On This Day in 1971: Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Was Born

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TLC members Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, left, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, center, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas accept the award for best group video for “No Scrubs” at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept. 9, 1999. Lopes, born May 27, 1971, helped make TLC one of the best-selling girl groups of all time before her death in 2002. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)
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(AURN News) — On May 27, 1971, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was born in Philadelphia. Today, she would have been 55 years old.

As the lyricist of TLC, Left Eye brought a hip-hop edge to classics like “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs.”

Alongside T-Boz and Chilli, she helped make TLC one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, influencing artists from Beyoncé and Rihanna to Kehlani.

Left Eye was also unforgettable for her bold fashion, including the condom over her left lens to promote safe sex in the 1990s.

TLC’s “CrazySexyCool” sold an estimated 22 million copies worldwide, and the group won four Grammy Awards.

Tragically, Left Eye died in a car crash in Honduras on April 25, 2002. She was only 30. Happy heavenly birthday to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes.

Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane

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