Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip

TLC’s 1992 debut opens with an unidentified male grousing that the girl group’s baggy clothes aren’t ladylike. The Atlanta trio retorts with “Hat 2 da Back,” an urban-soul single that positions their style not as a denial of femininity, but an assertion. Such liberation characterizes this groundbreaking album, a new jack swing classic of R&B vocals and breakbeat samples that redefines womanhood with tracks like “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” a hip-hop shout-along that advances female sexual agency; “His Story,” a listen-to-the-victim op-ed; and “What About Your Friends,” a formative work of swaying-pop sorority.