CrazySexyCool (1994)

CrazySexyCool is the second studio album by American girl group TLC, released on November 15, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. Following the group's record deal, they released their debut album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip in 1992 to positive reviews and commercial success. The group began working on a follow-up in 1993 but experienced an unproductive recording process due to personal issues, notably those of member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was struggling with alcoholism and her volatile relationship with football player Andre Rison. The album's recording lasted until September 1994, with Lopes' role diminished while she was in rehab.

CrazySexyCool saw the group reunite with producers Dallas Austin, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Jermaine Dupri, as well as new collaborators Organized Noize and Chucky Thompson. It also featured contributions from Sean "Puffy" Combs, who helped with the notable hip hop soul sound; the album featured hip hop beats, funk, deep grooves, propulsive rhythms, and smooth production. The album's lyrical content was seen as a departure from the group's debut and was seen as a coming-of-age project which explored themes such as sexuality, romanticism, inexperience, and youthful optimism.

CrazySexyCool was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200, a chart on which it stayed for over two years. It has been certified 12-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making TLC the first girl group in history to be awarded diamond status. It has since sold over 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by an American girl group. It has also been featured on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and was listed as a "New Classic" by Entertainment Weekly in 2008. The album was ranked at number seven on Billboard's list of the best diamond-certified albums of all time.

Background

Debut album

On February 28, 1991, Tionne Watkins and Lisa Lopes signed production, management, and publishing deals with Pebbitone, with Perri Reid becoming their general manager. The two-member TLC-Skee made its first recorded appearance on a track for LaFace act Damian Dame's self-titled 1991 LP. Pebbles found the third member in Rozonda Thomas, one of Damian Dame's part-time backup dancers.

Thomas was signed to the act in April 1991, at about which time the group's name was shortened to TLC. To maintain TLC's name as an acronym for the girls' names, Watkins became "T-Boz", Lopes became "Left-Eye", and Thomas became "Chilli." The girls were then signed to LaFace in May through the production deal with Pebbitone; their records would be distributed by Arista Records/BMG. TLC was immediately set up to go into the studio with Reid and Edmonds, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, and Marley Marl producing their first album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. The new trio debuted as backing vocalists on "Rebel (With a Cause)", a track on Jermaine Jackson's sole album for LaFace, You Said (1991).

Production on Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip wrapped up in December 1991. The album reached number 14 on the US Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has sold 2.5 million copies in the US. It was eventually certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping four million copies in the US.

Personal struggles

Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted that she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and struggled with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to Andre Rison's tennis shoes in a bathtub, which ultimately spread to the mansion they shared, destroying it. Lopes claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him. However, she said burning down the house was an accident. Lopes later revealed that she did not have a lot of freedom within the relationship and was abused mentally and physically, having released all her frustrations on the night of the fire.

Lopes, who was sentenced to five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, was never able to shake the incident from her reputation. Her relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, later debunked by People magazine.

Recording

The album's recording began in late 1993 and continued through till September 1994. The album was recorded at numerous studios, including Doppler Studios, Bosstown Recording Studios, KrossWire Studio and GADaddy's; D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta, Georgia; the Music Grinder Studios in Los Angeles, California; and The Hit Factory in New York City.