By Curt and Jamila Hayman (Chief Editors),
on Saturday May, 03 2008 4:21:13 pm MST
May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter and member of the popular R&B group TLC.
She was considered by some fans as the creative talent behind TLC and contributed her own self-written raps to many of TLC's popular singles, including "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs". Lopes was also a self-taught keyboardist and displayed those talents during her solo spot on TLC's headlining concert performances. She was known for wearing a pair of glasses with a condom in place of the left eye lens, which was one of the ways the group promoted safe sex.
Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and suffered with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to her fiance Andre Rison's tennis shoes, which ultimately set fire to the mansion and burned it to the ground. She claimed "I was just trying to barbecue his tennis shoes," as revenge for his infidelity, and the fire got out of control. However, she was unremorseful for the incident and described the mansion as a "House of Evil."
Rison, a football player for the Atlanta Falcons, was physically abusive to Lisa and had been charged with assaulting her the previous year. At the time of her arrest, she was covered in bruises from being beaten by Rison. Lopes, who was sentenced to 5 years probation and therapy at a halfway house, never was able to shake that incident from her reputation. Her tumultuous relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, which were later debunked by People magazine. Lopes always maintained good humour about the incident, asking during a concert "Anyone got a light? Anyone got a house?"
Adding to Lopes' flamboyant attitude, she had several large tattoos. Most prominent was a large eagle on her left arm which she said represented freedom. Later she added the number "80" around the eagle, which was Rison's NFL number. She also tattooed a moon with a face on her foot in reference to Rison's nickname, Bad Moon. On her right arm was the name Parron, for her late stepbrother, and a tattoo of a heart. Her smallest tattoo was on her left ear and was an arrow pointing to her left and her eye, a reference to her nickname.
A documentary on the final 26 days of Lopes' life, entitled The Last Days of Left Eye premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2007, for an audience that included many of Lopes contemporaries, such as Monica, Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition, 112, Big Boi, Rico Wade, India.Arie and Cee-Lo. VH1 and VH1 Soul broadcasted the documentary on May 19, 2007. Much of the footage was shot with a hand-held camera, often in the form of diary entries filmed by Lopes while on a 30 day spiritual retreat in Honduras with family and members of the R&B group Egypt. In these entries she reflected on her personal life and career. The high-energy performer revealed a calmer side, with interests in numerology and yoga. She was in the process of setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres of land she owned.. Coincidentally, the film also captured a car accident that she was involved in during filming, which killed a Honduran child with the surname Lopez. Lopes is shown in a local funeral home choosing a casket for the child. In the documentary, Lopes mentioned that she feels the presence of an "evil spirit" following her. The program also showed the last minutes of Lopes' life, including her swerving off the road.
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A Tribute to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez Saturday, 03 May 2008
May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter and member of the popular...
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