It felt like it was the 90’s all over again at the Stockbridge Amphitheater in the state of Georgia on July 21, and it wasn’t just because one of the greatest R&B groups of the 90’s, Jodeci, were performing for two nights at the iconic venue.
There was something else that made this night extra special. The gorgeous T of TLC made a special guest appearance during the Jodeci concert, which was a weekend-long concert alongside the legendary Johnny Gill and R&B group Silk.
Jodeci at Stockbridge Amphitheater
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins took to the stage to present her former beau and lifelong friend, Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate, with a stunning custom cake to celebrate his birthday, which was coming a few days later on July 23.
T-Boz greeted Mr. Dalvin and K-Ci Hailey on stage, (Jodeci members Jojo Hailey and Devanté DeGrate were not present) and then proceeded to serenade the birthday guy with a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday“, with support from the crowd and the Jodeci band, including guitarist Mykal Curtis, who is commonly known for being a regular in TLC’s band when they go on tour.
Mr. Dalvin’s birthday cake from T-Boz
Mr. Dalvin took to his Instagram on his birthday to thank T-Boz for her kind gesture, and hilariously included TLC’s “Creep” as the soundtrack to the post.
For added context, T-Boz broke up with Mr. Dalvin back in the day due to his promiscuity during their relationship, and the TLC song “Creep” is about a cheating partner, although it wasn’t about their relationship in particular.
“Thank you, T-Boz, for surprising me on stage with one of the most creative bday cakes I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Dalvin said. “It’s rare to find someone u can call a real friend no matter what the situation was … we are friends for life”, before adding “… that song tho”, along with laughing emoji’s.
T-Boz joined in the comments and said, “The song though!!! Always Got U!!!” Mr. Dalvin replied, saying, “u ain’t right lol,” and T-Boz hit right back and said, “u chose it! u so funny, haaaaa love it, though.” Mr. Dalvin concluded the chat with “I wonder why [I chose that song]” with some humorous emoji’s.
Last month, the couple labeled themselves as ‘Batman and Robin‘ when they reunited to say that they had something exciting to announce, which has yet to be revealed.
T-Boz and Mr. Dalvin have the cutest friendship. They are the living proof that you can grow closer to ex partners after a break-up and can get along better as friends.
However, time will tell if our favourite couple from the 90’s will ever rekindle the flame one day!
If it feels like 1995 to some of you all over again, that may be due to the fact that our former favorite R&B power couple – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC, and Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrates of Jodeci – are still as close as ever, three decades since they parted ways in the 90’s.
The self-proclaimed “dynamic duo” are still good friends, and have remained close friends for many years. The two music legends reignited some excitement amongst fans when they simultaneously posted a video on their social media to announce that they were ‘coming back’.
On June 14, T-Boz and Mr. Dalvin showed the world how much chemistry they still have, as they playfully decided that they were like ‘Batman and Robin’.
“We’ve got something coming — Dalvin — T-Boz — you already know what it is”, Mr. Dalvin said in the video. T-Boz co-signed the statement and said, “Frick and Frack, Frack and Frick! We’re back, y’all!”
Mr. Dalvin & T-Boz (1995)
The duo did not confirm what the reunion would be about, whether it was music related, a tour, or something else.
T-Boz and Mr. Dalvin’s last public outing together was back in 2022, when T-Boz stopped by at the Culture Tour, when the show touched down in Savannah, GA to show some love and support to her performing friends, including Jodeci.
Mr. Dalvin & T-Boz (2022)
T-Boz said she was doing good, to which Mr Dalvin hilariously replied, “you’ve been without me, that’s why you’ve been good!”, leaving T-Boz laughing hysterically.
T-Boz and Mr. Dalvin were in a relationship during the 90’s and were considered the ultimate couple during their time together. T-Boz even made a cameo in the Jodeci video, 1995’s “Love U 4 Life“, posing as Mr. Dalvin’s wife during the marriage ceremony.
