Lisa Nicole Lopes, or better known as her stage name Left Eye, was one-third of the notable 1990s girl group TLC.
She was known as one of the major creative forces of the group. She was responsible for the group’s image, album titles, artwork, music videos, and received majority of the co-writing credits. The group received four Grammys for Best R&B album for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Best R&B Performance By Group With Vocals of “Creep” in 1996, Best R&B Album for Fan Mail in 2000, and Best R&B Performance By Group With Vocals for “Scrubs” in 2000.
Left Eye went on to pursue a short solo career, scoring two top ten singles for “Not Tonight” and “U Know What’s Up”, and a #1 UK single for “Never Be The Same Again”. Lisa is still the only TLC member to release a solo album.
Her career came to an unpredictable stop when she was in a car accident on April 25, 2002 in Honduras. Lisa attempted to avoid several vehicles by swerving, but her SUV unfortunately rolled and hit two trees causing all four passengers to fly out the window including herself. Lisa was the only passenger who was fatally injured from the crash due to neck injuries and severe head trauma. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.
A camera man in the passenger side was recording and caught the moments leading up to the swerve on camera. The footage was later released in a documentary titled The Last Days of Left Eye showing the artist’s last 27 days alive, which aired in May 2007.
Jermaine Dupri who worked with the group before their deal issued the following statement to MTV detailing how he remembers the singer:
She was determined to be something in life. She was a true rock star. She didn’t care about no press. She was the rock star out of the group. She was the one that would curse on TV. She had the tattoos. You could expect the unexpected. When you see Lisa, you could expect something from her. That’s the gift she carried.
Check out the group’s final performance with Left Eye:
