Souled out!
Fans of ’90s R&B rejoice – TLC, Dru Hill and SWV are heading to SA for the inaugural Soul Fest
Having sold more than 65 million records, TLC is the bestselling American girl group of all time and worldwide the trio’s sales are second only to the Spice Girls.
Original TLC member Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes (30) died in 2002 in a car accident but the remaining two, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (48) and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas (47), are still going strong. DEVOTED FANBASE Back in 2015 the five-time Grammy winners from Atlanta decided to release a final self-titled record – their first since 3D (2002). But T-Boz and Chilli wanted to do it without the involvement of a record label and took to Kickstarter to fund their farewell endeavour.
They asked fans to help finance the project by each donating at least $5 (then about R77,50) to reach their goal of $150 000 (R2,3 million).
In less than 48 hours they’d surpassed this to become the “fastest, most funded pop project in Kickstarter history”. They eventually raised a whopping $430 255 (R6,6 million)!
Among the loyal fans who donated were singers Katy Perry, Bette Midler and Justin Timberlake. DIFFERENTTIMES Although the pair are adamant that TLC (2015) was their final full-length album they continue to perform, record and make appearances together. “We ain’t going anywhere,” T-Boz says. “But a studio album? The industry is so different – some of it’s kind of a joke now. I think today people use that word ‘legend’ real loose. How the hell you been here two years and you’re a legend?
“I don’t care how popular you are. Reality stars are popular. Who cares? If Instagram went away tomorrow, a lot of people wouldn’t be working.” CHANGE A THING They have every reason to dismiss today’s social media celebs and their instant fame – their road to success wasn’t an easy one. Their almost 30 years in the industry have been marred by feuds, backstabbing and bankruptcy. Due to unsound business deals the group was declared insolvent in 1995; at one point relations between the three were so bad LeftEye challenged Chilli and T-Boz to make solo albums – with a $1 million prize for the winner! Looking back, would they have done anything differently? “Coulda, woulda, shoulda,” T-Boz tells The Guardian. “It made us who we are, so at the end of the day I just remember Lisa as a person, a human being. I miss everything.” ■
■ Catch Soul Fest at Jozi’s TicketPro Dome on 1 September, Durban’s Kings Park Stadium on 2 September and Cape Town’s GrandWest Arena on 4 September.