There have been many girl groups throughout the last fifty years of recorded music but none have been quite as unique as TLC. Comprising three distinct artists with individual styles, this trio easily ranks one of the most important collectives ever to hit the music scene.
Together, T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli blazed new trails for women in the industry as pioneers of the Hip-Pop and R&B movements in the 1990s. They also directly addressed numerous social issues, such as a gang violence, HIV/AIDS and female sexuality, redefining what it meant to be a young adult on the brink of the 21st century.
TLC ranks as the second best-selling girl group of all time, behind only the Spice Girls, and their ‘CrazySexyCool’ album was the first LP by an all-girl band to be certified diamond in the US. Reflect on their legacy as you watch some of their most popular videos below:
‘Baby-Baby-Baby’
‘Creep’
‘Diggin’ on You’
‘Get it Up’
‘No Scrubs’
‘Red Light Special’
‘Unpretty’
‘Waterfalls’
It’s always baffling to hear young music fans insult T-Boz and Chilli by referring to them as “has-beens”. Although they might never score another hit without the late Left Eye, the legacy that TLC has established will ensure that they will never be forgotten.
In fact, TLC’s style has been imitated by several of the popular artists and without their contributions to music, acts like Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and even Destiny’s Child certainly wouldn’t enjoy such successful careers. Yet, we unfortunately live in a shallow world where people are only as good as their last hit, and history is often disregarded as just “the past.”