TLC & Shaggy

TLC

TLC’s influence transcends genres from pop, hip-hop, R&B to fashion and female empowerment. They continue to define generations.

Formed in Atlanta in 1990, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, two girls with spirit, smarts and spunk, had their sights set on a big future. Navigating some connections, they started to work on demos with then up-and-coming producer Jermaine Dupri. Feeling a trio could work better than a duo, a manager recommended Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas to round out the sound, with their nicknames spelling out the acronym TLC. By 1992, the girls had not only been signed, but released their first album, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip, to both critical and commercial success, selling 4 million copies in the Unites States and yielding three top 10 singles. Along with their ability to blend funk, hip-hop and soul, the ladies put female empowerment at the forefront of their songwriting. Two years later they released their breakthrough album, CrazySexyCool, collaborating, as they had with their first record, with Dallas Austin, Babyface and Jermaine Dupri, as well as Sean Combs. Met with critical and commercial acclaim once more, Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the best 500 Albums of all time saying it was “highly enjoyable, incredibly influential and a certified classic.” The album produced four top five singles on the Billboard charts and TLC won Video of the Year for the song “Waterfalls” at the MTV Awards, making them the first black act to do so.

1999 brought the release of TLC’s 3rd album, FanMail, also produced by Dallas Austin and, yet again, a commercial and critical triumph. All Music said of the album, “Nobody else makes urban soul quite as engaging as this.” Upon the album’s 20th anniversary in 2019, music scribes from Pitchfork to Rolling Stone to Vibe to Billboard unanimously agreed it was way ahead of its time.

Several months after Lopes’ untimely death in 2002, TLC released their last album as a trio, 3D. Producers included Raphael Saadiq, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins and the Neptunes, with Lopes appearing vocally as she had already completed her parts. Billboard called it a “nearly perfect collection,” and the album went double platinum in the United States.

To date, TLC has sold 85 million Records Worldwide, had four Number One singles in the US, 10 Top Ten singles in the US, won four Grammy Awards, five MTV Awards, five Soul Train Awards, and four Multi-Platinum selling albums, two of them – Fanmail and CrazySexyCool are certified Diamond by the RIAA and they currently have one billion plays on Pandora. It’s no surprise that TLC is the best-selling American girl group of all time.

After a long break, TLC stepped back in to the spotlight in 2015 with plans to release new music via a Kickstarter campaign. Asking fans to donate, notable admirers such as New Kids on the Block, Katy Perry, Bette Midler and Justin Timberlake made contributions, making it the fastest funded pop music project in Kickstarter history. The duo called their 5th album TLC, releasing it in 2017 and leading with the track “Way Back” featuring Snoop Dog. Watkins and Thomas hit the road, touring with Nelly, Flo Rida, New Kids on the Block, and others.

The legacy of TLC is in plain sight for all to see; both Destiny’s Child and The Spice Girls have acknowledged that TLC paved the way for their success. Listeners can hear TLC’isms in the current works of Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj to name just a few. While all their albums have stood the test of time, it is CrazySexyCool that has become the bellwether to girl power, righteousness, pride, and tenacity.

An album that Billboard said was “timeless” and the NME called “a game-changing R&B classic” is now going to be the centerpiece of an amphitheater tour. The ‘Celebration of “CrazySexyCoo1” tour will find T-Boz and Chilli performing songs from the iconic album, celebrating the 1990s with audiences around North America. In fact, fans are being encouraged to come to the show dressed from that era. Meant as a celebration of both the album and the time, TLC will have fellow 90s co-horts Bone Thugs-N-Harmony along for the tour plus special guests, which kicks off in September.

SHAGGY

Born Orville Richard Burrell and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Shaggy got his start as an MC in New York City’s burgeoning dancehall scene soon after moving to Brooklyn in his teens. Not long after serving four years in the U.S. Marines (including two tours of duty in the Middle East as part of Operation Desert Storm), he inked his first record deal and quickly scored a global crossover smash with “Oh Carolina.”

As the only diamond-selling dancehall artist in music history, Shaggy, has sold more than 40 million album units to date, in addition to landing eight singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and seven albums on the Billboard 200 (including four in the top 40). He is among the top 3 streamed reggae artists of all time on Spotify.

Following his 2018 collaborative album with Sting, 44/876, winner of Best Reggae Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Shaggy’s projects include his twelfth studio album Wah Gwaan?! and, Hot Shot 2020, commemorating the 20th anniversary of his diamond-selling album, which included re-recorded, modernized versions of the biggest hits and most beloved fan favorites across Shaggy’s catalog.

That year also saw the massive success of his viral hit, “Banana” with fellow Jamaican artist, Conkarah, garnering over 2 billion streams and spawning 50+ million Tik Tok videos with over 5 billion video views for the #bananadrop challenge!

