Yesterday (April 25th) marked the eight year anniversary of the death of Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes – famous for her role as one-third of one of the most successful female groups of all time, TLC.
My days of TLC go back starting with their first single “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” off their infamous debut CD Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip! Although all three of the members (IMO) represented the true meaning of cool, it was Left Eye’s unique voice and style that captured my (and most people’s) immediate attention. She was loud, vibrant, stylish and zany which only complimented the fact that she could rap, dance and sing.
Her work on the song “Waterfalls” (which she co-wrote) earned TLC the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for seven weeks straight as well as multiple Grammy nominations. Left Eye’s boisterous personality and crafty word play largely contributed to TLC’s overall success.
Her untimely and very mysterious death (which was literally captured on camera and seen on the VH1 doc The Last Days of Left Eye) came after she left the group and was gearing up to release her solo album. However, her legacy should not involve the personal drama she was dealing with at that time. Instead Left Eye should be remembered as a strong female who was bold and confident of enough to express her opinions and ideas as stridently as she very-well pleased. She along with T-Boz and Chilli opened the doors for all the many R&B girl groups who came after them – and for that reason she will always be immensely missed and largely respected by those who knew Lisa personally and from those who knew Left Eye strictly through her music.
RIP Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes
