CrazySexyCool

About

Packed with hits—and plenty of personality—TLC’s 1992 debut <i>Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip</i> had helped reshape the sound of modern pop. By expertly mixing together R&B and hip-hop, TLC members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas had proved they could blur genre lines with ease. Still, the new jack swing aesthetics of <i>Ooooooohhh...</i>—and the youthful image projected by the trio—could easily have fated TLC to subsequent obscurity, subject to the whims of a fickle marketplace (and an even crueler industry). The group’s 1994 follow-up, <i>CrazySexyCool</i>, put all of that noise to bed. With its decidedly more mature themes and undeniably strong execution, the album proved a multi-platinum powerhouse, one that proved once and for all that TLC wasn’t a fad. All three members were in their mid-twenties when <i>CrazySexyCool</i> was released, and the album finds them digging deep into the dynamics of modern relationships—albeit with a sex-positive perspective. “Creep,” the smash lead-off single, leans heavily into the old adage “turnabout Is fair play,” with T-Boz quietly yet confidently admitting to down-low trysts (all done as retaliation against her philandering partner). The funk-fueled “Kick Your Game,” meanwhile, finds the group members poignantly goading their would-be suitors, while the trio’s take on Prince’s gender-fluid “If I Was Your Girlfriend” adds new dimensions to the already iconic track. Throughout <i>CrazySexyCool</i>, the three distinct personalities, voices, and attitudes that make up TLC come through clearer than ever, making for a remarkably cohesive and assured effort. The group is helped, of course, by some top-tier production. Dallas Austin, the studio architect behind much of <i>Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip</i>, returns here with a handful of notable cuts—including “Creep”—as does hip-hop hitmaker Jermaine Dupri. And Babyface helms some of <i>CrazySexyCool</i>’s most memorable R&B moments, including the intimate “Diggin’ On You” and “Red Light Special.” Yet it’s the Organized Noize production team that bolsters the album’s remarkable second half, featuring the still-ubiquitous motivational hit “Waterfalls,” and the forward-thinking closing track “Sumthin’ Wicked This Way Comes.” And the guest list for this provocative party includes such vanguard rappers as Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, and a <i>Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik</i>-period André 3000. Their presence on <i>CrazySexyCool</i> was a clear nod to the trio’s hard-earned hip-hop dominance—and further proof that no 1990s act could mix sounds and styles as effectively, and as joyously, as TLC.

via Apple Music

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