Song:Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg
Album:Now & Forever: The Hits
TLC was one of the most popular groups of the 90s. Though they went on to have several number one hits, Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg was their very first top ten hit. It set the stage for success. TLC was formed in 1990 in Atlanta. Producer Ian Burke and his teen client Crystal Jones wanted to form a female version of the very popular group Bell Biv Devoe. Crystal put out a call for two girls to form the group with her. That call was answered by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and rapper Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The group was called 2nd Nature and they started working with producer Jermaine Dupri. Then Tionne got an audition with Perri "Pebbles" Reid. Pebbles was a successful recording artist and she was married to LaFace Records co-owner Antonio "LA" Reid. Pebbles renamed the group TLC-Skee. TLC was the initials of the three girls. They auditioned for Reid. He liked Tionne and Lisa but he wanted to replace Crystal. Crystal claims the reason for that was she wanted her lawyer to look over the contract before signing. Considering the shenanigans that would follow TLC, that's probably true. Pebbles became the group's manager. Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas was a dancer for LaFace artist Damian Dame. Then the girls were given the nicknames so the name TLC could be used. TLC worked with several producers on the 1991 debut CD Ooooooohh...On The TLC Tip including LA Reid, Babyface and Daryl Simmons. But the guy they really seemed to click with was Dallas Austin. Austin had worked for Motown and he produced much of Boyz II Men's debut album. He wrote and produced five songs on the album including Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video did a great job of establishing TLC's image and musical style featuring Lisa's rapping. Tionne and Rozonda were OK but not great singers. What fans really bought into was TLC's complete package. Problems began when Tionne was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. Concerts were cancelled when she was hospitalized. But they continued to have success with subsequent albums. The other high profile thing was when Lisa got into an argument with boyfriend Andre Rison of the Atlanta Falcons and set fire to all his shoes and burned down the house. TLC wanted out of their management deal with Pebbles. She kind of agreed to that but TLC declared bankruptcy in 1995. Now you know why Crystal wanted her lawyer to read the contract. In the end TLC renegotiated their deal with LaFace but by that time Lisa was getting restless and wanted to go solo. She recorded an album that was never released in the US. And of course as we all know, Lisa died in a 2002 car crash. You can get all of TLC's hits on this budget comp. Here's the video for Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg by TLC.
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