Boyz Magazine (2001)

Lisa gets interviewed for an issue of the Boyz Magazine, an LGBT+ magazine. She talks meeting Mel. C, denying the rumors that Mel trying to have sex with her. She also talks about having a same sex encounter, her relationship with Andre, The Fire, and going to Jail.

B = Boyz Magazine

L = Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes

B: How does it feel to be out there on your own? L: I dont know normal; frightened.

B: You're trouble, aren't you? L: No. It's been because I'm very outspoken. It's because I got into this fight with my boyfriend and accidentally burned his house to the ground.

B: Accidentally? L: Well, I purposefully burned his shoes, but the house accidentally burned down! We'd been fighting, and I was so angry that when I went to look for him I went through the closet and there were 20 sneaker boxes stacked up on top of each other, and I immediately thought, "Did he think about me when he bought these? There better be a size four." And I ripped through the sneakers like a madwoman, and every size was a man's 10. I flipped! I threw the sneakers in the tub and was like, "Burn! You're gonna burn!" And the whole house burned down...[laughs]

B: I like the way you're laughing! You were lucky to get out of there... L: Yeah, I was lucky. I was so mentally gone - the fire was hypnotic. I was in a daze. I was just watching the blaze growing, and my sister pulled me out of the bathroom.

B: Were you arrested? L: Yes.

B: You had to go to court and everything? L: No, we made a deal, because if I went to trial and I was found guilty, I could have served up to 20 years for arson. So, my lawyer made a deal where I served just a few days in jail.

B: What was jail like? L: It wasn't as bad as people paint it to be. At least not in my experience.

B: Did you have your bitches? L: No, I didn't. I can get along with everyone, and people were applauding my entrance. And that feeling made me feel at home.

B: We would have thought there would have been some big old ladies in there wanting a piece of your ass. L: I didn't give off that energy, that I wanted to be wanted. I'll sign autographs, I'll talk to your friends on the telephone, I'll play cards, I'll talk to you about your problems.

B: Your boyfriend forgave you, didn't he? L: Yes. Well, he feels as if that would have never happened if there were certain things that he didn't do. Both of us took responsibility for that, even though I was that one who lit the flame...

B: And you're still together. How long is that now? L: We've been together on and off for eight years.

B: That's quite a long time, because you're quite young aren't you? L: Yeah...I'll always be young!

B: You did the Mel C duet thing - were you friends? L: No. We met on the project, and she's a very down to earth person. She's got good energy.

B: You know there were rumours about her being a lesbian? Did she try it on with you? L: No! I told you, I don't give off that kind of energy! My cousin is a lesbian, and she told me there's this radar - what is it? - gaydar, where they can tell, they can sense it!

B: Have you ever come close? L: Well, there was one occasion. I was 17, I ran away from home and this woman invited me to live with her.

B: Who was the woman? L: I met her through some guy, and the trade off was that I babysat her son while she was at work and she gave me room and board. And for a couple of weeks I had no idea that she was gay. She had a woman visiting her all the time, and they'd sleep in her room, but I thought it was because I was on the couch and they had nowhere else to sleep! And it wasn't until she let me know a couple of weeks later that the girl that I had been coming over was her girlfriend... Her sexual partners didn't bother me, so I just opted to stay. And she was very lenient: she signed all my notes for me when I didn't feel like going to school. She bought alcohol for me if I wanted to drink! She offered to get me fake ID and she told stories. She was 30, I was 17. One day she said if you ever have any questions you want to ask me, don't be afraid to ask! So one night, I just decided to start asking questions, and she tried me.

B: She tried you? L: But for some reason she didn't take me all the way.

B: What do you mean? L: She tried me. She wanted me to take off all my clothes, so she could look at my body, and she thought I was beautiful.

B: Did you take off everything? L: Yeah, everything, and I stood there like a very timid, you know...and she tried me. I sat in the bed and she sat in the bed...she went halfway...It's like she touched me on my mouth and she touched me down below.

B: And how was that for you? L: Well, I dont know how it felt at the time, because my mind was wondering "where's this going to go?" And she stopped and she said, "I wish I could go all the way with you." I dont know what was on her mind. I really think she wanted to groom me, or save me, or wanted to wait until I matured a little bit. When I got pregnant by a guy I was seeing, she flipped: "You're mine! I'm gonna kill him!" I never knew she felt like that.

B: So you set her sneakers on fire? L: Noooo! I ended up back home. Then I finally ran away when I was 19 To Atlanta and I got in a group, and TLC happened. But I still had problems. I was drinking, oh my gosh. My father used to give me alcahol when I was 15. I started drinking beer. That escalated to Long Island Ice Teas, and that turned into gon and juices. Then I started to smoke marijuana when I was about 21 or 22, and for ten years I felt very lost. It was very unlike me. I felt I'd buried the beautiful me. Something else was taking over.

B: Is the real you coming back now? L: Yeah, she's coming back slowly."

The single, "The Block Party" is out 15 October.