Lisa
“LeftEye” Lopes was born in Philadelphia in 1971.
Her father exposed her to a wide range of music at an early age.
She described herself, as an “Army Brat”, because she spent much of
her growing years moving between black, white, and Hispanic neighborhoods during
her father’s army tour of duties.
Lisa moved to
Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 19. Her
musical career took off after meeting Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda
“Chilli” Thomas. They would go
on to form the renowned group simply called-TLC.
In 1992, they won
critical acclaim for their debut album entitled, “Oooooooh... On the TLC
Tip”. The group’s successful
artistry combined the elements, of smooth soul and urban R&B over the
bouncing beats of hip-hop under the guidance of then producer, Pebbles.
Their colorful imagery and sassy demeanor helped to catapult two hit
singles entitled, “Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg” and “Baby-Baby-Baby”.
In earlier years, TLC became advocates for
the awareness of safe-sex practices. During
their performances the members would often don condoms on their apparel, while
Lisa “LeftEye” Lopes wore a single condom over the left lens of her glasses.
Lisa said that the nickname came about after a man told her, “that her left eye was particularly beautiful”.
In later years, Lisa would opt
to wear a single black line drawn beneath her left eye.
In 1994, their second album entitled,
"CrazySexyCool," was certified by the Recording Industry Association
of America for sales of 11 million copies in the United States.
It topped the US Pop Charts for five weeks and established TLC as a
successful female group. The multimillion-dollar special effects video for their
ballad “Waterfalls” earned TLC two Grammys for the Best R&B album and
R&B Performance by a Duo or Group in the Vocal Category “Creep”.
In 1999, “FanMail” secured TLC its
status as one of the most successful female trios in music history, with album
sales that topped over 8 million copies in the United States.
The Supremes were the only female group with more US number
one singles.
“FanMail”
spawned two hit singles entitled, “No Scrubs" and "Unpretty."
The album yielded eight Grammy nominations and earned two Grammys for
Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance “Scrubs”.
With more than 20
million albums sold under her belt, Lisa decided to explore the possibilities of
a solo existence outside of TLC. Her superstar status and behaviour outside of the music
industry had begun to become a part of her popularity.
In 1999, Lisa filmed a pilot episode, “Lunatic in the Kitchen” for a
TV series (“Luna Cooks”) with Atlanta-based Chef Paul Luna.
Luna described Lisa as being, “incredibly nice and an incredibly sexy
girl”. Lisa loved to cook healthy
foods, so at her manager’s suggestion Luna and Lisa worked closely together.
Luna recalls, “He and Lisa made some sautéed shrimp, fresh vegetables
and tomato basil pasta”. During the shoot Lisa poked fun, at her past. As they stood too close to a stove Luna told Lisa, 'Be
careful there, we don't want to start a fire in here”, and Lisa replied,
“You're right. I don't do that stuff anymore. I think I'll stick to chopping
things”.
In 2000, Lisa
collaborated with Spice Girl Melanie C on the hit single entitled, “Never Be
the Same Again”. And Lisa provided the
hip-hop rhyme for Donnell Jones hit single, "You Know What's
Up!" Lisa had a keen
interest in the studies of astrology and numerology. She also began work on her debut solo album.
The album entitled, “Supernova” was released on August 16, 2001.
The date was chosen because it was the exact date of her father’s birth
and death. One track from the album
“Supernova” entitled, “Hot!” described how Lisa had defied the odds by
becoming a huge success. Lisa would
merely poke fun by using self-descriptive antidotes such as “borderline
genius" and "Einstein in Carmen Jones's body".
Lisa asserts,
"they say that there's a thin line between genius and insanity, and I
always get labeled as being the crazy one, which doesn't bother me at all, but
there are a lot of things about me that people don't know."
Several months later Lisa baffled the critics, yet again when she adopted
Snow, her friend’s eight-year-old daughter after the friend had trouble caring
for her.
Lisa
can be credited with founding the group “Blaque”, an R&B trio who scored
a big hit with the tune “Bring It Home To Me”.
She had also closed a solo deal with the Death Row label under a new
alias simply called-NINA (New Identity Not Applicable).
In late March, Lisa invited six members of the Lost Boys from Clarkston
to a Stone Mountain studio to record interludes for an album by the group called
Egypt. The production consisted of
mostly chants and drumming, but she was happy with the outcome nonetheless.
In her own words she states, "Once I start seeing the picture in my
mind of what they describe happened, I can't help but imagine myself in that
situation," Lopes said.
On Thursday, April 25, 2002, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras near the Caribbean
port city of La Ceiba the music world would be forever changed.
Tragedy struck and claimed the life of the beautiful and gifted 30
year-old singer/rapper Lisa Lopes at 5 p.m.
She was vacationing with family members in the nearby town of Jutiapa.
On Thursday, May
3, 2002, the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia paid homage to the late singer/rapper
Lisa Lopes in a funeral service attended by over 10,000 fans at the New
Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The
ceremony opened with a video salute of Lopes, followed by a few words from
Dekalb County CEO Vernon Jones, L.A. Reid, Pamela Young (Lisa’s aunt), and
Ronald Lopes (her brother). Next, the gospel duo Mary, Mary performed along with
others. The service concluded with
words from Lopes’ mother and from Bernice King, daughter of slain activist the
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After
the service immediate family members and close friends traveled to Hillandale
Memorial Gardens to attend a private burial for Lisa. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is survived by her mother, a
brother and sister, and Snow her 9-year-old daughter.
The services were attended by her former bandmates, Tionne
"T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Usher, Janet
Jackson, Da Brat, Monica, Babyface, L.A. Reid, Jermaine Dupri, Whitney Houston,
Bobby Brown, Suge Knight and various members of the entertainment industry.
Lisa’s former bandmates, Rozonda
"Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins stated, "We
had all grown up together and were as close as a family. Today we have truly
lost our sister". The group
had recently been in the studio working on a follow-up album set for a summer
release date.
Arista Records President and CEO Antonio
“LA” Reid summarized his feelings for Lisa by stating, "No words can
possibly express the sorrow and sadness I feel for this most devastating loss.
Lisa was not only a gifted and talented musical inspiration, but more
importantly, she was like a daughter to me. My thoughts and prayers are with
Lisa's family and friends. Her legacy will be remembered forever."
Lisa
“Lefteye” Lopes Official Website:
TLC
Official Website:
