Left eye

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

Appearance, News, Television, Tribute

TLC Make Their Superb Debut at Glastonbury 2022

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

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, Interview, News, Tribute

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

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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.

Announcement, Event, News, Tribute

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Receives Tribute Magazine & Lifetime Achievement Award 20 Years Since Her Passing

Leon@TLCArmy's avatarLeon@TLCArmy 1 Comment

Centennial Media released an exclusive collector’s edition tribute magazine in March 2022, dedicated to the life and legacy of the TLC superstar Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, entitled, ‘Centennial Legends Music Spotlight presents Lisa Lopes: Tribute to a Legend’.

The 98-page special looks back at the remarkable life and career of Left Eye, and offers a complete guide to all things Left Eye and TLC, from the very beginning of Lisa’s upbringing in Philadelphia and how her career began after her move to Atlanta, to the impact that her legacy has left on the music industry to this very day, with her influence present in artists like Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat and Cardi B, amongst others.

Other notable highlights in the special are the detailed milestones in Lisa’s career timeline; how she overcame her relationship issues and legal problems to still produce the biggest hits throughout the 90’s and cement TLC as the biggest-selling female group in the United States with 85 million albums sold to date!

The magazine also touches on the various ways T-Boz and Chilli have continued the legacy of Left Eye through their ongoing commitment to keep TLC alive, with new music, multiple television appearances, an upcoming musical and remaining a consistent presence on tour with sold out shows across the United States and all over the world.

There is even a fun quiz at the end of the magazine to test your TLC knowledge and see if you really are a big diehard fan! Major props to the publishers Ben Harris and Sebastian Raatz and the rest of the Centennial team who put in the work and research to make this project happen. It truly is one of a kind, Lisa will be so proud of this.

‘Lisa Lopes: Tribute to a Legend‘ will be available on all good newsstands until June 20th, 2022. It has been purchased by fans at stores such as Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, Walmart and Woodmans, to name but a few.

Not only did Lisa receive a phenomenal tribute magazine this year on the 20th year anniversary of her passing, Lisa was also honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the 6th annual Glitz & GirlPower Awards on March 31, 2022 in Hollywood, FL.

Lisa’s younger sister, Reigndrop Lopes, was in attendance at the show to receive the award on behalf of her sister. Here’s what the organisers had to say, “As a member of TLC, one of the most successful and beloved pop groups of all time, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes dedicated the last years of her life to the education and empowerment of humanity, through holistic healing.”

“Lisa’s spiritual journey began while traveling through the impoverished Central American country of Honduras – drawn to the regions natural beauty, and most of all, its people. While there, Lisa discovered that the key to physical, mental and spiritual health could be found in the earth’s natural resources; an insight Lisa was eager to share with millions.”

Lisa’s sister Reigndrop accepts Lisa’s Lifetime Achievement Award on March 31, 2022

“Today her legacy lives on through the Lisa Lopes Foundation, which is dedicated to assisting families in need, while empowering individuals with the tools to live a more self-sufficient and healthy lifestyle.”

Let’s hope we can get Lisa’s “Supernova” album released on digital platforms this year finally! It’s what Lisa would have wanted, her work of art touching as many ears as physically possible!

Big thank you to Jordan Cooper for filling me in on the Lifetime Achievement and Megan Dove for helping me get the magazine! 😊