TLC — CrazySexyCool
Throwback Review | April 2024
Approaching their mid-20s, TLC showed growth and maturity on their second album, becoming cross over stars and soon to be one of the most iconic R&B acts of the 1990s.
TLC
(from left to right: T-Boz, Left-Eye and Chilli)
Without question the 1990s was the Golden era of R&B music, the immense quality and cultural impact that the genre had was incredibly high. There was a plethora of R&B artists, that were either producing countless hit songs, incredible albums or were pushing the sound of the genre to unique heights. This includes solo acts from the likes of Aaliyah, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, D’Angelo and Maxwell, and groups such as Jodeci, Boyz II Men, En Vogue, Xscape and 112. To standout during the 1990s as an R&B act was incredibly difficult and to make a long lasting impact was even more challenging, but three girls would be able to do that.
TLC consisted of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes and originally Crystal Jones, who was removed and replaced with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Jones was removed from the group just before they signed with Perri Reid. Jones has stated that she didn’t want to sign with Reid’s production company, because she wanted someone to review her contract first, because of this Jones has stated that this is the reason as to why she was removed from the group, and replaced with Chilli. Seeing what happened to the group afterwards, it seems that Jones was on to something and is probably telling the truth, as in 1995 all three TLC members filed for bankruptcy due to poor management, and contracts that led to the members only receiving a small percentage of the revenue. After two successful albums, multiple hit songs and awards, the group openly admitted that they were broke in 1996.
To not reap the benefits off of an album like CrazySexyCool and the success that the album had is both mind boggling and sad at the same time, as it was one of the biggest and most successful R&B albums of the 1990s. Spawning four top five singles with Red Light Special, Diggin On You, Waterfalls and Creep, with latter two singles being number one hits for multiple consecutive weeks each. Musically, CrazySexyCool is perfect as it blends R&B and Hip-Hop influences incredibly well. Hip-Hop started it’s influence within R&B during the late-1980s with the birth of New Jack Swing, and its influence carried on well into the 1990s. CrazySexyCool arguably did it the best, as the album’s production work included the likes of Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin and most notably Organized Noize, who at the time just recently made a name for themselves by producing OutKast’s debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.
Organized Noize produced two records on the album, the album’s final song “Somethin Wicked This Way Comes”, which is an incredible track and a great way to end the album. However, most notably they produced the album’s biggest single, “Waterfalls”, which spent sevens weeks at the number one spot on the charts. Along with “No Scrubs” the biggest single from their follow up album, Fan Mail, “Waterfalls” is one of the most iconic singles of the 1990s. It’s one of TLC’s most cherished songs, as the song touches upon various social topics that were incredibly predominant during the early to mid-1990s, such as HIV/AIDS and both drug dealing and addiction. From the production, to the music video, to its socially conscious lyrics, “Waterfalls” is one of the best hit singles of all time. “Waterfalls” wasn’t the only great single from the album, “Creep”, the album’s first single is one of the best tracks on the album. Produced and written by acclaimed record producer Dallas Austin, who is also behind big records for other artists from the likes of Pink, Brandy and Monica. Well produced and incredibly catchy, as mentioned the song went number one and was incredibly successful, even though the lyrics are about a woman cheating on her partner as a revenge act. This could arguably been a taboo subject, which it was as Left-Eye was initially against the messaging of the song. “Red Light Special” and “Diggin On You” were two other successful singles and both are exceptional R&B ballads, with “Diggin On You” showcasing T-Boz’s best vocal performance on the album.
In terms of the album cuts there are so many highlights to choose from, in particular “Kick Your Game” which could have easily been another successful single if it was released as a single. The song is well produced and well written by Jermaine Dupri, as it consists of a catchy chorus and it also consists of a funky and groovy relaxed instrumental. The same can be said for the second Jermaine Dupri produced track, “Switch”. On the album cuts from Crazysexycool you also receive multiple top quality R&B ballads, from the likes of “Let’s Do It Again” and “Take Our Time”, whilst the cover of Prince’s “If I Was Your Girlfriend” is a great rendition of the classic 1987 track from Prince’s Sign o’ the Times album.
CrazySexyCool is the epitome and a clear cut example as to why TLC are so iconic and one of the greatest R&B acts of the 1990s. From the top notch quality provided with their music, their style to their musical content. With Hip-Hop and R&B heavily blended together during the late-1980s and the 1990s, TLC arguably did it the best and infused both genres perfectly, especially on this album. Credit should also be given to the album’s songwriters and the producers who clearly put their all and knew how to bring the best out of all three TLC members. Signed to LaFace Records and a part of the Atlanta music scene, TLC and CrazySexyCool is a huge highlight in comparison to all the music that has come from the city. Even with Atlanta becoming the forefront of Hip-Hop by the 2000s and with many artists, albums and sub-genres from the city having huge impacts respectively, TLC and their second album still shines bright amongst them.