GOES the chorus of Unpretty by TLC with a chilling video that unsettles the beauty industry. Tionne T-Boz Watkins, Lisa Left Eye Lopes and Rozonda Chilli Thomas give us the lowdown on love, expectations and the violence of plastic surgery. From the despondent start I wish could tie you up in my shoes / Make you feel unpretty too, to the empowering end Maybe get rid of you / And then I'll get back to me. It's obvious that each member of TLC packs more authentic girl power than a chart full of Spice Girls.
The next hit from their latest album Fan Mail is No Scrubs. Reminiscent of Michael and Janet Jackson's Scream, but only louder. Complete with sci-fi imagery, mock kung fu, b-boy moves and vinyl naughtiness. Unabashedly damning male social parasites. A Scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly / And is also known as a buster / Always talkin' about what he wants. What a delicious way of being asked to take a bloody hike! Can't say that subtlety is one of their strong points. On side B judgement is pronounced on a cheating lover in the most delicate soul Dear Lie/You Suck. Nor is consistency for that matter. Few tracks away an illicit affair is concealed from the actual lover in If They Knew.
But the song that will get most people on their feet is 'Good at being Bad'. It will however require some explanation. Hip-hop culture negates racism by inverting and inventing language. For example gangster rap bands have elevated the derogatory term 'nigger' into a title that is feared and respected. Strangely by calling themselves bitches, on this bouncy ghetto blaster, the TLC redeem black female pride. Black music purists will however balk at TLC's strong association with hit factories such as Dallas Austin, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds and Puff Daddy. Please read as slick lyrics and smooth studio production. But when choir voices deliberate love and loss, you can barely hear the muzak. Bit like Macy Gray or M People -- overpowering. And considering that the girls have just set up independent labels, things will only get better.
However, given their 92 album Ooooooohhh On the TLC Tip, most punters would never have guessed that this winsome trio would become so huge in the hip-hop, soul and R&B circuit. The combination was annoyingly perfect. Chilli and T-Boz on vocals and Lisa on rap. Cute choreography by T-Boz and cuter lyrics by Lisa. Equally worrying was their penchant for sporting condoms as fashion accessories and wearing worryingly oversized clothes. 1994's CrazySexyCool changed everything with significantly matured music and image. The brat act had transformed into sultry sirens.
Opening the set with a dumped lover who plays the field in the Creep. Tarry a while for extended foreplay on the steamy hot R&B hit Red Light Special. Before we launch in the anthem Waterfalls. An evocative appeal to stay off guns, cocaine and unprotected sex. Don't go chasing waterfalls/Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that /you're used to. Generation X was listening very intently. The album sold more than 10 million copies and won two Grammys and 4 MTV Awards.
But success extracted its bitter price. The band had serious confrontation with their record company. With the management dipping deep into their profits the band was forced to declare bankruptcy. Lisa burnt down her then-boyfriend's house and was packed off to rehab. Next T-Boz revealed that she was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia.
So were you expecting whining and whimpering on Fan Mail? In keeping in this angst vulnerable age. Not TLC! Time to go home and finish your homework Britney Spears! USA's top girl band for '99 calls for pure booty and revolution. Would I say essential? Hmm no, more like highly recommended.