N.I.N.A. and Tha Row
It feels like I'm taking a bite out of a forbidden fruit when I talk about NINA, forreal though...A lot of fans and "fans" show a strong dislike towards that persona and the whole approach as NINA. Why? Well, here's some reasons why some people are too clouded to see the roots of
NINA:
EW (Entertainment Weekly) Article:
EW showed some positive sides of Lisa but also some negative lighting's. When it was first put out to the mainstream media that Lisa and Suge were working together, EW was one of the firsts to publish on it, and didn't put it in good perspective at all. When releasing the article of them talking at a Lakers game in November 2001, they added a sketch of Lisa as a little girl sitting on big Santa Suge Knight's lap.... Some found it very disturbing and convinced the public that he was going to manipulate Lisa, creating more uncomfortable vibes then the usual.
106 & Park Interview:
Lisa went on 106 & Park for the very first time, introducing herself as NINA. You'd think it'd be a live and joyful occasion since Lisa was in the picture, but she was waaaayyyy too laid back for the fans! Many feel she was being muffled again and was being "put in her place" beside Suge with Kurupt. When Lisa got to her site, the only complaint she had was about her outfit, and how she wished she went with the other one she chose instead.
Lisa's Messages on Eyenetics:
Lisa loved chatting with her fans online, and she was not too shy when it came to keeping it real with them like they were with her! When fans were speaking negatively of the new persona, she did nothing but keep feeding her new persona more and more. The Eyenetics then didn't really see what she seen and what she was going to bring. She talked about getting a red panther tattoo on her back to show she meant business with a couple of other symbols, and wanted some of them to sketch how it should look in a contest.
Tha Row Records:
Need I say more? I guess 'cause some of you aren't that well schooled on the background the label formerly known as Death Row Records in the 90's. The label (Suge Knight especially) has had a bad reputation based on many accounts in the Hip-Hop industry, especially when 2Pac passed away, Lisa's old flame that never truly passed. Little do some people know, some of her family members, friends, and even she was rolling with Death Row, even back when Pac was still alive. It was stated she was there for some recording sessions. She was present at the soundboard when Pac recorded his famous diss track to Bad Boy Records "Hit' Em Up!", her cousin, Tangi Forman, sang the hook on the song "Time After Time", Lisa's best friend, Trenay, was asked to be on the song too, even Left Eye's ex boyfriend, Andre Rison, was chilling with them.
Suge Knight:
Some feared for Lisa, especially when they found out she was hanging with Suge at a Lakers game. It was noted the last person he was at a Lakers game was with Tupac, which made some people fear for Lisa even more. It also shocked people when they discovered him and Lisa was messing around! People around them spoke about how they'd always seen them rolling together, going to cook outs and other events but would never put a title on it (as they shouldn't since it wasn't their business to). Lisa's uncle, Fashion Designer Kyle Young, even stated they lived together, and let Natina from her group Blaque stay with them until she had her baby. Suge also went to a radio station at some point and dissed T-Boz, stating she looked unattractive now 'cause she had Chase and that Chilli came to Tha Row once and was stripping for them. Both felt highly disrespected and it didn't help that Lisa never took the step, publicly, to represent that these things weren't cool for him to say and may not be true too. The "break up" didn't make anything better when it was said that he short her on her advance money for recording 2 albums under Tha Row and choked her until she blacked out when she checked him on it.
Imagine the drama after she died 6 months later after linking up with him at the Lakers game! Some of the fans were on the hunt for him cause they felt deep in their hearts that he was responsible for the accident somehow like they believe he is responsible for the murder of Tupac.
Instead of looking at all of this, let's look more at what she was offering as NINA. I will say this as well, who are we to judge Lisa for trying to bring light in depths of some darkness? Lisa didn't hit the label as a "wannabe down" or as someone who never lived the life. She already had it going on. She lived in streets before, grew up in the streets, lived part of that life style, was hood as fuck, and just wanted to make it better as she gone, "improving the quality of life" as she would say she wanted to do as she hit them with a holistic approach as well. Whether they were buying it or not, with the candle lit sessions, incense, herbs, switching weed wraps for onion layers, introducing them to The Bush and Dr. Sebi, she still kept it real and was still being herself in this new identity.
Another part about all of this is that it drowns out some of the music she was making and her persona as NINA. Her verse as NINA on "Crush on You", "Too Street 4 TV" were examples of her showing that NINA was more of the straight Hip-Hop side of her. Even though she was "the evil twin that came from within, whom [she] blamed all [her] sins on" and was "Left Eye outside of TLC", she spat bars as if she was Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown but (of course) with a light Left Eye spin. Look at it this way as well.... NINA is just "Hot!" and "Left Pimpin'" but pushed further on the platform and less "Let Me Live" and "Breathe". She was show casing a growth in her voice that was more aggressive and cocky with conceited, clever, and more hyper sexual content. If you can't hear it in those songs, you can DEFINITELY hear it in "Girl Talk". <3
