Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: TLC

 Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: 

TLC

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to what can only be described as... The Sisterhood. No matter their musical genre of choice, these ladies came together as a unit, joined arms and mesmerized the world. Their harmonies inspired unity while creating an energy which was absolutely infectious. Hit after hit, they earned their place in music history, sharing their unique vocal stylings.

One such trio?

TLC.

They are the bestselling girl group of all time. 

Their sound, their songs, their style informed a generation of young women. 

And their message? It was always liberating. Stand up. Be proud. Don't settle. 

It was about sisterhood!

They had heart, too. For they sang about the world they saw around them, never sugar-coating it. 

The managerial and financial mess they found themselves in early in their careers would have been enough to put a pin it permanently for others - but not these women. The stayed strong. They stayed the course. 

It was only true tragedy - the untimely death of a member - which slowed this juggernaut. 

But only for a moment.

To this day, they play on. They are out there. Performing. Spreading the message. 

Sharing their sound, their style... 

The gospel according to them?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from their lips.

The topic? Style & Sound.

"In the early '90s, all the girl groups were dressing super feminine. And then we came on the scene wearing Cross Colours, Girbaud, and Nautica." - Rozonda Thomas

"TLC always looked up to male bands. We saw guy groups could just go out and get the fans screaming by just standing there - fully clothed and with nothing but their music... We saw them as the competition more than the girl groups, with whom we wanted to stay unified." - Tionne Watkins

"From day one, we always admired male R&B groups. They would go onstage with no shirt on and baggy jeans, and girls would scream." - Rozonda Thomas

"Bell Biv Devoe, back in the day, we used to look up to them. They had incredible style back then, so we wanted to be like them." - Tionne Watkins

"We don't want to box ourselves within any type of genre, you know? Whatever feels good, if it moves us and we like it, we get on it and make it our own. That's what we do."- Rozonda Thomas

"We did want to stand for something, not just cute girls with cute concepts. Everything we talk about has meaning behind it."- Lisa Lopes

"Starting out as young women, we didn't care that people thought that we were a fad or if people thought we didn't dress girly enough - we were just like, 'Whatever.' We were able to accomplish that with three totally different girls, in a group." - Rozonda Thomas

"For our first album, we were our own dressers. We didn't have no stylists. We came up with all of the ideas when it came to dressing. At that time, Cross Colours and Jabos were really popular, so we were able to get stuff from them, but we always added accessories." - Rozonda Thomas

"When we were first recording, I was wearing a bag on my head." - Lisa Lopes

"When I met T-Boz and Left Eye, they were buying jeans that were a size 38. Three little cute girls dressed like boys was cool back then. Our style was cartoonish but fly at the same time."- Rozonda Thomas

"We were always authentic when it came to our style. From when we started to the height of our fame, we've always been consistent in our look because how we dressed was a result of how we felt. We weren't playing dress-up." - Tionne Watkins

"Everything from the music to our clothes was truly authentic. Lisa and I were in my basement spray painting our overalls." - Rozonda Thomas

"TLC's always been sexy but always tasteful." - Rozonda Thomas

"The magic of the group has everything to do with the chemistry between myself, Tionne and Chilli." - Lisa Lopes

"We can't be tamed at all. We've never been that kind of group. We always used to talk about how our image was as big as our sound." - Rozonda Thomas

"TLC never broke up. We are sisters for life." - Tionne Watkins

Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg - TLC

Waterfalls - TLC

Girls Talk - TLC

And one last parting shot...

"We want every generation to know a little something about TLC." - Rozonda Thomas

"The TLC sound! That's what's so awesome - we have our own sound." - Tionne Watkins

"We're so blessed to have an amazing catalog." - Rozonda Thomas

  

"To have a body of work is a blessing - when you have songs that have been around generation after generation that they call timeless music, you can work that for a long time." - Tionne Watkins

"We still have the love for music; it will forever be in my heart." - Rozonda Thomas

"Music is my heart." - Tionne Watkins