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A Lesson For The Silly Ho's
02/23/1999 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
David Nathan
It's amazing to think that TLC have been recording since 1992, yet they've only just finished their third album. But then, few popular female trios have experienced the kind of personal and professional challenges that TLC have faced--and endured. Any questions about their phoenix-like ability to resurface after bankruptcy, lengthy legal conflicts with LaFace Records and other pitfalls (not to mention group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's controversial personal drama) should be put to rest with the release of Fanmail.
In conversation, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Rozonda "Chili" Thomas and Lopes make no references to those problems. Instead, they focus on their much-anticipated new album, and discuss some of the other activities that kept each group member busy while TLC's working relationship with LaFace was restored.
"We've been recording for about a year," says Left Eye. "We had lots of input into the record and even before we finished the last album [1994's 10-million-selling Crazysexycool], we were coming up with ideas for this one. Aside from making a hot record, what we've tried to do is jump ahead with the technology: we got a TLC website, there's an enhanced CD and a DVD that are all part of the package for Fanmail. It's all about going to the next level, you know, with the concept, the production, the artwork, the image. And we're still very fashionable, still sexy...it's rugged high-fashion for the year 2030!"
Given their relative absence from the music as a group, it's understandable if TLC feel a little anxious about the fate of their new project. But T-Boz explains, "We've been scared every time we put out an album. But our approach to this record was 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,' and we always stand firm it what we believe in. You're never gonna see us copy anybody; we have our own thoughts, our own creativity."
The group worked closely with Dallas Austin, who worked on their first two records and co-executive produced the new album with LaFace founders Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid. Babyface also produced some Fanmail tunes as did Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jermaine Dupri, and Shakespeare.
"There are a lot of hot producers out there, but that doesn't mean we will go work with them just because they're hot," asserts Chili. "We only stick with certain people, and Dallas is our primary producer because he's a genius who can do any type of music and he gives us a new sound each time [we do an album]."
One listen to Fanmail, the title of which was inspired by the loyalty of the trio's many worldwide admirers, and it's clear that it's the group's most personal album to date. "Yeah, it's got some personal songs," admits T-Boz. "Like 'Unpretty.' That was a poem I wrote that Dallas helped me turn into a song. It's a girl's anthem. A lot of women are insecure because men play on them...and society can make them feel unprettty. But it all starts within...if you have 'ugly' on the inside, that's where you have to make change."
As for Fanmail's first single, a ditty called "Silly Ho" (which has been picking up huge amounts of airplay even before its release to the public), T-Boz laughs, "Oh, that's simple: it's about a certain type of female who hasn't gotten her game together...and we're saying, 'If you're gonna be a 'ho, be a good one.'"
Chili is upfront about what the trio had in mind when they were approaching the album. "We wanted to make a record that was universal," she explains. "It's for our fans, but it's also for people who never heard of us. We got love songs like 'You,' which is one I wrote, and nasty songs like 'Come On Down,' which [Grammy-winning songwriter] Diane Warren wrote for us. I loved doing that song. It's very different for us, it's got almost a country feel to it and it's so me, so who I am. What's it about? Oh, about a guy having a little 'lunch.' You know, it's about eating..." She giggles before giving a more explicit interpretation that readers can figure out for themselves.
Left Eye, Chili and T-Boz have lost none of their pioneering spirit on Fanmail--even though the last few years have not been the easiest for the three friends who took the music world by storm in 1992 with such massive hits as "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and "Baby, Baby, Baby" and their three-times-platinum LaFace debut, Oooooooohhh...On The TLC Tip.
"Some groups have tried to take off from where we left off, but we've heard of record companies who have tried to put together groups who would be just like us," says Left Eye. "But no one can do it. We have this combination of personalities and chemistry all coupled together. And," she adds, in a reference to some of the challenges the group has faced since 1994, "what we've been through has just prepared us for what we're doing now."
During their hiatus from recording as a group, TLC have certainly not been idle. "I started my own companies," boasts T-Boz. "I'm doing clothes line with Dallas Austin called 'Grungy Glamorous.' I have a cartoon in development for seven- to 14-year-olds. And I'm finishing a pictorial book of poetry that has an inspirational theme. I'm going to be doing some production work on some new and maybe some established acts. And after appearing in the [1998] film Belly, I'm looking forward to doing some more movies."
Left Eye has her own Left-Eye Productions and a deal with Sony Music to bring a couple of acts to the company, plus she's been hosting MTV's talent show The Cut for a few months. When asked about the more personal aspects of her life, she comes right back with, "I've been interviewing men. I found one--I picked up the option--and he's been promoted." His name? "Uh-uh...that's all I'm gonna say."
For her part, Chili's attention has been on the new addition to her family: a baby son almost two years old. "I don't believe in the nanny thing," she explains, "so I've been looking after him myself. I did some side acting. I had a cameo role in [the film] Hav Plenty, but I've turned down some major movie roles. Now I'm working with a coach because when I do a big film, I want it to be right."
1999 looks to be an exciting year for TLC, as it will include not just the release of Fanmail, but a tour to support the album. "We haven't been out there performing as a group for four years," Chili says. "We're going to iron out all the kinks and we're gonna do a world tour because we have so much fun onstage and we love performing." With the arrival of Fanmail, TLC will have no shortage of fans eager to see them do their own--always distinctive--thing.
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