At first glance, the group appeared to be a fad, a one-hit wonder, but TLC would go to change the course of Black pop history. “These three women have been the catalytic center of a thriving Atlanta R&B scene that would never have been quite the same without them,” veteran music writer Carol Cooper, who interviewed them for Rolling Stone in 1995 for her piece “Pretty Young Things.” Seventeen years later Cooper was still a fan. “Not only do the songs and the production on their first album still measure up. I think I appreciate their sound and attitude even more now than back then. A lot of the stuff that people have done since like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, and even Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, owe a lot to the original sound and image of TLC.”

https://massappeal.com/tl...eye-chilli

Thank you for sharing this article! I appreciate how the author emphasizes Prince's influence on them from the beginning. It implies Prince's direct influence on many of the modern pop stars (for what that is worth ). Are there other artists that have such a strong purple influence that did not work directly with Prince? It is so interesting that TLC were privileged enough to both faithfully and playfully cover work by Prince and The Time in their short discography. Also interesting to note that the only full song Sean "Puffy/Diddy" Combs produced for TLC was the Prince cover during his now classic Biggie/Mary era.

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http://people.com/celebri...tlcs-back/

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“He used to fax [label executive] L.A. Reid stuff saying ‘Free TLC.’ He always had our back. It was so funny. He had the best sense of humor.”