Shaggy finished out the year with the release of Christmas in the Islands – a quintessential reggae Christmas themed collection that puts a Caribbean twist on traditional Christmas cheer featuring island-infused holiday songs with guest performances from Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Junior Reid, Ne-Yo, Romain Virgo, Ritchie Stephens, Conkarah, Joss Stone & others. The deluxe edition has 4 newly recorded songs including ”Amazing Christmas“ featuring up-and-coming singer/songwriter/producer, Hannah Brier and a duet with Sting for a reggae version of the classic, “Silent Night.”

At the top of 2021, Shaggy was featured in a Cheetos commercial during Super Bowl LV alongside Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher; the spot was one of the highest-rated ads in Superbowl history.

Shaggy’s next collaboration– “Go Down Deh” with fellow reggae icon Sean Paul and the Queen of Dancehall, Spice – dominated the global reggae charts upon release. The iconic Jamaican trio performed their smash hit on a trio of National television shows including Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series (Interview, Go Down Deh Performance & Medley Performance), Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Wendy Williams Show (Interview & Performance). The track, produced by Shaggy, was followed by Spice’s long-awaited debut album, TEN, which Shaggy co-wrote and executive produced. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Reggae album.

In 2022, Shaggy was honored by the Third Street Music School Settlement – the nation’s longest running community music school – with the “Distinguished Artist” award. He also received an honorary degree from Brown University and delivered the honorary degree oration at their Undergraduate Class of 2020 Commencement Ceremony.

Sting and Shaggy, both managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, joined forces again for Com Fly Wid Mi. The album, produced by 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting, features Shaggy singing the Sinatra songbook in a reggae style and received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.

For last years’ Super Bowl, the Jeep® Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe commercial featured an all-new version of the iconic song, “Electric Boogie“ produced/performed by Shaggy, with the original singer, Marcia Griffiths and 3 emerging female artists Jamila Falak, Amber Lee and Moyann. The track is also available on all digital platforms.

The album, Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection has been certified gold in the UK, while “It Wasnt Me” is also certified 4x platinum in the UK for sales exceeding 2.4 million units.

Last year, Shaggy released his soca-inspired EP, In the Mood, kicking off a new partnership with Shaggy’s label, Ranch Entertainment and VP Records. For In the Mood, Shaggy drew inspiration from the vibrancy of Caribbean Carnival celebrations and blended the fast-paced exuberance of Trinidad and Tobago’s soca music with modern dancehall and EDM, led by the revelrous singles “Mood” featuring Trinidadian star Kes.

Also last year, Sting and Shaggy launched the One Fine Day Festival in Philadelphia, a full day of eclectic music, for which they personally curated & co-headlined, featuring a diverse artist lineup – Thundercat, Koffee, Tank and the Bangas, Philly’s own G. Love & Special Sauce, Kes, Flor de Toloache, and French/ Italian sensation, Giordana Angi - across two stages exclusively at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA. The two icons performed their biggest hits together, trading off and collaborating on ‘Every Breath You Take,’ ‘Englishman In New York,’ ‘Message In A Bottle,’ ‘It Wasn’t Me,’ ‘Boombastic’ and ‘Angel’ and more.

SiriusXM announced the launch of Shaggy’s exclusive year-round channel, Shaggy’s Boombastic Radio. Available to subscribers via channel 332 in their vehicles and on the SiriusXM app and curated entirely by Shaggy, Boombastic Radio invites listeners to immerse themselves in the sounds of reggae, dancehall and vibrant afrobeats.

For his latest release, Shaggy teamed up with Bruce Melodie, one of East Africa’s most celebrated artists, for their new track, “When She’s Around (Funga Macho).” Fusing the best of African rhythms and reggae vibes, the genre-defying song, produced by AJR is available on all digital platforms (SPOTIFY, APPLE, TIDAL, AMAZON) via S-Curve Records. The track is accompanied by a playful music video, captured in Miami Beach and directed by Jay Will (M.I.A, Lee Scratch Perry, Kayne West, Shaggy & Major Lazer), available here.

Not only a multi-award-winning songwriter and hitmaker, Shaggy has also long used his platform to strengthen his community and homeland. In 2009, he established the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation and organized the first of many, Shaggy & Friends benefit concerts, which to date have raised millions for the Bustamante Children’s Hospital (the Caribbean’s only English-speaking children’s hospital, located in Kingston).

“I always try to bring the fun when I’m performing, and keep everything very lighthearted and joyous. I think my purpose and my job is to bring joy to as many people as I can, and I want that to resonate within all of the music that I create.” -Shaggy