t worry about it, I made sure I kicked his ass to the curb!”, T-Boz reassured the crowd who responded with a roar of cheers.

Chilli pulled the younger girls aside in the audience to have a chat with “Auntie Tee Tee and [Auntie] Chilli” about the do’s and don’t’s when it comes to finding a suitable man when they’re older. And insisted that they must never, ever, ever talk to a scrub! Which led to the pre-climax of the show, the ever-popular 1999 single, “No Scrubs”.

TLC closed the show with their 1995 anthem, “Waterfalls”, and dedicated it to their sister, Lisa. “This is Left Eye’s favorite song, so let’s do this for Lisa”, T-Boz tells the crowd before performing the song.

The Guardian stated that TLC’s crowd outnumbered many of the day’s Pyramid stage sets by far, and they are, undeniably, as important a “legacy” act as anyone playing on the Pyramid this weekend. If TLC were to play Glastonbury again in the future, the success of this show should let the promoter’s know that TLC are more than worth to headline, and to be on the Pyramid stage.

If you still need your live TLC fix before they complete their current tour, you can still catch them at the following dates:

28th June – O2 Shepherds Bush, London, UK
30th June – Roskilde, Denmark
2nd July – Lytham Festival, UK
3rd July – Love Supreme, UK

TLC Glastonbury 2022 Set List

‘Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg’
‘What About Your Friends’
‘Baby-Baby-Baby’
‘Diggin’ On You’
‘Creep’
‘Silly Ho’
‘Fan Mail’
‘Unpretty’
‘Red Light Special’
‘No Scrubs’
‘Waterfalls’

Stream the full TLC set on BBC iPlayer!

Announcement, Appearance, Event, News, Tribute

Left Eye’s Family Host Silent Auction and Announce Release Date For Lisa’s ‘Supernova’ Solo Album

Reigndrop Lopes decided to celebrate the 51st birthday of her sister Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes on May 27 with a live Silent Auction, where fans were offered the opportunity to bid on a number of one-of-a-kind Left Eye items.

Exclusive items that you have the chance to own in the auction include a stunning custom Left Eye rug, custom and bespoke Left Eye sneakers, a back pack with Lisa’s items inside, a custom Left Eye hoodie, a Supernova LED music box, glow in the dark Left Eye candle set, dinner with the Lopes family and the chance to attend the Red Carpet private screening of the new Left Eye documentary produced by the Lopes family!

Custom Left Eye hoodie
Custom Left Eye sneakers
Left Eye rug

During the event Reigndrop was joined on stage by her brother Ron Lopes and Cemetery Tim, who created the new headstone for Lisa. Reigndrop also met Marqueze Ethridge for the first time and she was delighted to be informed that he co-wrote the TLC classic, “Waterfalls“.

Reigndrop hosted the event via Facebook and Instagram simultaneously whilst she jammed to a selection of TLC’s biggest hits, and was notably unimpressed at the album version of “No Scrubs” being played without Lisa’s iconic rap verse. The Facebook live stream became problematic with the use of copyrighted music being played, so Reigndrop switched it to music from Left Eye’s ‘Supernova‘ and happily told Facebook she owns this music, so they can’t shut her live feed down for using it.

Reigndrop Lopes with Cemetery Tim and Ron Lopes

Fans were delighted to learn that the ‘Supernova‘ album was on the verge of receiving it’s full worldwide release on streaming platforms after continuous demand from the fans. As we know, Lisa’s debut solo album received a limited release in Japan and the UK and was scrapped from receiving a US release.

“We’re working to release ‘Supernova’ to streaming on the date that she originally wanted her album to be released”, Reigndrop announced. “And if you’re a real fan you already know what the date is, so I don’t have to say it”. Although she added that “plans can change”, she was adamant that,”That date meant something to Lisa, so we’re going to stick to that”.

LED Supernova music box

Of course, the date Reigndrop was referring to was August 16th, which was the original date Lisa wanted her album to be released in 2001. Lisa was drawn to this date in particular for a special reason. “My father died on August 16th and his father was born on August 16th”, Lisa explained to MTV News. “And then on January 31st, was the day that [my father] was born and [his father] died. So, they came in and out of each others dates. It’s a very significant release date”.

Reigndrop was also excited to reveal that she is producing a brand new Left Eye documentary.

Energy Never Dies… Happy Birthday Lisa!

The Silent Auction will be live until June 3, 2022. Visit www.Lefteye20th.betterworld.org to place your bids and own a piece of Left Eye history!

Announcement, Interview, News, Tribute

Left Eye Biopic In The Works and Plans to Release Lisa’s Unheard Music

On the 20th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, her sister Reigndrop Lopes took some time out to speak with Essence about her memories of Lisa and forthcoming plans the Lopes family have in store to keep Lisa’s memory alive.

Reigndrop informs the publication that she is still in the process of producing a biopic based on the life of her superstar sister, but she wants to place emphasis on the positive side of Lisa, who was a fun-loving sister-friend with a heart of gold.

Although Lisa was featured in the VH1 biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘ in 2013, Reigndrop wants to go deeper into Lisa’s character with the individual biopic. “I just want to tell the real story,” Reigndrop says. “The story of how she grew up, how she became who she was and then her journey to change from who she was as to who she wanted to be.”

Reigndrop, Lisa & Ronald Lopes

The production team behind the Lisa Lopes biopic includes Elizabeth Hubbard, an executive producer for the Grammy and Oscar-winning ‘Summer of Soul’ documentary. No release date has been set as of yet for the work-in-progress project.

As for some new Left Eye music, Reigndrop assures fans that the Lopes family will indeed release some new music for the world to hear. “We do have some unreleased music. We will release it. I’m not sure if it’s going to be with an album, but we’ll definitely get it out for sure.”

Reigndrop posted a heartfelt tribute to her sister on the 20th anniversary of her passing, where she also teased that there was more Left Eye material to come. “20 Years ago you transcended & Left me The Legacy 2 B Continued… Eye Am My Sisters Keeper! There’s More 2 come!!! Eye Hope Eye Make You Proud! ENERGY NEVER DIES…”

Fans are still eagerly waiting for the Lopes family to release Lisa’s debut solo album, ‘Supernova‘ from 2001 which still remains globally unreleased and has no digital presence on streaming platforms. Reigndrop has previously stated that she wants to release the album at the right time and revealed that the family indeed own the masters to the album. “Timing is everything, it’s going to come out when it’s supposed to come out”, she told fans last year.

So, how does Reigndrop want Lisa to be remembered? “[What] I want the world to remember most is Lisa’s spirit. She was a giver,” Reigndrop says. “She loved to help the underdog. It’s like, if people weren’t drawn to you, she would be drawn to you just because of the fact that she just always saw something in you that other people didn’t.”

Reigndrop accepted a Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of Lisa earlier this year and we will hopefully look forward to seeing more Lisa Lopes attributed honors throughout the year on the 20th anniversary since she transcended.

Read more from Reigndrop’s Essence interview here.

Shop Reigndrop’s accessories dedicated to Lisa here.

Partial proceeds will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation, which benefits families in need.