It was 1993...or 4...or something like that. My mother was always listening to R & B from the 1960s while she cleaned the house and cooked the finest Italian food in Cuyahoga County. Most kids who eventually listen to aggressive music grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, and all of that stuff, but in the Reed house it was Luther Vandross, James Brown, The Temptations, and others. By the time I was old enough to start listening to music on my own I loved a show called All That on Nick that, if you are unfamiliar with, apologize to everyone you see today for your utter lameness. Being a sort of "Saturday Night Live for kids," All That featured live music, mostly from R & B and hip hop groups that weren't as dangerous as the Tupacs and Biggies of the day. When I first listened to TLC I was floored, excited, and something that I would understand in later years to be horny. Smooth beats, catchy hooks, awesome voices, a little rap, and plenty of Chili's hotness, the debut album from TLC is still a classic no matter what form you listen to it on.
TLC- "What About Your Friends?"
- Joe