Rev. Run, T-Boz & Mr. Dalvin (1995)T-Boz in ‘Love U 4 Life’ (1995)
What do you think the upcoming announcement will be about?
Usher tore down the TV ratings this past weekend when he headlined the Super Bowl with a show-stopping performance, and secretly married his long time girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea in Las Vegas.
However, the R&B superstar decided to dive into his past and touched on his previous relationship with the ‘C’ of TLC, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, whom he dated from 2001 to 2004.
In a cover story he did with PEOPLE magazine, Usher said, “If I am to be honest, I was her No. 1 fan, and she was my superstar. At the age of 8, I put her poster on my wall and said, ‘Man that girl is so beautiful. One day I’m going to meet her.’”
Explaining why the relationship with Chilli didn’t work out, he admits, “I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn’t work for me,” he says. “We were missing each other. I really did want to have a different type of relationship where she was there with me, and she couldn’t be. She didn’t believe that I was actually in love with her as much as I was.”
Usher then stuns readers with his admission, saying, “I wanted to marry her. I proposed, and she told me no. I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up.” He admits, “I hurt her too,” but the situation “broke my heart.”
Chilli and Usher (2003)
Of course, the media would expect a response from Chilli after Usher’s recent revelations. However, a spokesperson for Chilli has informed TMZ that Chilli is far too occupied with her current beau of 2 years, Matthew Lawrence, to be focused on anything that is going on in the press.
Chilli was in fact spending some quality time at the Sandals resort in Jamaica with Matthew, celebrating his 44th birthday.
“More importantly,” TMZ states, “[Chilli’s] mind is a world away from all this Usher stuff. Speaking of which, our sources tell us that Chilli, generally, takes marriage very seriously … and she’s not just going to hop into a commitment like that until she’s totally convinced she and her partner are both ready for marriage.”
Chilli with boyfriend Matthew Lawrence (2023)Usher with wife Jennifer Goicoechea (2024)
Time is a healer, after all. And Usher seems to have finally moved on. These days, “I’m not hurt over that at all,” Usher says of him and Chilli not working out. “We’ve since become cool with each other, celebrate each other and it’s always light when we see each other.”
The beautiful Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins was the latest guest on the Cameron Newton YouTube podcast ‘Funky Friday‘ on May 5.
T-Boz reminisced about her time starting out and forming TLC with Left Eye and Chilli, and was surprised at the lack of girl group’s out today. “You don’t see a lot of girl groups anymore. There’s not a lot of new groups out, and the one’s that were out have broken up”, T-Boz admits. She reveals that being in a girl group can be hard, and a lot of the reasons that girl groups don’t survive is down to egos and cattiness. “Women are usually so envious of one another. Catty, jealous and ego’s like that can break up a group.”
T-Boz mentioned the big age gap between her 22 year old daughter, Chase Rolison, and her 7 year old son, Chance. “Its a big gap like a crazy person. Yes, I started over, but it keeps me young, so I love it. I wanted a boy, so I was like, I don’t care how old I am, I’m about to have this baby boy”, T-Boz admits. “Chase and Chance, those are my world. And my two nieces are my babies, too”.
T-Boz touches on the vegan fast food venture, Good As Burgers, or GAB’s, that she partly owns with her brother Carnoy ‘Kayo’ Watkins who founded the business. “It’s Good As Burgers, but it sounds like, ‘ohh that’s a Good Ass Burger’, because they are good”, she said. T-Boz reveals that she plans on expanding the business when they open more food trucks with 4 locations to date.
Cam asked T-Boz about her Irish heritage, along with her Native American and African American heritage. “I was in my house one day, and I’ve got this really pretty frame. You can tell that they made it, decorated it, it was beautiful”, T-Boz says. “There was this old white lady in the picture, so I asked, who is this old white lady and they said that it was my great grandmother, and that she was Irish. So, yeah, I’m a little mixed up, but I claim El Negro”.
