In early 2015, it was announced that the remaining two members of TLC, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins & Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas would be releasing their final album and created a Kickstarter campaign to help fund it. They raised more than $430,000, and fans became antsy, wondering of they were scammed out of their money when an album didn’t come as quickly as the hoped.
But don’t fret, it’s officially on its way! Yesterday, (Feb. 27), TLC’s longtime manager Bill Diggins announced that the album will be released “at the end of June.” The 4,201 backers who monetarily contributed to the project will receive an advance copy.
Diggins wrote in an update on Kickstarter: “This album could not have happened without your support and your confidence in TLC has inspired us greatly to make the best album possible,” wrote Diggins. “We would have loved to have delivered this album sooner to you but we are confident that you will agree that it was worth the wait when you hear it. The pursuit of excellence is never an easy task and always takes longer than expected.”
Diggins also explained why it took so long for the arrival of the project. “It took a lot more time to coordinate schedules with writers, TLC’s executive producer Ron Fair and recording sessions than anticipated,” he added. “I could go on in more detail to explain how TLC’s touring, schedule, writing schedule and producing schedule was delayed but the simple fact is that T-boz & Chilli were inspired to make a record that they could be proud of and they would not settle for less and sometimes you just cannot rush art. They demanded of themselves a record that would stand up to the great body of work created in the past and that you would be proud of; because your belief and support is the greatest form of love and we want you to be proud.”
In January of 2016, Fair dished in an interview on Renman Music & Business Live that the sound of the album is “old soul music.” “It’s 90’s throwback music. It’s vintage TLC and I can tell you that their vocals sound EXACTLY the way they did the last time you heard them,” he said. “Their artistic and vocal thing is 100% intact. So this is gonna become a question of what are they talking about, what are the lyrics, what are the beats they’ve chosen. And I’m very excited for the world to hear.”
