Für Fans von: R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Elektronisch, und Funk & Soul.
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Formed in 1991 by Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, TLC were quick to find a record deal, singing with L.A. Reid and Babyface’s new label, LaFace. Only a year after their formation, the group released their debut album, “Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip,” capturing the nation’s attention with their lively tracks and colorful image.
Yet despite this success, life wasn’t easy for the group, after Lopes was charged with arson and received five years probation for burning down her partner’s (NFL wide receiver, Andre Rison) Atlanta mansion. Despite the bad publicity, their second album, “CrazySexyCool” did not suffer in its reception, with the more mature release finding a number one hit in “Creep,” along with a number of Top Five singles in 1994. With the single “Waterfalls” spending seven weeks at number one, TLC were one of the biggest names in pop, selling over 11 million copies of their album and rounding out the year with a Grammy Award for ‘Best R&B Album.’
Financial difficulties dampened this euphoria, with TLC filing for bankruptcy only a year later. Subsequent years were spent settling their financial affairs, not releasing a new album until 1999, with “Fantail.” The album went straight to number one, eventually selling six times Platinum, as well as winning another Grammy for ‘Best R&B Album’ once again. Subsequently, tensions between the trio became public, with the stars often appearing in the tabloid press.
Work on a new album became challenging, due to Lopes’ solo commitments, as well as Watkins’ illness, who suffered from Sickle Cell Anaemia. Tragedy was soon to befall TLC, after Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras, not long after she had signed a new solo contract with Suge Knight’s label, The Row. The surviving members decided to continue, completing their third album, “3D” in 2002, featuring production from a host of names, including Timbaland, Missy Elliot and longtime producer Dallas Austin. The album went double-Platinum, continuing to find TLC commercial success.
In 2003, Watkins and Thomas performed at New York’s Zootropia concert, hinted to be their last performance. After a brief jaunt into reality T.V., the duo decided to return as TLC in 2009, planning a new record. “20” was released in 2013, an anthology of their hits, including a new song, “Meant To Be,” a track written by Ne-Yo. Their career was then memorialised by VH1, in their movie, “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.”
Salt-N-Pepa are trailblazers, pure and simple. Arriving at a time when hip-hop was considered a fad and would be finished by the end of the 1980’s, they were a huge part of the genre’s legitimization in the public eye and would go on to have the biggest selling album by a female rap act with their fourth effort “Very Necessary” and also be the first female winners of a Grammy award in a rap category for their single “None Of Your Business”.
James and Denton formed the group as a duo initially, debuting in 1985 with the single “The Showstopper” under the name Super Nature. The single was discovered by Pop Art Records and became a hit on the R&B charts. From the start the duo set about tearing down the standards and stereotypes of how women in Hip-Hop should be, owning their sexuality and empowering themselves through it long before anyone else thought to.
“The Showstopper” garnered the interest of label Next Plateau Records, who signed them for an album release. It was then that the duo became a trio, with Roper joining the group full time as their DJ, and the album followed soon after, entitled “Hot, Cool & Vicious”. It was a modest success initially, with some charting R&B hits in the form of “Tramp” and “Chick On The Side” among others. And then “Push It” happened.
A San Francisco based DJ called Cameron Paul created a remix to the song, the B-side of “Tramp”, and their rise after that was stratospheric. A monster hit on both sides of the Atlantic, the trio were now legitimate pop stars despite James and Denton being barely into their twenties and Roper being a mere 16. However, their star was only going to rise with time.
To this day, the vast majority of female rappers around owe a certain debt to Salt-N-Pepa. They followed up with even bigger hits like “Let’s Talk About Sex” and “Whatta Man”, they won Grammy’s, had platinum albums and singles. They were one of the key acts that legitimised female rappers and they can still rock it live to this day. They’re legends, but you knew that much already, right?
The original incarnation of En Vogue was conceptualised by the production duo of Denzil Foster and Tony McElroy, who envisioned the group as a modern take on the girl groups of the 1950’s and 60’s. Legends like The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes and Martha and the Vandella’s were their inspiration and in 1988, the duo held auditions to find female performers who had the right mix of intelligence, looks and talent to be true stars. As a result of those auditions they found Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, and Dawn Robinson, and true to their inspirations, Foster and McElroy were originally going to feature Jones, Herron and Robinson as a trio.
However, Foster and McElroy still had a few singers left to audition, and Terry Ellis was one of the final candidates to do so. Although they thought they’d found their band, Foster and McElroy were so impressed that they felt compelled to add her to what would become the classic En Vogue line-up, making them a quartet. After first toying with the name For You, the nascent group then became Vogue. However, after finding that another group had claimed that name, they changed it to En Vogue and set to work on the band’s debut album in 1989. Recording began in August of the same year, and was released in April the following year, but few could possibly predict its success.
