Black Beat Magazine (1998)
Left Eye Interview
Black Beat Magazine, July 1998
BlackBeat: Hey Lisa. What's up?
Left Eye: That's a loaded question, there's a lot going on right now.
BlackBeat: So I hear you struck some deals with SONY.
Left Eye: That's right. Prior to the production/label deal. I already had a group signed at Columbia. That was Jena Si Qua, and that was like a year ago. Then I came back to them with another group, three girls called Blaque, and upon signing thatgroup, we did a deal to bring in more acts. So I already have two acts up there at SONY, and I'm working on more right now.
BlackBeat: Excuse me businesswoman.
Left Eye: Oh--I gotta get busy! (both laugh) I gotta take advantage while I can.
BlackBeat: This is true. As they used to say. "Get the git, while the gettin' is good."
Left Eye: We've gotta make the money.
BlackBeat: So I'm told that "Lisa Lopes the Businesswoman" and "Lefteye" are two very different young woman.
Left Eye: Oh yeah. I'm a Gemini--there's a couple of us in here.
BlackBeat: Oh no. Now why did you have to tell me that? You Gemini's are a whole lot to deal with.
Left Eye: You can split me right down the middle: I'm Lefteye on the left, and Lisa Lopes on the right. (Another stream of laughter)
BlackBeat: So when did you actually set up Lefteye Productions?
Left Eye: I set it up four years ago, and we're just now starting to boom.
BlackBeat: And what is the first act that we're going to be hearing about?
Left Eye: The first act will either be Jena Si Qua or Blaque (which stands for Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest for Unity in Everything). They're running neck-and-neck right now. Blaque is scheduled to be released in July, and Jena-Si-Qua have just gone back into the studio to do some more work, but there's no telling when they'll be out.
BlackBeat: What kinds of music are they doing?
Left Eye: Jena-Si-Qua is hip-hop; they're three guys rapping. One is from Boston, one is from Brooklyn, and one is from Atlanta. They have three totally different styles, but they match.
BlackBeat: I'm told that Blaque has a kinda TLC Jr. flavor.
Left Eye: Yup. Not so much with the sound, but mainly with the look. And that's really because they are three girls, they're petite, they're beautiful, and two of them sing, and one of them raps. But you know where Tionne (T-Boz) has her sound, Blaque comes a little different. You could definitely say that they have their own image, but they'll remind you of TLC, 'cause they just have that magic. You'd have to see them. Let's just say that they can stand on their own.
BlackBeat: What are you looking for in artists who come to Left Eye Productions with their demo tapes?
Left Eye: I look for a variety of things. Skill is one of the first things I look for in an artist. Number two: I look for an image. If they don't have an image, I look to see if they have stage presence. And attitude is important. I guess those are the three main things.
BlackBeat: In another word, they have to come with a little something already goin' on. You're not starting from scratch with anyone?
Left Eye: Oh no. I'm not working with artists like that. No. I can't because if you don't have your own vision and really want to do this, then you shouldn't be in the business. And I'm not into getting with somebody just because they look good, and then I have to establish a sound for them. That's not a real artist to me. A real artist knows what they want, what kind of music they'll be doing, they have ideas, they write, you know, really creative people who have a vision. Those are the kinds of people who turn into stars.
BlackBeat: I think so. How do these artists get to you?
Left Eye: Well, I pretty much network a lot. I'm always on the scene. I go to the clubs in Atlanta. I do it just to party and have fun, but I will talk to anyone who approaches me about material that they have, songs they've produced, or a group that they might know. I'll take their numbers. I'll call them back. I'll take their tapes or whatever. And because I have groups, my groups sometimes bring me material. It's like a big network. Plus my brother throws showcases. We do auditions. Some people come to Atlanta just to break into the business. The talent isn't just from Atlanta; they come from all over the country. If they run into me somewhere and don't have a tape. I'll tell them to just "Bust it. Rap or sing for me right now." I've done this in the middle of a mall. So it's really not a problem finding acts.
BlackBeat: Obviously you're busy doing these other things, but during your down-time in between TLC projects, do you ever get antsy and wish that you had something out?
Left Eye: Definitely. A cerain amount of time goes by between when the last single goes down the charts and you have to start working on the next project. Time goes by where you get to relax, but after a month or two, you do get antsy. You start looking at videos, and everyone is out with these ideas, and you have ideas that someone puts out before you. You start feeling like, "Oh, we gotta get out there," I just look at the videos right now, and listen to the radio, and say to myself, "TLC needs to hurry on up." But we're really working on it.
BlackBeat: How was the whole "Ladies' Night" experience for you, working with Lil' Kim, Da Brat and Missy?
Left Eye: It was fun, but very different. I work with ladies already, so that wasn't anything new. (both laugh) It was fun working with the girls. Lil' Kim tried to reach me for a while, so her office reached out to me and I was immediately down with it. The only thing is that usually when I'm asked to perform on someone else's project, I don't always get a chance to do it because of conflicts with the record company. Whereas some record companies don't mind their artists working on the outside, LaFace is one of those companies that is a little stingy with their artists being all over anyone else's material. They like to save things for our own projects. Plus they can't monitor it really: we might go out there and do something corny, which might mess things up for the TLC project. But because it was Lil Kim, and it was a ladies' thing, they were cool with it. Then again, I have been asked to do a whole bunch of other things.
BlackBeat: You know you messed with people's heads when you came out on the MTV Music Awards with that Josephine Baker-type outfit. You looked great.
Left Eye: Yeah. I heard. (she laughs) Thanks so much. I worked that up with the girl who does styling for TLC. Her name is Julie, and she's been doing our stuff for like the last two years. But that night, she styled me and Da Brat. Kim had another stylist. Julie is the bomb! You come to her with the general concept, and she works it all out.
BlackBeat: But what made you go there? It was some high glam kinda action.
Left Eye: For years, friends have been telling me ,"Lisa, why don't you show a little....? "No. Left Eye gotta be Left Eye. And everybody else was like, "I didn't know."
BlackBeat: I certainly didn't know you were kickin' it like that.
Left Eye: All the people who are around me were like. "We knew." They see me get dressed and un-dressed every time TLC has to do something. So I was like. "Funk it," Plus there was a little healthy competition. So you have me with these other fabulous girls--I had to do what I had to do! (both burst into laughter) I have to shine. If I'm with TLC, then I don't worry about it because we'll all shine: But if it's me by myself. I have to represent TLC properly.
BlackBeat: While on TLC, you gotta fill me in on where you three are with this next project.
Left Eye: Well, we're half-way into it. We'll be done very shortly. We're rushing it because our fans are waiting. I'm waiting! I would like to turn on the radio and hear the latest TLC jam. I've got tapes in my car to play, but I wanna hear them on the radio. We've been in the studio with Jermaine Dupri, Organized Noize, and Trackmasters. And we cut a deal with Dallas, so we'll be working with him next. All of that dispute stuff is over. So we're winding down and we're almost finished.
BlackBeat: Anything from Babyface on this album?
This is where the interview stopped from source.