The My-Stery: Tribute to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes

After reading Shadow and Act’s review about the TLC biopic, Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story, I was reminded of how much Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes is underrated as an artist. In TLC, some thought of her as mainly the wacky and crazy rapper of the group who burned her boyfriends house down. But if we listen to her raps and works, they show that she was also an intelligent, sensitive, and beautiful thinker.

The biopic itself lacked the depth I wanted to see in the film; it felt rushed, focused too much on the drama of their relationships and gave slightly one-dimensional portrayals, even if the acting was good. At times, the film did hint at Lopes’ positive mind and spirit. For example, she was the only member who explicitly disliked the song “Creep” (which I admit that although I like, is a foolish song about cheating on your man because he cheated on you), her wanting to go in a different direction with the group, including take inspiration from Parliament and sci-fi, then her attempt to release her Outkast-like album Supernova, and her final spiritual journey. But I wanted it to show more of that side of her. By the way, she was also the TLC member who introduced us to the music group Blaque, who are know for their futuristic videos. She was definitely the most interesting member of TLC and I wonder what she would be doing today in her career with TLC and as a solo artist.

Lisa Lopes was a complex, inspiring and creative person and I wish we had more time with her to appreciate her. RIP Left Eye.