Supplied
“We always say, you don’t know if a song is going to have longevity until time tells you,” Chilli says.
Is there an album that sums up the female bravado of 90s hip-hop as well as TLC’s CrazySexyCool?
The US girl group – with Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas, and Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes (the latter of whom died in a car accident in 2002) – will celebrate the anniversary of their second album with an international tour taking them to New Zealand in 2024.
CrazySexyCool shot to the top of New Zealand’s charts when it was released in 1994, and its singles Waterfalls, Creep, and Red Light Special all held spots within the Top 10 at the time.
“We always say, you don’t know if a song is going to have longevity until time tells you,” Chilli says.
With over 360,000,000 streams for Waterfalls on Spotify alone, a platform launched 14-years after the release of CrazySexyCool, and now an international anniversary tour for a 30-year-old album, time has told TLC all they need to know.
But who would have known TLC would cement such a legacy?
“At that time, I just remember we wanted to be trendsetters, we wanted people to be like us,” T-Boz says.
“Between the way we dress, the sound of our music, just our style alone, the way we dance – [we wanted] to be leaders, and just be different from anything anyone has ever experienced.”
Now long-respected legends within their genre, Chilli says the truest sign of their success is the praise they receive from artists of generations before and after them.
“That kind of feedback sometimes leaves you speechless,” says Chilli.
Certain pockets of New Zealand have always lived and breathed hip-hop and RnB, particularly Māori and Pasifika communities – the endless TLC replays at family functions, cleaning days on Sundays, or late night garage parties are a testament to how the group’s music has embedded itself in many Kiwis’ lives.
“There’s always so much love, so much energy and excitement from our fans [in New Zealand], and we love guys so much – that’s why we’re so excited to come, because you know it’s a long flight,” Chilli jokes.
When TLC last came to New Zealand in 2022, the group was forced to pull out of performing duties for Fridayz Live (then Friday Jams) due to an unfortunate Covid diagnosis, leaving them to isolate in Aotearoa with not much to do.
Sam Tabone/Getty Images
“There’s always so much love, so much energy and excitement from our fans [in New Zealand], and we love guys so much – that’s why we’re so excited to come, because you know it’s a long flight,” Chilli jokes.
When the duo take on Auckland’s Trusts Arena in February, Chilli promises the group will perform more fan favourite hits – and why not? The two know their strength is in the relationship their fans have with their music.
“The lyrics relate to, and speak to, everyone. That’s the thing that I think is the big part of our success: the lyrical content,” Chilli says.
“If the music sucks, nothing else matters.”
For T-Boz, the moment of realisation that CrazySexyCool would cement their legacy came after the group managed to beat out competitors Michael and Janet Jackson, Hootie and the Blowfish, REM, and Garth Brooks during an awards show.
“When the cameras came over, we thought they were just coming to be messy [and] get our sad little faces,” T-Boz laughs.
“There was no way we were going to win this one, so we were all slouching and everything, and then – ‘what?!’
“It was the most organic and authentic reaction, because we really truly couldn’t believe that we won. That’s when I knew we were on to something serious.”
Though CrazySexyCool remains an iconic album which made US$75m for their record company, TLC were only paid US$50,000 each for their work on the album, according to the BBC.
Despite it all, the members have retained an unrelenting energy, enthusiasm, and belief in their work.
“I think we were raised well by our mothers,” T-Boz explains.
“We make what people may think are feminist comments, but we’re just us – three strong women respecting ourselves and standing up for what we believe in, and not letting someone try to make us be something we’re not.
“We’re true to who we really are. I think that’s why people resonate with us and feel us wholeheartedly, because it’s organic, and it’s real. You can’t get anything better than something real.”