Their first single, “Hold On”, was released in February 1990 and was an enormous hit right off the bat, hitting number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and going into the top five of the U.K singles chart. This generated a mountain of hype surrounding their debut album, so “Born To Sing” was released in April 1990 and hit a respectable number 21 in the Billboard 200, eventually going platinum before the year was out. The band were massively acclaimed as well, with “Hold On” netting the band a Billboard Award and a Soul Train award for R&B Single of the year and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
The mid-90’s continued to be very, very kind to the group, with both their follow up records, 1992’s “Funky Divas”, and 1997’s “EV3” hitting the top twenty of the Billboard 200 and giving the band enormous hit singles in the form of “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”, and “Don’t Let Go (Love)”. However not all was well in the band, and Robinson left in 1997 after contractual disputes, and even after going platinum “EV3” under-performed commercially, and an entire tour was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. However, even at their lowest point they were still able to command some serious respect, going on to work with Stevie Wonder and Prince in 2005 alone.
Since then, the band have still been performing live as a trio, with Ellis and Herron from the original line-up being backed up by new recruit Rhona Bennett. All three of them are consummate professionals able to put on one hell of a show in their own right, and when they combine their efforts with En Vogue’s utterly astonishing back catalogue, it can make for one hell of a live show. They’re originals and inspirations in equal measure, and for that, they come highly recommended.
I may have not been able to see TLC live in concert during their heyday because I was so young, but I was able to see them in March 2014. I was interested in seeing them because the group was successful and was different than many female groups out there. With their lively and upbeat performance of classic hits, “No Scrubs,” “Waterfalls,” “Unpretty,” and many others, it took you back to the good ole’ days. T-Boz and Chilli can still pull off their trendy dance moves as great as they could in the 90’s. However, since they are older now, it was funny that they admitted to needing a few minutes break because they said they are not young chickens anymore. Even if they are not young in age, both women still looked youthful and beautiful. The awesome outfits worn also really highlighted that.
It was enjoyable to see the group live after the release of VH1 movie: “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,” which highlighted the women’s lives. Rapper Lil Mama, who also played Left Eye in the movie, made an appearance at the show. On hits such as “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” and “What About Your Friends,” Lil Mama rapped Left Eye’s verses. At the end of the show, the group sang “Meant To Be,” a song they described as their favorite song and one dear to their hearts. They dedicated the performance of the song to Left Eye, and we all waved our lighted cell phones and made an “L” with our fingers in the air in honor of the gone but never forgotten rapper.
If you are looking to see a classic old school rap show it doesn't get any better than Salt-n-Pepa. No one can quite rile up a crowd like this relentlessly aggressive trio. DJ Spinderella is still pumping out those irresistible dance beats and Cheryl and Sandra spit the rhyme and meter as if it was the only thing they new how to do. However they prove they can do much more than just rap. On their 2014 tour they are constantly engaging the crowd in banter getting them to throw up their hands, yell, dance and sing along. The whole crowd was in an absolute uproar. Also if you go to one of their shows prepare for them to breakout some of their classic 80s dance moves. When they are not busy shooting off a verse they are kicking it free-style moving spontaneously with the beats. And in most occasions they are performing a meticulously choreographed routine with two backup dancers.
DJ Spinderella kept the show flowing: delivering excellent stage talk, building anticipation for the show, mixing tracks together while revving up the audience and providing commentary on the songs they performed live. During there classic track "Whatta Man" they even invited two members from the audience on the stage to dance along to the song. This is just some of the antics that goes on at their shows. On this tour they wowed thousands at outdoor festivals such as Summer Jam and played intimate setting with a backing curtain, mirror ball and soft lights. They seem to thrive an any environment. Wherever you see them, know there is no rap show that will flavor your evening quite like Salt-n-Pepa.
I have had the honour and privilege of seeing En Vogue live, on several occasions.
The all-female group has a nice blend of R&B with a bit of funk and pop. Their versatility is apparent from intimate gatherings to full out stage performances. I have been lucky to see En Vogue perform in a number of venues but the best, in my opinion, was a small little intimate venue with a small stage and maybe 50 people present, if that many.
The lighting was set to low and everyone sat in a semi-circle around the stage to watch the performance. They performed a beautiful acapella rendition of “Yesterday” and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, well not until the followed up that performance with “Free Your Mind”.
I knew, from the first time I saw En Vogue that they would go far and with a career that spans over twenty years they have proven me correct. They combined beauty with pure talent and musical instruments simply add to the enjoyment.
While the group is no longer mainstream from time to time you may be able to catch the ladies doing a special performance and if you do, don’t miss out.