[14] With four hit singles, it sold six million copies worldwide, leading to the group becoming a household name. After their third album was released she began to publicly question her role in the band and a war of words broke about between her and the two other members. Lopes was TLC's rapper, while Watkins and Thomas were vocalists. Lisa Lopes: Left Eye's Fatal Vision. Controversial, flamboyant, and spontaneous are probably the best words to describe Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. TLCdidn't cease to exist when Lopes passed away, although the trio was clearly altered irrevocably. Shortly afterwards, Lopes began dating Atlanta Falcons football player Andre Rison, and the two soon moved in together in Rison's upscale double-story home. Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes: A look at the tragic accident that claimed the TLC singer's life 18 years ago. Her foundation went into various underdeveloped villages and gave new clothes to poor children and their families. The late rapper, who rose to prominence as the wild child of the revered hip-hop-slash-R&B girl group TLC, left behind a legacy that many musicians still aspire to achieve to this day. [11] She began playing with a toy piano at 5 years old, and later composed her own songs. "She was our sister, you know?" Why TLC Never Replaced Lisa Left Eye Lopes After Her Untimely Death, Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. [51] Lopes struggled with self-harm and even carved the words "hate" and "love" into her arm with a razor. About three weeks after the boy's death, Lopes was driving on a highway in Honduras in an SUV carrying a total of nine passengers. ga('ads.send', { Claim: TLC's Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes was murdered in a revenge killing. After the release of her solo sensation Supernova, Lisa announced that she had signed a brand-new solo deal for a brand-new album. Lopes had traveled to that country seeking a spiritual retreat and place of personal respite. Something went wrong, please try again later. Lopes was arrested and indicted on charges of first-degree arson; she was sentenced to five years of probation and a $10,000 fine. "And no matter what we went through, we're sisters." I pretty much just want to set the record straight. Lopes paid approximately $3,700 for his medical expenses and funeral,[7] and she gave the family around $925 for any extra costs, although it was apparently agreed upon by the authorities and the boy's family that his death was an "unforeseeable tragedy" and no blame was placed on the driver of the van or Lopes. He has been granted day-release, Woman with 'world's biggest lips' warned 'they'll burst' as she gets more fillers, Andrea Ivanova began getting lip fillers back in 2018, with the hopes of looking like a Bratz doll. ", In addition to tours, Lopes was a part of the TLC biopic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story that aired on VH1 in 2013. And there are days when you're like, I'm not even fighting it today, I just have to let it out, and you just cry. That's the gift she carried. ", Lopes was keenly aware that people had formed negative opinions about her, too. But they found a way to move forward by including her in their tours. Scoring a plethora of Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards, along with selling four multiplatinum records with TLC and one platinum record with side project Blaque, Lopes' music touched millions of people around the world and earned her rightful accolades from her unique rap skills and undeniable charisma. Lopes died at the scene and was the accident's only fatality. The fiberglass bathtub quickly melted and set the structural frame of the house on fire. } They were trying to pass a car on the highway when a truck approached from the other lane, forcing her to veer sharply to the left, striking two trees and then flipping over several times. In the film, Lopes describes how she started the fire, saying she was "gonna barbecue me some tennis shoes," and set fire to Rison's sneakers in the bathtub. Lisa Lopes. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 - April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. Her death was very devastating for us, but I can look back and say I was happy about what our relationship was like, at that time. [48], On April 25, 2002, Lopes was driving a rented Mitsubishi Montero SUV in La Ceiba, Honduras, when she swerved to avoid a truck then sharply to the left as she tried to avoid an oncoming car. Her strict alcoholic father encouraged her to share his booze at a young age and by her late teens she had issues with the demon drink. In 1993 she began dating Atlanta Falcons' American Football player Andre Rison, and it wasn't a quiet life. As success increasingly mounted for Lopes and TLC, tensions began flaring up between the trio following the release of 1999's "FanMail," due to Lopes' notably reduced appearances on tracks. "[55] He died the next day. Sometimes when you speak what's on your mind I'm talking everything on your mind people can get a misconception of you. [24], Lopes created Left Eye Productions to discover new talent. Lopes's unreleased songs were also sampled by TLC for their fourth album 3D after she died. [26] Their self-titled debut album was executive-produced by Lopes, who also made a cameo appearance in their music video "808" and also rapped in their second music video "I Do". We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. [7] Lopes said her father was "very strict, very domineering" and that he treated the family like they were in "boot camp". TLC is the one of the most successful girl groups of all-time, beating out legends like The Supremes. It doesn't stop. [16], Lopes was sentenced to five years' probation and therapy at a halfway house, and was unable to shake the incident from her reputation. