Announcement, Appearance, Interview, News, Television

Andre Rison Biopic Featuring TLC Portrayal Finally Released Worldwide

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Andre Rison, the ex-fiancé of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, kept his word to complete the production on his biopic, ‘Wide Open: The Andre Rison Story‘, and after an exclusive Red Carpet premiere last August in Atlanta, the movie was finally released independently on December 23, 2022 on Rison’s website to rent for a limited time.

As we revealed last year, the actresses that were hired to play the roles of TLC in the Andre Rison biopic are Ashanti Harris as Chilli, Tetisheri Moniz as T-Boz, and Chaz Ridgeway aka Pink B as Left Eye. 

Pink B initially played a cameo role as one of Lisa’s friends in the 2013 VH1 biopic, ‘CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story‘, after losing the role of Left Eye to Lil’ Mama. She was honored to finally get the opportunity to play the role of Lisa in this movie, attributing it to ‘God timing’, now that she is more prepared and took on acting lessons to perfect her craft.

‘Wide Open’ is the story behind NFL Hall of Fame nominated superstar Andre “Bad Moon” Rison’s ambition and determination to make it to the NFL while facing a racially charged environment. It details Rison’s tumultuous relationship with “Left Eye” Lopes, his friendship with Atlanta Falcons teammate Deion “Primetime” Sanders, and other personal and professional milestones.

“Lisa and I eventually discovered most of our arguments and fights came from our childhood trauma, including her burning down my house,” said Andre Rison. “We both experienced our parent’s abusive relationships which are detailed in the movie.”

The film stars Jermel Howard who plays Andre Rison and features a notable cast including Brely Evans, Towanda Braxton, Paris Bennett, Tamika Scott, Dexter Tucker, Kendrick Smith, Althea Heart, Chaz “Pink” Ridgeway, DJ Hershey, Kim Lovette, Lisa Rayam, Roderick D. Barber, Brian “B High” Hightower, Brittany “Diamond ATL”, Mz Shyneka, Mickey “MempHiTz” Wright, Special K, and Uncle Vido.

‘Wide Open’ is directed by Jerry D. May and written and executive produced by best-selling author Derrick Handspike and Andre Rison.

Watch ‘Wide Open’ available to rent for a limited time at AndreRisonMovie.com

History, Interview, Lifestyle, News

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

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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

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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