Editing Lisa Lopes (section)

=== 1990–1999: TLC ===
{{Main|TLC (group)}}

In late 1990,<ref name="VibeNov19b94">{{cite magazine|last1=Morgan|first1=Joan|title=The Fire This Time|magazine=Vibe|date=November 1994|volume=2|issue=9|pages=62–67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64|access-date=March 8, 2015|publisher=Vibe Media Group|issn=1070-4701}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Lopes moved to Atlanta to dance in an artist's music video.<ref name="BBC"/> TLC originally started as a female trio called '2nd Nature', with T-Boz, Left Eye and Crystal. The group was renamed TLC, derived from the first initials of its members at the time: [[Tionne Watkins]], Lisa Lopes and Crystal Jones.<ref name="Birchmeier">{{cite web|author=Jason Birchmeier|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lisa-left-eye-lopes-mn0000833961|title=Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2019-12-02}}</ref><ref name="People24">{{cite news|last=Silverman|first=Stephen M.|title=Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623894,00.html|access-date=February 8, 2014|newspaper=People|date=April 24, 2002|pages=1–2|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006160739/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623894,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Things did not work out with Jones, and TLC's manager [[Perri "Pebbles" Reid]] brought in [[Damian Dame]] backup dancer [[Rozonda Thomas]] as a third member of the group.<ref name="Dazed">{{cite news|last=Noakes|first=Tim|title=T-Boz: the original tomboy| url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/17255/1/t-boz-the-original-tomboy|access-date=February 8, 2014|newspaper=[[Dazed & Confused (magazine)|Dazed & Confused]]|date=October 2013}}</ref> To preserve the band's original name, Thomas needed a name starting with C, which is how she became "Chilli", a name chosen by Lopes. Watkins became T-Boz, derived from the first letter of her first name and "Boz" (slang for "boss"). Lopes was renamed "Left Eye" after a compliment from her friend, speculated to be [[New Edition]] member [[Michael Bivins]], who once told her he was attracted to her because of her left eye, which was more slanted than her right eye. 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.<ref name="SadRap"/>

The group debuted in 1992 with the album ''[[Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip]]''.<ref name="People24"/> With four hit singles, it sold six million copies worldwide, leading to the group becoming a household name. 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. Their relationship was allegedly filled with violent moments, and Lopes filed an assault charge against Rison on September 2, 1993. Lopes had a battle with alcohol at the time, having started drinking at the age of fifteen. After another fight between the couple, in the early morning hours of June 9, 1994, Lopes tossed numerous pairs of Rison's newly purchased sneakers into a bathtub and lit them on fire. The [[fiberglass]] bathtub quickly melted and set the structural frame of the house on fire. Lopes and Rison had had a fight previously because she caught Rison in bed with another woman. Lopes had thrown numerous teddy bears Rison had bought her into the tub and lit them on fire. Rison then had the damaged marble tub replaced with a cheaper fiberglass model, which went up in flames immediately when she set the shoes on fire. Lopes was arrested and indicted on charges of first-degree arson; she was sentenced to five years of probation and a $10,000 fine. Rison eventually reconciled with Lopes, and they continued dating on and off for seven years.<ref name="mtv.com"/>

Shortly after, ''[[CrazySexyCool]]'' was released, selling over 23 million copies worldwide. However, Lopes' stint in rehab had led to her only having limited input in the writing and recording of the album. After the release of ''CrazySexyCool'', Lopes was a featured artist for the first time on "[[How Do You Like It?]]" a song by [[Keith Sweat]] in 1994. Later in 1995, Lopes recorded a well-received verse to the rap version of "[[Freedom (Theme from Panther)|Freedom]]" of the [[Panther (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] from the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panther]]-based docudrama ''[[Panther (film)|Panther]]'' with fellow female hip-hop artists such as [[Queen Latifah]], [[MC Lyte]], [[Patra (singer)|Patra]], [[Yo-Yo (rapper)|Yo-Yo]], [[Salt 'n' Pepa]] and [[Meshell Ndegeocello]]. In 1997, Lopes was featured on the remix to [[Lil' Kim]]'s "[[Not Tonight (song)|Not Tonight]]", alongside [[Missy Elliott]], [[Angie Martinez]] and [[Da Brat]]. The single earned all artists a nomination for [[Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group]] at the [[1998 Grammy Awards]]. TLC's third album, ''[[FanMail]]'', was released in 1999 and sold over 14 million copies worldwide. The album's title was named by Lopes as a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of fans screen names as a "thank you".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9902/25/tlc/index.html?related|title=TLC's glam goddesses resurface with 'Fan Mail'|last=Freydkin|first=Donna|date=February 25, 1999|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=July 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016081706/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9902/25/tlc/index.html?related|archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref>

During and after the release of ''FanMail'', Lopes made it known to the press on multiple occasions that she felt that she was unable to express herself in TLC fully. Her contributions to songs had been reduced to periodic eight-[[Musical notation|bar]] raps, and there were several songs in which she had no vocals. Studio session singers such as [[Debra Killings]] often sang background vocals for Chilli. In the May 1999 issue of ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine, Lopes said, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me."<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=DeCurtis|first1=Anthony|author-link=Anthony DeCurtis|title=Three the Hard Way|magazine=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|date=May 1999|volume=7|issue=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tygEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80|access-date=October 4, 2014|publisher=[[Vibe Media Group]]|issn=1070-4701}}</ref><ref name="supernova">{{cite book|last=Krulik|first=Nancy|title=Lisa Lopes: The Life of a Supernova|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2002|page=41|isbn=0-689-85690-3}}</ref> In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye." In response, Lopes sent a reply through ''Entertainment Weekly'' issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the fans decide the winner of TLC. Not only would it be entertaining, but more importantly, the three albums would fulfill their contractual obligations and end their deal with LaFace Records:

{{blockquote|I challenge Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) and Rozonda Thomas (Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each [album]... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000... I also challenge [[Dallas Austin|Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin]] to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure [[LaFace Records|LaFace]] would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million prize for the winner.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434872/19991123/tlc.jhtml|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129210050/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434872/19991123/tlc.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2013|title=TLC's Left Eye Challenges T-Boz, Chili To Solo Album Showdown|last=Gill|first=John|date=November 23, 1999|work=[[MTV]]|access-date=September 29, 2008}}</ref>}}

Watkins and Thomas were unconvinced by the strategy behind 'The Challenge' and declined to take up the offer, though Lopes remained firm in her support for the idea.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sinclair|first=Tom|title=Left Field|url=https://ew.com/article/2000/11/27/tlcs-left-eye-recording-solo-album/|access-date=February 8, 2014|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=November 27, 2000|archive-date=December 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228104703/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,89290,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Things were heated between the band for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/10/29/are-tlc-about-sing-breakup-blues/|title=Unpretty Situation|last=Sinclair|first=Tom|date=October 29, 1999|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 24, 2008|archive-date=October 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003050736/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84754,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> TLC then addressed these struggles by saying that they are very much like sisters who have their disagreements every now and then as Lopes explained, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Fire This Time|magazine=[[Talk (magazine)|Talk]]|date=September 2001|oclc=60627261}}</ref>