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. When Lopes died at age 30 on a rural road in Honduras, R&B fans were in disbelief. But the fire spread quickly out of the tub and consumed much of the house, which was not Lopes' intention. In 2012, Thomas talked with Essence about how things had been with Lopes while they worked on their latest album. That was the case with the 2002 death of rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of Grammy-winning and chart-topping group TLC. Lopes' death devastated her bandmates. }); It was a tragic premonition ga('ads.send', { In a . Her adoptive father's name is Andre Rison. "You can't replace a TLC girl," Thomas said in 2002. ", .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. By 1995, very few people in music were as big as the band that also consisted of Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas. [35] She dropped the $125,000 question and won $32,000 for her charity. Rison eventually reconciled with Lopes, and they continued dating on and off for seven years. TLC's debut album Ooooooohhh On the TLC Tip (1992) did well, and their follow-up CrazySexyCool (1994) did even better. They say she swerved off the road because she was speeding and trying to overtake a car when another car came at her head on coming the other way. By age 10, she formed the musical trio The Lopes Kids with her siblings, with whom she performed gospel songs at local events and churches. [11] TLC Originally started as a female trio called 2nd Nature, with Tboz, Lefteye & Crystal. He told MTV News that, "a two-way [page] went off saying Lisa got killed in a car wreck. "[60] Gospel duo Mary Mary sang their song "Shackles (Praise You)" at the funeral. She then began self-harming, carving the word love into her arm, and then the word hate. Watkins talked about it withEssencemagazine on the tenth anniversary of Lopes' passing, saying, "She was very creative, too. Thomas told the outlet, reiterating that "no matter what we went through, we're sisters." We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' You sit in your room and think." Lopes emphasized her nickname by wearing a pair of glasses with the right lens covered by a condom in keeping with the group's support of safe sex, wearing a black stripe under her left eye, and eventually getting her left eyebrow pierced. [49], Lopes had several tattoos. Lopes has been gone nearly 20 years but is still the subject of both fan speculation around her death and deep nostalgia for the music she and TLC made. Lisa Nicole Lopes, also known by her stage name Left Eye, was a well-known American rapper, hip-hop singer, songwriter, and producer. She was one part of the four-time Grammy-winning trio TLC, a band that sold more than 20 million records. [48] In January 2020, Lifetime aired an episode of Hopelessly In Love, a docuseries that captures the relationships of the rich and famous, about Lopes and Rison's tumultuous relationship. News, lyrics from the TLC mega-hit "Waterfalls"were engraved on her casket. Another track, "Too Street 4 T.V" (featuring Danny Boy), was released on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Dysfunktional Family. Reportedly . #RIP #LisaLefteyeLopes. It's from an interview," Watkins told E! In 2017, Watkins declared, "I want to celebrate her life. And in 2002, the tragic death of the creative and energetic Lopes altered TLC's future and forced the remaining members to forgive old grievances. Lopes was a member of the hip-hop/R&B group TLC. L-R: Singer Lil Mama performs with Watkins and Thomas onstage at the 2013 American Music Awards. [34] In 2001, she appeared in a commercial for the fashion brand Gap. While her reputation caused people to form their own opinions about her, friends and family knew the real Lopes. So, I was so frustrated that I went and grabbed the razor, and over the top of the word 'love,' Istarted writing the word 'hate. "I don't think I will ever get over it," she mused in The Last Days of Left Eye. The rapper was famous as a member of and creative force behind the globally popular band, TLC. [64] In 2012, the foundation began hosting an annual music festival, known as "Left Eye Music Fest", in Decatur, Georgia. eventAction: 'load' Gesturing to her arm, she said, "It said 'love' first and then 'hate.' }) ", Watkins and Thomas did take part in a 2005 reality show, R U the Girl with T-Boz and Chilli, that looked for performers. She was just 30. We are one of the worlds fastest growing She claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him but that burning down the house was an accident. Producer Jermaine Dupri reflected about it, tellingMTV News, "Somebody paged me. Like her mother, Snow is also a singer and a songwriter. [25] She mentored the R&B trio Blaque, and helped them secure a record deal with Columbia Records. I didn't mean for the house to burn down. Maybe that's why the music is playing so loud downstairs.' I dont want to be in a dark place anymore. They eventually broke their diets, gleefully stocking up on chips and other items at a local grocery store. ", The low points of the trio's relationship lost their importance in the face of Lopes' crash. ", In 2002, Thomas told CNN, "Through us, people will always remember Lisa. The first official single from the album, "Let's Just Do It", was released on January 13, 2009, and features Missy Elliott and TLC. I remember I was in the hospital for four months and she sent me a clock that she made and the clock read: 'Take all the time you need.'