Milestones: CrazySexyCool by TLC
With its mature themes, strong execution, and undeniable hits, TLC's second album proved they were no slouch as a powerhouse group following the New Jack Swing-influenced debut.
TLC’s 1992 debut album, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip, portrayed them as independent young women who embraced being goofy and a bit chaotic on their terms. This album’s success made TLC role models for younger audiences and figures who advocated for women’s basic physical needs. In the video for “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” they fired water guns and celebrated sexual autonomy while wearing vibrant outfits. Their magnum opus, CrazySexyCool, was smoother yet retained the humor of their debut. The album explored pleasure in its various forms, suggesting that sexiness doesn’t need to be explicit or raunchy; it can be subtle or inferred through elements like a saxophone’s melody or T-Boz’s whisper at the start of “Creep.”
The concept for CrazySexyCool was women embodying diverse traits. The title combined the personalities of the members, challenging the public’s view of each one: Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes as “crazy,” Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas as “sexy,” and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins as “cool.” Each member possessed all these qualities. However, some male producers initially needed to understand this idea of layered identity. “They would make a crazy song for me, a sexy song for Chilli, and a cool song for Tionne,” Left Eye told Vibe in 1994. She explained that CrazySexyCool described every woman’s multifaceted nature, not just each individual member.
T-Boz brought a raspy, matter-of-fact vocal style influenced by jazz. Chilli provided the closest connection to traditional R&B with smooth, sultry vocals. Left Eye, the rebellious poet, rapped and sang while developing many of their musical and visual ideas. The latter introduced the practice of wearing condoms as fashion accessories to promote safe sex, pinning them to clothing or taping them over her glasses. This approach encapsulated their anything-goes attitude. Like Salt-N-Pepa before them, TLC’s messages in songs, visuals, and outfits felt genuine. Unlike many girl groups, no one member was highlighted over another. Their individual styles blended seamlessly due to their complementary strengths.
Launched in 1994, CrazySexyCool propelled the group to unmatched success. By June 1996, it sold 10 million units in the U.S., yielded two No. 1 hits (“Creep” and “Waterfalls”), and made TLC the top-selling girl group. Their allure stemmed from memorable tunes and sharp imagery and their natural approach to discussing topics such as relationships, self-appreciation, and autonomy. This approach made their music both notable and accessible.
While contemporaries like SWV, En Vogue, and Xscape emphasized harmonious gospel singing, TLC distinguished themselves in the pop realm. CrazySexyCool combined singing and rapping, landing it between notable R&B debuts by Brandy, Usher, and Aaliyah and significant hip-hop albums from Notorious B.I.G., Nas, and OutKast. Signing with Babyface and Antonio L.A. Reid’s LaFace Records elevated TLC in Atlanta’s hip-hop and R&B scenes. Their success paved the way for fellow artists like OutKast and Goodie Mob to explore their creativity freely.
Left Eye’s rap style and T-Boz’s rapping-like singing opened new avenues for producers such as Jermaine Dupri and Sean “Puffy” Combs. The album opens and closes with rap: Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest sets the stage on the “Intro-Lude,” while “Sumthin’ Wicked This Way Comes,” featuring a young André 3000 as a guest rapper, coalesces with hypnotic guitar loops into a blueprint for the mid-nineties sonic landscape.
The album’s first single, “Creep,” eases in with a Slick Rick sample as T-Boz delivers a straightforward response to infidelity: “So I creep/Yeah.” Her laid-back vocal style suggests relaxation in the studio. On the Babyface-produced “Diggin’ On You,” she adds a hint of vocal fry to a smooth, jazzy love narrative. Left Eye takes a humorous turn on “Kick Your Game,” produced by Jermaine Dupri, playing both roles in a courtship. Given her past with NFL star Andre Rison, her reference to a 50-yard line pickup line carries a touch of irony.
The paramount prerequisite: Possessing beats akin to Charlotte Caffey. If conveying to JAY-Z and his team an acute perception of the quintessential sound, TLC graces the booth near Jigga with their celebrated producers Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin, Babyface, Puffy, and Organized Noise. The Organized Noise collective, eternally underestimated despite the sublime Outkast output, furnishes two of the finest boom bap soul productions with “Sumthin’ Wicked This Way Comes” and the monumental tune “Waterfalls.”
