When TLC dropped ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ late in ’94, things changed for real for real. At a time when Australian pop culture was slowly – some might say reluctantly – transitioning into acceptance of contemporary R&B, ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ hit with not only a combination of radio-ready hooks and Dallas Austin production, but also a courage and authenticity not often heard on radio waves; particularly those in Australia.
23 years on, it’s difficult to meet a woman of my age who wasn’t in some way, or in several ways, influenced by TLC’s classic. Even as a kid growing up in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, I couldn’t avoid noticing the way three women from Atlanta had impacted the way girls in Australian suburbs dressed, danced and generally held themselves. When the (then) sweet and g-rated pop of Mariah and cheesy house jams were the music du jour, T-Boz, Chilli and Left Eye ushered in an era of girl power, which would later be piggybacked by the Spice Girls.
The trio’s influence on teenage girls in this part of the world was never a specific aim during the making of ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’, but a positive impact was the ultimate goal for TLC. “We set out to help people through music,” explains T-Boz, born Tionne Watkins. “We wanted to do that. Not necessarily as role models, but you become that anyway, even if you don’t set out to be. You get put in that role regardless.”
By the time Waterfalls hit radio as a single in 1995, Watkins had just turned 25. “Creep” and three sets of silk pyjamas took TLC to another level after the new jack fun of ‘Oooh On The TLC Tip’, but it was the cautionary social narrative and Organized Noize production that would prove to be TLC’s tipping point. The messages of safe sex and self control were spelled out in a way that balanced being direct and supportive without being preachy. In a world of unapproachable pop stars, TLC’s messaging was more like a close friend’s advice. The tone perfected on “Waterfalls” became the blueprint for 1999’s “Unpretty”, penned by T-Boz.
“At first when you realise you get to live out your dream, you’re like ‘yea, I wanna be a trendsetter,’” says T-Boz of the group’s global impact. “But then it starts happening.”
“You don’t realise until you’re out there and the fans start coming up to you and saying things like ‘I didn’t commit suicide because you wrote “Unpretty”’. You’re like ‘oh wow, I didn’t think it was that deep.’”
TLC were fun, they were stylish, they had catchy hooks, dope beats and, I can’t front; it probably didn’t hurt that all three members were easy on the eye. But in a crowded market, these things don’t equal guaranteed success. It was the secret they unlocked with “Waterfalls” and later “Unpretty” that made TLC a first-ballot hall of fame group.
Looking ahead to their fifth and final album, simply named ‘TLC’ by the fans, ‘Boz is back on her bars. 15 years have passed since the last time TLC dropped an album, but the messaging won’t have changed as much as the world around us has; “you can’t tell girls enough that they’re beautiful, or to respect themselves,” says Watkins.
“This time, I wrote “Perfect Girls”, because when I wrote “Unpretty” we didn’t have social media,” she explains. “I feel like young girls are striving for a goal that they will never reach, which is to be perfect. The girls that they think look perfect were airbrushed. And a lot of the girls that did have plastic surgery, it’s because they were insecure about something and wanted to enhance it. I want them to know what’s really going on within everybody. It all starts within yourself. You can look flawless on the outside, but if you don’t work on your inside, it’s not gonna matter.”
It is, as always, a valid message of self-empowerment and honesty with one’s self. More than the what’s being said though is the authenticity of the message. Nobody bought it when Katy Perry declared she was making ‘purposeful pop’. Why then, when TLC were doing it twenty years earlier, was it seen as genuine?
“The most organic, authentic, songs come from the heart. When they are really lived, and you felt it; people can feel that,” explains T-Boz. “I think people felt “Unpretty” because it was really personal to me. I poured my heart on paper and everybody responded. If you really let your vulnerability show, you’ll find out ‘We’re all people, we bleed the same’. That’s why songs like “Honey” and “American Gold” on the [new] album are all personal. They’ve got a personal touch from things I either felt, saw or watched people go through. They’re all real songs, all authentic and organic.”
The songs come from the heart and often stare down an important topical issue, but there’s also an intangible genuine quality about the delivery. Despite selling over 65 million records globally, touring the world, and leaving a lasting impact on pop culture, TLC’s ability to stay grounded is totally unique when compared to their peers. “You know how people say ‘they got money and changed’?” asks T-Boz, before clarifying. “It’s not necessarily that they changed, it shows the person they really were all along. You can’t bring something out of my soul that isn’t there; if I was gonna be stuck up, or I was gonna be bougie or if I was gonna be fake, that would have to be in me, and it would have took fame or money or success to bring it out. But it’s not in me, so none of that changed me.”
“I think because I’ve dealt with life and death situations with sickle cell, I look at things a little different than some of my peers.”
That authenticity is central to the group’s appeal, and it appears it’s the same with T-Boz personally. Our conversation is peppered with quotes like “I keep it G with my friends and family,” through her unique vocal tone and relaxed southern accent. She jokes about the publishing cheques she received for “Unpretty” and laughs, a lot. She’s open, candid and chill about everything. T-Boz was the ‘cool’ in Crazy Sexy Cool in ’94, and I’m happy to confirm that 23 years on, ain’t a damn thing changed.
She’s so comfortable and down to earth, it’s easy to overlook the trauma Watkins has dealt with in her life: She was diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia and told at age 7 she wouldn’t live past 30. She had a brain tumour removed at age 39. T-Boz and Chilli were forced to publicly grieve when Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was killed in 2002. These painful moments in her life, tragic as they were, seem to be the reason for that unique authenticity we get from T-Boz and TLC.
“I think because I’ve dealt with life and death situations with sickle cell, I look at things a little different than some of my peers.” Watkins says of the traumatic incidents in her life. “Because I’ve dealt with almost not being here. If you can face death you can almost face anything. So a lot of those things that my peers get excited about or upset about, it just doesn’t phase me. I don’t have time for it.”
Being true to herself doesn’t limit T-Boz purely to writing about pain and anxiety. “Way Back”, the current single from the upcoming ‘TLC’ album was co-written by Watkins and is, as always, based on true life experience.
“This song came from me and my friend J-Heart, he writes for Justin Bieber a lot and other people,” she explains. “We used to live around the corner from each other. We left Atlanta, and we ran back into each other in California. So that song came from, ‘everybody got a relationship like that, everybody got a family member like that, let’s make it like them good feelings, like when you hear a song you remember where you were.’ We brought it back to the new, the 2017 backyard boogie.”
“It’s just about any party, any get together. That good feeling you get when you haven’t talked to somebody in a year and when you see them, it’s just like yesterday,“
It’s been a long 15 years since TLC dropped an album, but hearing T-Boz’s trademark vocals on “Way Back” is giving fans across the world a chance to experience that exact feeling. It’s no coincidence that it came from the heart.
'TLC' drops June 30.
