Editing TLC (group) (section)

===1991–1994: ''Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip'' and early success===
Their debut album, ''[[Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip]]'', was released on February 25, 1992, by [[LaFace]]/[[Arista Records]]. The songs on the album are a blend of funk (Watkins), hip-hop (Lopes), and R&B (Thomas), similar to the new jack-swing sound popularized by producer [[Teddy Riley]] in the late 1980s.<ref name="simmonds">{{cite book|last=Simmonds|first=Jeremy |title=The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches|publisher=Chicago Review Press|year=2008|page=473|isbn=978-1-55652-754-8}}</ref> The album was a critical and commercial success, being certified quadruple-platinum for shipments of four million copies in the United States. It scored three top-ten singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with "[[Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg]]", "[[Baby-Baby-Baby]]" (peaked at number two), and "[[What About Your Friends]]", as well as the top 30 single "[[Hat 2 da Back]]". Observers coined the term "new jill swing" to describe the album and the group.<ref name="AMBio"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mK1bAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT518 |page=518 |last=Stanley |first=Bob |date=2014 |title=Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé |publisher=W. W. Norton & Co. |isbn=9780393242706 |access-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720214740/https://books.google.com/books?id=mK1bAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT518 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later, TLC's sound evolved from the genre,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA198 |page=198 |title=Big Timers |author=<!--Not stated--> |magazine=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |date=September 2003}}</ref> but not before opening the door for similar groups such as [[SWV]], [[Destiny's Child]], [[702 (group)|702]], [[Jade (R&B group)|Jade]], and the Lopes-produced [[Blaque]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=What's Up: Life After Death |magazine=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |date=July 2002 |page=26 |first=Emil |last=Wilbekin |author-link=Emil Wilbekin}} Special Tribute Issue: Lisa Left-Eye Lopes (1971–2002)</ref>

TLC's debut album, chiefly written by Dallas Austin and Lisa Lopes, consisted of playful lyrics, with some female-empowering songs. It was characterized by Watkins's contralto vocals, Thomas's mezzo-soprano vocals, and Lopes's [[soprano]] raps. The musical formula was augmented by the girls' brightly colored videos and peculiar costuming: each girl wore wrapped condoms on their clothing (Lopes also wore one over her left eye in a pair of glasses).

During that period, TLC recorded a song called "Sleigh Ride", which first appeared on the soundtrack of the film ''[[Home Alone 2: Lost in New York]]'' in 1992. A year later, the song was released as a promotional single and music video for the 1993 holiday season, appearing on the compilation album ''A LaFace Family Christmas''. Also in 1993, TLC released a cover version of [[The Time (band)|The Time]]'s 1981 hit "[[Get It Up]]" as a single from the ''[[Poetic Justice (soundtrack)|Poetic Justice]]'' film soundtrack. During TLC's first national tour, as [[MC Hammer]]'s opening act, Lopes and Thomas discovered that Watkins had [[sickle-cell anemia]], a blood disorder which she kept as a closely guarded secret until becoming extremely ill while touring with TLC in the [[Southwestern United States|southwest US]], ending up hospitalized, with Lopes and Thomas staying with her, resulting in the cancellation of some concerts. Watkins continued to battle her condition and eventually became a spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America in the late 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20131161,00.html|title=T-Boz: Singer|date=May 8, 2000|publisher=People|access-date=October 26, 2008|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001641/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20131161,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the conclusion of the tour, TLC, who had received little monetary compensation up to this point, decided that they no longer wished to employ Pebbles Reid as their manager, in an effort to hold more control over their careers. Reid released the group from its management deal, but they remained signed to Pebbitone, and Reid continued to receive a share of their earnings.<!-- Extraneous trivia that could possibly go in another, more fitting section? Also in 1994, TLC played the musical group "Sex as a Weapon" in the [[New Line Cinema]] feature film ''[[House Party 3]]'', starring [[Kid 'n Play]]. -->

Lopes began dating [[American football]] player [[Andre Rison]] shortly after the release of ''Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip'', and by 1994 the two lived together in Rison's upscale home. Their relationship was allegedly violent at times, and Lopes filed an assault charge against Rison on September 2, 1993, which Rison denied. Lopes was battling alcoholism at the time, having been a heavy drinker since the age of 15. After another fight between the couple in the early morning hours of June 9, 1994, Lopes tossed numerous pairs of Rison's newly purchased shoes into a bathtub, doused them with [[Butane|lighter fluid]], and lit them on fire. The [[fiberglass]] bathtub quickly melted and set the structural frame of the house 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.