No Scrubs, But MAGA? How Chilli from TLC Betrayed the Soundtrack of My Childhood

The General's Briefing · Apr 3, 2026 · 9m

I was in the fourth grade when I bought my first TLC album. Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. I had the tape. I played it until it broke. I memorized every word. I studied the album cover. I wanted to be Left Eye.

By the time CrazySexyCool came out, I was in middle school. And TLC was everything. Me and my friends had dance routines to "Waterfalls" and "Red Light Special." I had my haircut like T-Boz in the 8th grade. Girls dressed up as TLC for Halloween.

TLC was not just music to me. TLC was identity formation. TLC was Black girlhood. TLC was the soundtrack to my coming of age.

And now, in…