Lisa Lopes
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besides rapping and singing backing vocals on TLC recordings, Lopes was the creative force behind the group, receiving more co-writing credits than the other members. She also designed some of their outfits and the stage for their FanMail Tour and contributed to the group's image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards.
Lisa Lopes | |
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Lopes as featured in Black Enterprise magazine c. 2001 | |
| Born | Lisa Nicole Lopes May 27, 1971 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 25, 2002 (aged 30) La Ceiba, Honduras |
| Resting place | Hillandale Memorial Gardens, Lithonia, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Education | Philadelphia High School for Girls |
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| Partner(s) | Andre Rison (1993–2001) Sean Newman (2000) |
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| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1990–2002 |
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| Formerly of | TLC |
| Website | www |
During her brief solo career, Lopes scored two US top 10 singles with "Not Tonight" and "U Know What's Up", as well as one UK number-one single with "Never Be the Same Again", the latter a collaboration with Melanie C of the British girl group Spice Girls. She also produced another girl group, Blaque, who scored a platinum album and two US top 10 hits. Lopes remains the only member of TLC to have released a solo album.
On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in a car crash in Roma, Jutiapa, Honduras, while volunteering at a children’s development center. Lopes was speeding and lost control of her rental SUV. Four other passengers were injured enough to require hospitalization. The documentary The Last Days of Left Eye was released and aired on VH1 in May 2007.