Pride Magazine (May 2000)

(Photos used were photographed by photographer Dave Hogan)

"Ain't Too Proud 2 Beg"

Pride Magazine, May 2000

If R'n'B is the new rock and roll, then TLC make Oasis look like well-behaved choirboys. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is certainly the group's most outrageous member. Back in the mid-90s she was in the papers more for what she did away from the mike than what she created while in front of it.

There was the abusive father, the drink problem...oh and that episode that included fire, her boyfriend's house and a court case. But she's left the turmoil behind her and is busy kicking back with anyone who care to ask. Toussaint Davy asked, but admits he wouldn't have been too proud to beg either.

Lisa Lopes has a singular effect on people. I first see her in the lobby of the dangerously plush St. Martin's Lane Hotel. Beauty is not an adequate word to correctly describe Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, unofficial front woman for R'n'B super-group TLC. In case you didn't know, TLC is the group that helped redefine and rebalance the position of women in the genre. Their successes speak for themselves and they trumpeted the concept of 'Girl Power' long before Posh, Baby, Scary, Sporty or Ginger knew what time it was.

Songs such as 'Ain't Too Proud 2 Beg", "Baby-Baby-Baby", and later "Waterfalls", "Creep", and "Red Light Special" marked them out as something unique. With their in-your-face sexual rhymes and cheeky, urban styling and attitude it wasn't long before the group was on top of the world.

Formed in 1991, TLC is now the definitive mix of seductive vocals (T-Boz), smooth R'n'B (Chilli), and gritty hip-hop (Left Eye's rapping). But it's Lopes to whom all the media attention generally falls on. And it's not just because she has the kind of perfect looks that could have inspired Da Vinci or makes men forget what day of the week it is. Without exaggeration, they're the sort of looks that because they're so balanced: the flawless skin, with no need for makeup; the well-proportioned petite figure and the orb-like eyes that quicken the pace of the male heart. But even though Lopes has the looks of an angel, she has a complex history enough to move the devil to repentance.

Posing for our photographer, while casually walking through the hotel's revolving doors, by the time she's finished and pops back inside to the sanctuary of the hotel's restaurant, a bemused group of German tourists are on her trail. Not quite believing that they've seen some who 'ist so schon' (is so beautiful) and 'uber sexy' (fantastically sexy), they follow her into the hotel, only to be headed off by the pass by the hotel's concierge. No doubt an everyday occurrence for Lopes, who seems genuinely unaware of the stir that her brief appearance on London's streets has caused.

Now, in her late-20s, Lopes is a formidable one-woman multi-media business empire. Her portfolio includes; her own clothing line, a multi-million modeling contract for Calvin Klein, a burgeoning career as a television presenter-she just co-hosted the Soul Train Awards, artist management-Left Eye Productions with among others, teen R'n'B group Blaque on her roster, undisclosed film projects on the horizon, and a heavily anticipated solo career. But it's on her musical career that the eyes of the world's musical pundits continue to rest. It remains to be seen whether she can 'cut it' as a solo artist. It was widely reported at the time of release of TLC's last album, FanMail , that of the eight songs Lopes wrote, all were rejected by the other two band members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.

And still the rumors persist of the girls' own personal relationships with one another-the fights, the refusals to appear together whether in videos or onstage, the scathing letters to US magazine editors denouncing one another.

If R'n'B is the new rock and roll, then TLC make Oasis look like well-behaved choirboys. Still, despite the creative differences, the evidence of Lopes' previous and current work that includes guest appearances on tracks with everyone from LaFace label mates Outkast and The Goodie Mob to Donell Jones, Melanie C and Toni Braxton, her own multi-platinum recording future should be a breeze. Anybody would be a fool to bet against her, as Lopes' own history reveals, she's a fighter and a survivor.

Lisa once had 'issues', largely borne, from her relationships with men. There was her infamous and widely reported relationship with Andre Rison of the Kansas City Chiefs. Rison, her former boyfriend/fiance owned the Atlanta house in which they both lived and which she burnt down after one of their arguments in 1994. Then there was TLC's own unbelievable bankruptcy and through all of this there was the constant memory of an abusive deceased father.

In the mid-90s she was in the papers more for what she did away from the mike than what she created while in front of it. Rison's obviously a subject still close to her heart, and one on which she has spoken about at length in the past. But now, according to Lopes, because of continual misquotes in the media, too much personal heartache has been caused hence, her guarded approach albeit with a disarming smile throughout the entire interview. For Lopes all of her history is just that-now it's time to move on. Her relationship with Rison has improved to the extent that they appear in a recent fashion shoot for Vibe Magazine together, but before you get too excited and the tongues start wagging too furiously there is little chance of reconciliation. They remain on good terms with one another, period. And as for money, well apart from the obvious wealth attached to an exclusive Calvin Klein modeling contract, the slinky black dress with the stylish, chunky platform boots that she now sits in front of me wearing, wouldn't look out of place in Donnatella Versace's wardrobe.

Wearing a scandalous low-cut black dress with a far too revealing split up the side we sit opposite one another on bar stools. Her legs dangle cutely about a metre from the floor. Her new boyfriend, Sean Newman, a Tyson Beckford-class model sits directly behind her. Sorry, I have to say it again. This woman is disarmingly beautiful, enough to make a male journalist forget his questions or a female journalist write a scathing piece about style over substance. But in truth Lopes is a consummate professional, dodging my most obvious questions with ease, while at the same time telling me her airy vignettes with a charming honesty. There are things you can tell by the activity behind her eyes that she'd rather not talk about: her ex-boyfriend Rison and his burnt-out house, her private demons and her father, all the signs that any cod-psychologist would say that this girl has some unresolved issues. But who doesn't? Yet now, with her long black hair in pigtails, interspersed with shocking pink highlights, although small, the woman in front of me has the kind of star presence Paltrow would die for. She looks as serene as your average heaven-sent angel probably does, yet there is still a glimmer of unbreakable steel in her wordly eyes.

