TLC and VH1 Team Up for Biopic

Growing up in the 90’s my favorite R&B group was and still is TLC. The group consisted of Tionne
 “T-Boz” Watkins, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, and the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. What I loved about the group was their uniqueness. They all had very quirky personalities, outrageous but creative style, and amazing music. They embodied the “Crazy, Sexy, Cool” demeanor, rightly the name of their second and most popular album.

TLC's T-Boz, Left Eye, & Chilli

Drew Sidora as T-Boz, Keke Palmer as Chilli, & Lil Mama as Chilli

The group was very successful, selling over 23 million albums worldwide, achieving ten top 10 singles, four multi-platinum albums, five Grammy Awards, 5 MTV Awards, and three Billboard Awards. Despite the tragic loss of Left Eye, TLC remains a legacy. They continue to make music and perform at shows for all of their millions of fans worldwide.  

Recognizing the groups talent and importance to the music industry, VH1 is airing a biopic of the group. The movie airs on Monday, October 21^st at 9PM ET/PT and features actress Drew Sidora as T-Boz, actress Keke Palmer as Chilli, and rapper Lil Mama as Left Eye. The movie will feature the successes and the challenges that the group faced together.

Entertainment Weekly (ET) sat down with the group and the girls playing them in the movie to talk with them about the movie. ET asked T-Boz and Chilli what were the most challenging parts of the film. They both of course mentioned Left Eye’s death and having to relive the pain that stemmed from that and all of the rest of the hardships and struggles that they experienced. T-Boz and Chilli were executive producers of the film and the movie was a joint collaboration between the two and VH1. When talking about their feelings about watching themselves being portrayed in a movie, Chilli said, “It’s just amazing to see a dream come true. More importantly, I’m just happy that we spent that time with the girls because it was important for us to be portrayed in the right way and they did it.” Just so you get the full picture of how awesome this movie is, here is the trailer:

The 8th Annual LudaDay Weekend

Since 2005 rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has dominated Labor Day weekend. This year was no different. The 8^th Annual LudaDay Weekend took place in Atlanta, GA and featured many events. Despite all of the fun and games, the main purpose of LudaDay weekend is to give back.

On behalf of The Ludacris Foundation, this weekend is dedicated to providing charitable acts for the community. This year, the festivities kicked of on Thursday, August 29^th and lasted through Monday, September 2^nd. The first event of Luda’s fundraising effort was The Ludacris Foundation High School Takeover. Luda returned to his old high school, Banneker High School in College Park. It was quite the surprise for students there. True to his charitable mission, Ludacris donated $20,000 to the teachers. Not just focusing on the monetary part of charity, he delivered a very important message to students. He stressed to them that if he made it, they can too, the importance of making smart decisions, but to never forget where they came from.  Some of the other events included a dinner, Georgia State University block party, celebrity basketball game, Ludacris Foundation Brunch, and a pool party.

Just like the past seven years, Ludacris always brings out his fellow celebrity friends that come out to support the cause. Celebrities such as Usher, Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Toya Wright, Ciara, Larenz Tate, Letoya Luckett, Monica, Teyana Taylor, and more have all participated in the LudaDay events. Luda’s efforts are very commendable. Many may not be aware of the fact that “LudaDay Weekend is by far the longest running celebrity-endorsed charity weekend in Atlanta, GA” according to ATL Night Spots.com.

This year’s celebrity basketball took place at Georgia State University. Ludacris was of course a team captain, but his rival captain was R&B singer Usher. The game went into overtime but Team Usher prevailed with a score of 100 to 91. All of the proceeds of this game and every other event are dedicated to charity. Next year, I hope to be able to attend some of the 9^th Annual LudaDay Weekend events.