The trio of friends Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown established Organized Noise in 1992 within an Atlanta basement (Dungeon), later neighboring Outkast and Goodie Mob, forming the Dungeon Family. Rico manages business affairs, Sleepy harmonizes from the hoodie, and Ray conjures studio wizardry. Courtesy of their amalgamated strengths, their beats perpetually equilibrate between propulsive, rugged drum patterns, multi-layered, funky-rock instrumentation, and infectious melodies.
The global hit “Waterfalls” dances lighter than Fred Astaire’s despite its weighty HIV narrative. Ray allows synths to effervescence, brass players to rejoice, and the ever-composed T-Boz to candidly yet insistently address the ubiquitous AIDS virus without naming it or descending into clumsy sermonizing (“His health is fading and he doesn’t know why” and “three letters took him to his final resting place”). The lavish video rotates and propels song and theme through MTV’s peak phase across all channels.
Naturally, this resonates with the mentors and executives Puffy, Dupri, and Babyface, who continually oversee the project’s progression. Babyface solely contributes the sweaty-sullen “Diggin’ On You,” while the industrious R&B and pop producer Dallas Austin (Madonna, Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men) further trumps musically alongside Organized Noise. “Creep” stands apart from his four album productions, emerging as one of TLC’s biggest single successes alongside “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs” from the ’99 successor FanMail. His trademark: the classic club-suitable mid-tempo head-nodder, over which TLC layers smooth yet haunting lyrics.
T-Boz’s soothing morning vocals wonderfully complement the overtly sensual songs on the album, particularly “Red Light Special,” a tantalizingly slow rendition featuring an enticingly sinuous instrumental arrangement by Babyface, with saxophone notes writhing in a manner akin to a sensual body roll. This laid-back seduction style contrasts appealingly with Chilli’s buoyant ecstatic energy, which is evident in their performance on “Let’s Do It Again.” The two encapsulate the alluring essence of sex, humor, and playfulness, as showcased when Chilli initiates a game of telephone flirtation that concludes with a juvenile joke and an audacious toilet flush. The sheer enjoyment alone is justification enough.
When producing the album, the iconic Dallas Austin aspired to draw out the dynamic duo’s Prince-like essence, clearly discernible in the slinking melodies and potent sexual yearning evoked. “Red Light Special” boasts an akin melodic framework to Prince’s alluring “International Lover,” featuring mesmerizingly slow chord progressions. Meanwhile, the hypnotic funk of “Case of the Fake People” evokes the O’Jays’ timeless “Back Stabbers” with its boom-bap beats courtesy of Austin, with T-Boz and Chilli’s voices intertwining in mesmerizing harmonies.
Speaking of the Purple One, their cover of “If I Was Your Girlfriend” from his Sign O’ the Times album is a unique piece of their work. Prince, known for his careful industry relationships, held TLC in high regard. After his passing in April 2016, T-Boz mentioned, “I know we were his favorite group. He often told me that I was his absolute favorite.” Prince was likely drawn to the group’s unity, relatable soul sound, and bold expressions of sexuality.
TLC took control of their artistic narrative in ways few women artists had before. They redefined roles in tracks like “Switch,” produced by Jermaine Dupri. Here, they flipped traditional dynamics and took charge of their actions. In the “Sexy” skit, Chilli pushes boundaries further. During a phone call with her partner, voiced by Puff Daddy, she engages in suggestive conversation, only to humorously end it with a request for toilet paper (boy, how that aged poorly, huh?).
Their bold approach to music and social issues marked a significant point for women’s equality, a struggle that continues. Their real lives mirrored their uncompromising stance. In the mid-90s, Lisa Lopes set her boyfriend Andre Rison’s house on fire during a dispute, leading to her temporary absence from some CrazySexyCool tracks due to rehab. Despite their success, the group found themselves financially strained in 1995 due to poor label contracts, Lisa’s rehab costs, and T-Boz’s medical bills for her sickle cell disease.
Unlike many, TLC found strength in adversity, navigating the male-dominated music industry together. They canceled concerts to support T-Boz in the hospital and fought to regain control of their name and contract. Their third album, FanMail, earned eight Grammy nominations in 1999. After Lisa Lopes’ tragic death in a car accident in 2002, T-Boz and Chilli have continued to honor TLC’s legacy, inspiring numerous women artists to this day.
Standout (★★★★½)