Describe Lisa Lopes to me in three words?

Intuitive, genuine, creative and direct...all of those things, y'know ambitious loving that kinda thing.

So Lisa, tell me who is the real leader of TLC?

(Smiling) Well it's not me. We all take an active lead in the group. I'm usually at the front because on certain songs my personality comes through far stronger than the other two.

What is the story with TLC? We hear periodically that you guys are on the verge of splitting up, the tantrums, etc...?

What do you mean?

Well we hear all the stories of you guys on the brink and about to split up...

Y'know we've been together like ten years and we like sisters..and you know the thing is sometimes we love one another and sometimes we don't love one another. It's what you would expect from being so close to two people all the time.

So the rumors about your next LP, barring a greatest hits compilation, being the last are untrue?

It is! Well, let's say this, if this is our last LP, then it's news to me. We have no plans to split up.

(Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Melanie C.)

OK, so what made you decide to do the collaboration with Mel C.?

It was just something different and I liked the song and thought that I could do something with it. It's a pity that it hasn't taken yet taken off in the States though.

If you had to be a Spice Girl what would your name be?

Er, um, err...(long pause and giggles. Her boyfriend Sean loudly whispers

into her left ear, to which she laughs)

Controversial Spice, no, no baby Sexy Spice.

OK then, have you any ambitions to become a Spice Girl? Is it your secret intention to eventually replace Geri?

No way. (laughs) I do not want to become a Spice Girl.

What do you love about the other two members of TLC?

(long pause) Chilli's relationship with her son Tron, it's a beautiful thing. When I see that it fills me with so much hope. And T-Boz's strength. Y'see she's got sickle-cell and it's not easy for her when we're out touring and doing what we do. But when she's sick, she doesn't complain, she just gets on with it, even though everybody keeps asking her if she's OK. That's what I love about her, she won't let things conquer her. But now she's pregnant, six weeks I think, and she's getting married to Mack 10.

Is that public knowledge?

Y'know I don't know. It is now! (laughs)

In the past being in an abusive relationship, do you feel that now it's over, that you're a stronger person?

(looks away from me and into the distance) Definitely. When I was younger I just went through some stuff. Stuff that really freaked me out. Now I don't let anything freak me out. It's sometimes hard talking about all of that. It wasn't easy then, and I'm a different person now. It's something now that I leave to other people. It's something that I'll NEVER let happen to me again.

You've guested on just about every track for every artist in music, enough I guess to make your own solo LP. When is the world going to hear and see a Lisa Lopes solo LP?

(laughs) It's taken some time I know, but hopefully by the end of this quarter or the first of next.

You mean next year?

Yeah, 2001.

Have you got any names for the album yet?

Yeah, I've been playing around with Fantasy.com but am not quite sure yet. It'll be something along those lines though. And there'll be a lot of different styles on it.

What is your greatest unfulfilled ambition?

Unfulfilled ambition? I don't have one because if I did then it'd be like, I wasn't complete, y'know. I've achieved everything that I want and ever wanted to do.

OK, so what about working with other artists such as Stevie Wonder, Madonna or Prince?

I'd love to work with Stevie, Michael Jackson and Prince and all of those other people and I will one day. I've just done a track on Toni Braxton's new album, which is hot.

What's the hardest decision that you've been faced with since being in TLC?

Y'know, it's having to make decisions and bow to record company agendas. It's not as easy as making a song and releasing it. There's the meetings and the decision making of others which is sometimes a drag.

What are the qualities you look for in a man?

Aggression. Yeah, aggression. Ambition, direction, kindness, and a sense of well being that sorta stuff, y'know. If a man looks after himself, his body and his general appearance then I can appreciate that. I need somebody with a sense of importance and a sense of where they are going in life.

(Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Shawn Newman)

So money's not an issue?

Not really, not as much as you would think. It's more about self-respect of himself and for me.

When did you two hook up?

(both laughing) Yesterday.

It must be hard for you assessing whether men are after you because they want to go out with Lisa Lopes or Left Eye.

Definitely. They (men) always go after the persona and sometimes try to change themselves because they think they'll be pleasing me. They don't know me and come with even bigger expectations of me. It's only when they're with me for a little while that they begin to get and see the real me. And then they usually want more. (laughs)

What about settling down, having kids, and starting a family? When do you think it's going to happen for you?

Hopefully one day, when I find the right man. (Laughs while teasing Newman's knee, who's cozily snuggled up right behind her) But I've a Iot of things I got to do first. I'm now 28 years old and I want to do things that will take a couple of years, y'know films, acting, and my own music so I'll give myself about two years before I settle down. Yeah, when I'm about 30.

Did you think you'd always be famous?

I always thought that I'd be famous. I just knew it.

Yeah, but do you like it?

I love the celebrity and it defintely has its advantages.

So how do you keep yourself grounded considering you're a third of the world's most successful female musical trio of all time?

I keep myself grounded because I act normal. I don't have people constantly telling me I'm part of the most successful girl trio of all time. Although, I guess, I could if I wanted to. I don't surround myself with bodyguards and security. It's only when I go out and people come up to me, asking for autographs and stuff then I realize who I am and what I mean to my fans. But I just deal with it then and there and after that, I just go back to my little zone and chill.