'I knew it was special': TLC's Chilli looks back at landmark 'CrazySexyCool' album
Stocked with hits including âCreep,â âDigginâ on Youâ and their signature âWaterfalls,â the second album from TLC signaled the trioâs arrival.
âCrazySexyCoolâ arrived in November 1994, a melding of the inventive R&B style of Tionne âT-Bozâ Watkins, Rozonda âChilliâ Thomas and Lisa âLeft Eyeâ Lopes with the glistening production and songwriting work of Babyface, Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin and the production collective Organized Noize - the latter three from TLC's Atlanta base.
While the pandemic quashed plans to recognize the 25th anniversary of what many consider TLCâs defining work â the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and parked on the chart for more than two years â a belated celebration kicks off Sept. 3 with a â90s-themed tour featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
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âWhen something is 20 years or older, you can really call it anything,â Thomas tells USA TODAY with a laugh. âItâs all such a blessing â 27 years since that album and in the business almost 30 years now.â
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Since its release, âCrazySexyCoolâ has sold more than 12 million copies. In 1996 it was certified with Diamond status (more than 10 million sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America, giving TLC the distinction as the first girl group in history to achieve the ranking.
The accolades continued at the 1996 Grammy Awards, where the album earned TLC a pair of trophies (best R&B album and best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals for âCreepâ).
No doubt âCrazySexyCoolâ catapulted TLCâs career, despite the limited contributions from Lopes, who recorded during brief releases from the rehab facility where she was sent after pleading guilty to arson charges for setting boyfriend Andre Risonâs house on fire in 1994.
Lopes died in a 2002 car crash in Honduras, but Thomas and Watkins have carried on TLCâs legacy with regular tours, a TV biopic and in 2017 the release of what Watkins and Thomas said is their final album, simply called âTLC.â
Thomas talked with USA TODAY about the commemoration of âCrazySexyCool,â TLCâs fall tour and the status of their installment of A&E âBiography.â
Q: There was the unusual circumstance recording "CrazySexyCool" because Lisa was in a rehab facility for most of it. What do you recall about that period?
Rozonda âChilliâ Thomas: Itâs so crazy because Lisa could come to the studio to record, but had to go back to the facility and she was on probation for five years. It was just a crazy time. Looking back, when youâre in your 20âs, you donât even think about how serious something like that really was.
Q: What else do you remember about recording in LA and Atlanta?
Thomas: We did the Babyface (produced) songs in LA and the Jermaine (Dupri) and Dallas (Austin) songs in Atlanta. We had the best time. I think Babyface is my most favorite producer to work with. The fact that heâs an artist, too, is such a plus. He just knows how to record you and you donât go crazy thinking âI can do this better,â because he has an ear for music.
Q: TLC has the rare Diamond-certified album. Do you feel âCrazySexyCoolâ is the best in your catalog?
Thomas: Itâs funny because each album I have my favorite stuff, but itâs probably overall my favorite because I love the interludes. Theyâre so funny and there is just a lot of greatness about that. We had a listening party in New York and I remember one of the guys at Arista Records was being so sweet and saying, âThis is really good â it might sell five million copiesâ and I was like, 'Nuh-uh, weâre going to surpass that!' When youâre in the studio you donât know how a song will impact someoneâs life. But when I heard (the album), I knew it was special, that the entire album was going to show people that weâre here to stay.
Q: Youâre going on the road with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. What made them the right tour mates this year?
Thomas: This is our first time going out with them. The have so many great songs. I was so excited when Live Nation brought them up (as potential touring partners). Everybody thought it would be a good package. I've never met the guys in person, so Iâm excited about that as a fan of their music.
Q: Are you focusing on âCrazySexyCoolâ in the shows or hitting the whole catalog?
Thomas: The tour is TLC celebrating âCrazySexyCool,â so it is going to be songs from that album that weâve never performed, but not quite the whole album. That album means so much to so many people for different reasons, which is what the fans tell us. I do know for a fact that Lenny Kravitz has the album because I saw it in his house!
Q: Whatâs the status of the TLC installment of A&E âBiographyâ?
Thomas: Because of COVID we had to push things back a year, so weâre shooting again (now), with seeing us rehearse and all the behind-the-scenes juice that needs to be in there. Itâs focused on everything, nothing is off limits â everything about whatâs been going on and whatâs in the future. Weâre pretty transparent.