Str8 Girl, Interrupted

The End of an Era

It's Tuesday in the early A.M. and I've known about Lisa's
death for 5 days now and I'm still in awe over it. I'm
borderline obsessed about this whole situation. I'm truly
saddened. I'm not sure how else to express my feelings on
her, cuz everyone would think I'm nuts if I spoke of it.
If I had a way to get to Atlanta by Thursday, I would
definitely go to her funeral.

All I know is, Lisa inspired me in so many ways. She
introduced this sheltered little white girl to Hip-Hop, Rap
and R&B. I was only 12 when they first came out. I
remember my cousin Sonja and I would jam to their songs.
We would tape their videos, especially during the
CrazySexyCool era, and watch them over and over. TLC was
the first taste of "black" music that influenced me. I
remember hearing "His Story" and "Something You Wanna Know"
when I was 12 and not actually understanding the true
meanings of the songs, but I knew I connected with the
music. It was different than the New Kids On The Block
type stuff I was used to hearing and I liked it. So,
naturally when CrazySexyCool came out in 94, I had to have
it. I think my cousin Sonja was staying with us at the
time, but I knew she had the tape. We would play that
thing constantly. Eventually, I think the tape stopped
playing and I got it for Christmas on CD or something.
Anyways, I was beginning to understand the meanings of
their songs. I agreed with their messages about being
strong women and not letting men dictate your life. To
this day, I live by the famous words of "Depend on Myself"
off of Ohhhhhh.....on the TLC tip.

TLC opened up my mind. I started getting interested in
R&B, Hip-Hop and even Rap. I went on to like Boyz 2 Men,
Montell Jordan, Snoop, Dre. Dre and today such acts
as....Nelly, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child and many more. Without
ever being exposed these talented girls, I would still be
listening to New Kids on the Block (not that there's
anything wrong with that...lol). I followed their careers
through their debut, sophomore album and FanMail.

When "No Scrubs" was in heavy rotation on pop radio, I
heard that TLC was going to be in Toledo to promote
FanMail. I was psyched. I called my cousin up and told
anyone I knew who liked TLC and managed to get 8 people,
including myself to go to this concert. Josh and I waited
for hours in the October cold to make sure we all got front
row. I remember having to wait a month or so after we got
tickets to actually see the show, but when that night
finally came....it was magical. I remember almost being in
tears when got up onstage. I was in awe over how small
they all were, but they worked their asses off up there.
It was very memorable concert. Lisa ran the show. She did
magic tricks, juggled and stuff I wasn't expecting. I
walked in liking Chilli the best, but walked out with Left
Eye in my heart. I'm glad I had a chance to see the girls,
especially Left Eye in action. They had true
chemistry....and now with Lisa's death, also comes the
death of TLC. The end of an era for me and many others.

Lisa, you'll always be in my heart. Thanks for the lyrical
and musically inspiration. I'll be forever grateful.