TLC’s “Creep” lead the way for their sophomore album CrazySexyCool to become one of the most commercially successful and influential albums of all time. Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins gave songwriter and producer Dallas Austin the idea for the song about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend to get his attention because he’s doing the same thing. TLC worked against convention by singing about participating in infidelity and Austin was unusual for writing from a woman’s perspective. The subject fit the group’s image of being candid about sex which was first expressed on their first album when they sang about their sexual desire on “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.” Austin used funk, R&B, hip-hop samples and jazz to create the musical bed that was perfect for T-Boz’s distinctive rasp as the featured vocalist. The video progressed TLC into a more grown-up sexiness looks-wise thanks to the famous flowing silk pajamas they wore. They picked director Matthew Rolston after seeing his work on Salt N Pepa’s video for “None Of Your Business.” The video for “Creep” was just as celebrated as the song itself which was TLC’s first Billboard Hot 100 number one. “Creep” earned the group a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with vocals and became a beacon of pop culture. CrazySexyCool was the first album by a woman’s group to reach diamond status and sold more than any other American girl band. The group is second to The Supremes in regards to Billboard’s charts TLC became a duo after the death of Left Eye in 2002. They released their fifth self-titled album in 2017.Â
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