The legendary Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins will be returning to our television screens in July!
The TLC legend will be featured in WE TV‘s ‘Power, Influence & Hip Hop: The Remarkable Rise of So So Def‘ on July 18, documenting the importance of Atlanta’s very own Jermaine Dupri!
The one-hour special will feature never-before-seen archival footage as well as original interviews with Mariah Carey, Usher, Snoop Dogg, will.i.am, Da Brat, Bow Wow, Nelly and of course, T-Boz!
Dupri played a huge part in the rise of TLC from the very beginning — JD was the one who was responsible for encouraging T-Boz to sing in her lower, scratchy vocal tone that we all know and love her for!
He also helped launch the careers of Kris Kross, Bow Wow, Da Brat and Xscape. The Songwriters Hall Of Famer also crafted classic records with Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Usher, Ludacris, to name but a few.
The trailer captures the eclectic, genre-blending nature of So So Def in an amazing moment where Dupri and Mariah Carey share a glass of red wine and the former quips, “She’s a rapper,” and latter responds, “He’s a diva.”
‘Power, Influence and Hip Hop‘will premiere June 23rd at SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado before arriving on We TV in July.
Mariah Carey recently dropped the glossy music video to her latest single “A No No“, lifted from her latest album, the critically acclaimed ‘Caution‘, and followed up the release with a brand new remix!
After months of a rumoured remix with hip-hop rappers Cardi B & Lil’ Kim (whose 1996 hit “Crush On You” is heavily sampled on the single), Mariah decided to roll with the super talented British rapper Stefflon Don!
Stefflon Don rhymes effortlessly over the classic beat in her British-Jamaican accent, even dropping a shout out to the legendary Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes!
“I ain’t with the “he say, she say” / get the strap out / Bloodclart dem a try / Burn down your house like Lisa “Left Eye” / Ain’t no nigga left, aye / It’s plain and simple, they addicted to me”, Stefflon Don raps on the track.
Producer Jermaine Dupri claims he sent Lil’ Kim the track after she reached out to him to be included on the remix. However, the final decision lay in the hands of Epic Records.
Let us know what you think of this Stefflon Don-laced version of this Mariah hit!
TLC launched their Kickstarter campaign 2 years ago on January 19, 2015. It took them only 3 days to reach their target of $150,000 and make Kickstarter history by being the fastest funded pop album on the site!
Various stars contributed to TLC’s campaign, from Katy Perry (who pledged $5,000) and their Main Event Tour friends New Kids On The Block (pledging a whopping $10,000)! Celebrities like Mariah Carey and Bette Midler have also shown support!
TLC offered many exciting rewards for fans to pledge for as a thank you for supporting the album fundraiser.
Meet and greets, personalized voicemails, slumber parties, date at the movies, workout sessions, handwritten lyrics, platinum plaques, studio session meets and many more rewards on top of signed copies of the new album!
Leon’s personalized Fanmail platinum plaque
Coralene’s TLC handwritten ‘Unpretty’ lyricsNeil and Rey at TLC recording studio session
There were also opportunities to obtain VIP tour packages for The Main Event tour in 2015 which they did alongside Nelly and NKOTB!
Darryl with TLC in Fort Lauderdale, VIP Main Event tour 2015Carl with TLC in Washington DC, VIP Main Event tour 2015
Lura with TLC at Madison Square Garden, VIP Main Event 2015
Tessa travels from Hong Kong to workout with Chilli
TLC have been working hard to ensure it will be the finest body of work for all the fans who contributed to make this once in a lifetime chance to be part of the album happen!
The album is complete and being mixed! The finer details are being fine tuned in order to release the album in the best way possible, independently.
This is why Kickstarter was the best way to avoid going through record labels, have full control of the content and to let the fans contribute. Nobody wants that album more than us, so we’re proud to be a part of TLC history to make this 5th album happen!
There is no official release date as of yet, but you can expect it be with us this Summer in the 2nd quarter! A single will be dropping before that and an update via Kickstarter will be coming very soon, so stay tuned!
Leon@TLCArmy
