TLC Responds To ‘Waterfalls’ Criticism: We Were Blocked From Using Left Eye On Remake

The surviving members of TLC, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, are fighting back against criticism of their 2013 remake of “Waterfalls,” the group’s most successful song.

T-Boz and Chilli commemorated the 20th anniversary of “Waterfalls” by re-releasing the track with J-pop singer Namie Amuro rapping Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ verse. But the Lopes family was upset that they weren’t told about the remake in advance.

“I did not know about it until a fan posted it online,” Left Eye’s sister, Reigndrop Lopes, said. ”I mean it would have been nice if they would have given us a head up before being surprised.” Lopes also said that her mother was shocked and hurt by the remake, and felt that keeping Left Eye on the track would have honored her memory.

Reigndrop Lopes added that she would be OK with the remake if it was only released in Namie Amuro’s native Japan.

T-Boz and Chilli said they couldn’t release the track with the original verse because they didn’t have the rights to Left Eye’s rap.

Chilli told TMZ, “We were forced to use a creative way to honor Lisa’s memory and celebrate this milestone with the fans.”

The twosome said they reached out to Left Eye’s brother, Ron, before they released the track.

“We have and always will protect our sister’s legacy as TLC consists of the three of us collectively … there will never be a replacement for Lisa or any members in TLC,” they said.

“Waterfalls” was released in 1995 and spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It finished at #2 on Billboard‘s Year-End Hot 100 of 1995, and the track was certified platinum in the US on July 31. The song and its video tackled the issues of drug dealing and HIV.

You can listen to the “Waterfalls” remake below.

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