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Building the Perfect Beast
TLC aren't always as harmonious in their interviews as they are on record, but the Atlanta trio are probably the three most influential women on black fashion since the Supremes in the '60s. In this interview, T-Boz takes us through her training to be a star, the metamorphosing image of her group, and the work that goes into defining three very independent women as multi-platinum artists.
VH1: What artists inspired you growing up?
T-Boz: I got a lot from a lot of artists, growing up … watching Michael Jackson, Madonna, Janet, Prince. The way they took charge and demanded your attention. I think growing up as a child and wanting to sing, you admire everybody. From Michael I took dancing. When he moonwalks, oh my God, I get chills. I used to think I was like him when I was doing "Billie Jean." Everybody had the "Beat It" jacket. The difference to me between Michael and Prince is I love Michael for his style. But Prince is still Prince. The way he writes songs! Even though people think he's weird, that kind of works for him, too.
VH1: Where did you learn how to dance?
T-Boz: A skating rink called Jellybeans. Me and [TLC songwriter] Dallas [Austin] used to go there. We went every Sunday night from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. I danced my heart away. I used to watch guys. Guys dance so perfect and neat. When I was 14, this whole style that Atlanta kids did back then, it still works today. Fifteen years later it's still popping and hot. Every day after school I would dance for an hour and a half before I did my homework. It was more important than homework. I was like, "I'm gonna be like these guys. I'm gonna dance." I did and I learned.
VH1: How important is image to TLC?
T-Boz: Image to me means a lot, because when I was little and looking at Madonna's "Like a Virgin," I wanted to go buy that dress. I wanted to go buy those bangles. I wanted that hair. And she was the only one that was doing it. She told us what to do and that's what I wanted. I don't like to copy. I wanted to be a trendsetter and that's what I set forth to be: a trendsetter, not a follower.
VH1: How did you and the other members of TLC create your look?
T-Boz: Our first manager, Pebbles, was good at keeping us on point. I didn't really know how I was going to dance and make this whole person T-Boz come to life. She made me stand in front of the mirror for two weeks straight to figure out who I was. "Who is T-Boz? You created this girl. Make her who you want her to be." That's what I did. It's like, "This is T-Boz. I'm cool, and that's what I'm gonna be." We knew how we wanted to dress. I knew how I was singing. Now I knew who I was. So you have to credit everybody. It's not just us.
VH1: Can you tell us how TLC's image evolved over the course of your three albums?
T-Boz: When TLC first came out, you were trying to have fun. You're living your dream. Like, "Wow! I'm on TV!" Your hair can be busted, face shining, bags showing. You don't know about airbrushing and making yourself so pretty. I was on TV. That's all that mattered to me. Second album I'm like, "Oh girl, I got to be pretty." We started moving more towards womanhood. We still dressed baggy. I didn't show my body and I still was sexy. Third album, it's like, "Damn! The millennium! OK, let's do the space thing, but don't take it too far. Let's stay on earth a little, but let's bring it in with makeup and styling." You try to fit in with the times, but you still bring something to the table that's your own.
VH1: Do you think the band has influenced how people dress?
T-Boz: Yes. I think TLC has influenced a lot of fans. On tour, I see a lot of kids dress like us. You watch MTV dance shows and kids are doing dances that I know I made up when I used to choreograph. They follow us. Left Eye used to wear the football mark under her eye, and you would see kids with the football mark.
VH1: How important are music video directors in making the look of the band?
T-Boz: Music video directors are as important to me as the producers of the album. Once the album's done, you have to have this person bring it to life. The video I can speak for the most was F. Gary Gray when he did "Waterfalls." That was a big song that touched all of our hearts. It really meant a lot, and we wanted to get it across to the world the way we had seen it. He brought it to life in such a way, we all had tears in our eyes when we watched our own video. It was so good, we didn't even have to be in it.
VH1: When you write a song, how aware are you of the image you're portraying to women and other girls?
T-Boz: TLC speak the truth. We don't have really dirty songs, but they're realistic about things that kids go through and adults go through. The best I can do for them is give them the real reality. This is what really happens, and this is a relationship, and this is how it goes sometimes good or bad. I'm a real person and that's the only way I see it. I'm not faking here. Why fake?
VH1: You wrote a song, "Unpretty," that's become sort of an anthem. Can you talk about that song?
T-Boz: That song's very important to me. It started off as a poem. Men and women are picked on, but women have it a little bit worse than men do, because our breasts aren't big enough, our butt isn't big enough, our thighs are too thick, we're too tall, we're too skinny, we're too light, we're too dark, our hair isn't long enough, it's too short. Whatever it's like, men are hard on women. It's almost like, "God, we need a song to talk about how society makes us feel like we're not good enough to fit in." It was close to my heart and Dallas Austin helped me bring it to life. We all are people and we should be respected as people. None of us are flawless or perfect.
VH1: Do you ever feel that there's pressure on you to be more black or less black?
T-Boz: I'll say this for black artists. If you come out and try to be white, black people will turn against you. You have to be accepted as pop by accident. You can't try to be that. It has to go that way, naturally. They always tell you in the record business, if you sell too many you're white. I don't think anybody black should come out and try to be white. It should happen naturally, because it will. DMX came onto the pop charts at No. 1. Different nationalities are buying it.
VH1: Do you ever feel that need to speak specifically to blacks?
T-Boz: The problem with our last album was we didn't have enough urban songs. We're still TLC, but you can't leave out what we are. We're black. OK, pop money may be better than black money, but we are black. Don't leave your people out. That's how I started, so why should I forget it? My folks helped me get here because they were the first people who bought me. That's who was listening to me at first. Then it caught on and it went Hawaiian, Asian, whatever. But you can't forget that I'm black - all day long.
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