When the topic of Rihanna‘s Super Bowl halftime performance came up, T-Boz was reluctant to comment and reminded Cam about the drama the press created between TLC and Rihanna back in 2014, after being misquoted which led to angry trolls attacking her on social media.
T-Boz reveals that she continues to use her own CBD brand, ‘TLCBD‘, to help with her symptoms of arthritis and sickle cell Thalassemia (Sickle Thal). However, ever since she received the Pfizer jab to vaccinate herself against the COVID-19 virus, her sickle cell symptoms seemed to have worsened. “I honestly think that the [COVID-19] vaccinations — after my last three crisis’ that I had, I haven’t had anything like that — but after that shot — I honestly think it messed me up, I really do.”
T-Boz has mixed emotions over how she feels about the COVID-19 vaccines and admits that she most likely would not have had it if it wasn’t for her job that required her to be vaccinated. “I felt bullied into it, because without it you can’t get paid, you can’t go to work, yeah, that’s how it was for me”, T-Boz admits. “And then I still got COVID anyway, twice — on the massage table, my massage therapist gave it to me, and then recently overseas on tour in Sydney, Australia. I have no earthly idea how I could have gotten it besides the quick change on stage that we share with other artists because they don’t wipe that down. But I have a very low immune system because of my sickle cell”.
On the topic of self beauty, T-Boz recalls why she wrote the 1999 number one TLC single, “Unpretty“. “I thought it was cool to have individuality and be your own woman. It shows you how many insecure women there are in the world. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with fixing something you don’t like, but if you do it, make sure it’s for you”, T-Boz admits. “But I also think there is a stopping point where you can take it too far. You’re starting to look like lions and characters, and you look crazy. Men come and go, getting your asses and titties done, that’s not keeping your man at home”.
Cam discussed the socially acceptable differences between men and women when it comes to enhancing physical features. T-Boz admits that she’d be honest with a man that tried to hide baldness with a wig and tell him to shave it all off. But she wouldn’t accept a man actively seeking a penile enlargement, “hell no, if I saw that in the beginning, I ain’t got no time to be waiting for him to get a fake penis. I don’t want a man into all that crap”.
So, what kind of man will win the heart of Ms Tionne Tenese Watkins? “Dirty nails on men and dirty shoes, I don’t like that. I’m not talking to a man with dirty ass hands. It’s a pet peeve, I don’t like it”, T-Boz states. “These days men are just not men, so we women sometimes have to do stuff that we didn’t always want to do. I am single on purpose, because I don’t want to deal with another grown ass baby. I haven’t talked to nobody in about 8 years! I haven’t even dated in those years”.
“When I’ve tried to talk to someone regular, they are very insecure. Even men that are supposed to be secure with money are insecure in my business, because I’m around a lot of guys”, T-Boz continues. “I’ve been celibate in those 8 years, I’m not a ho, I don’t do booty calls and all that. I’m more of a relationship person. I had a lot of life stuff happening honestly, with my mom’s health and my daughter almost passed away with Lupus, and then the pandemic happened — it’s cool if God brings somebody who is really a man. Because I’m a real alpha, so it takes somebody special to deal with me. If he’s not coming to me as a man, then why am I playing my role if you’re not playing yours?”
So, how can a man add value to the life of T-Boz, a woman who has everything that she needs? “Come home at night, don’t lie, be a good, honest person. It’s not about money all the time. Been there, done that, got that. I’ve had all the cars, the houses, I’ve done all that”, T-Boz admits. “I’m really simplistic. It’s the attention to detail, like the small things, the things that I like. I’m a real logical open minded person, I’m a very fair person and I’ll do my part, but if you’re not doing your part then I don’t see the reason for you to be here. I pay manly bills, I do manly things, so if you’re not going to be a man, move out the way, I’ve got kids to take care of and things to do. That’s just how I am”.
Leon@TLCArmy
TLC-Army.com 