Words by Todd Williams
Images by Michael Melendy for Steed Media Service
There are few women as naturally beautiful as Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. From her thousand-watt smile to her flawless toffee-colored complexion, she is a vision to behold. But it’s more than just her alluring — (ahem) — physical attributes. Watching her pose and preen for the camera during an afternoon photo shoot, it’s amazing to see a woman whose face has graced the covers of countless magazines and small screens simultaneously exude the confidence you would expect of an internationally known sex symbol and the easygoing, self-effacing humor of the girl everyone knew in high school — the girl who always seemed blissfully unaware of how unbelievably hot she was. Her beauty was always more than just a transcendent smile and flawless physique; it’s the unassuming sweetness in her personality. At the photo shoot at Dance 411 Studios in East Atlanta, she is gracious as ever, laughing with each click and whir of the camera. She’s the picture of poise in a room bustling with controlled chaos.
Of course, it’s not like being fussed over is new for the Southern belle. As one-third of TLC, one of the most iconic girl groups of all time, she’s had to deal with all of the ups and downs of celebrity, and as the group exploded, so did the non-music-related headlines. But Thomas always seemed to be the calm in the center of the storm. After bandmate Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes tragically died in an auto accident in 2002, Chilli and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins’ release of a final TLC album and a television contest show, (“R U The Girl With T-Boz & Chilli”); Thomas had some soul-searching to do.
“Probably three years ago, I was kind of at a crossroad[s] with everything,” she admits. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I just got on my knees and asked God, ‘what is it that you want me to do?’ ”
Chilli’s Photogallery
Credits
Wardrobe: Jeanine Robertson/Runway Atlanta
Stylist: Kahli
Hair: Marie Brown for Marie Brown Salon
Make-up: Day with Buddhaflyy
The answer was for her to return to what she loved doing; recording and performing. It’s no easy trick following an act as beloved and revered as TLC, but Chilli knows that this is what she was meant to do. “I was definitely born to be a Mommy and an entertainer — it’s all I could think about since I was a little kid,” says Thomas. “Listening to radio, I started to miss good messages — [songs] that young people can listen to and their parents can be happy. It inspired me to go back into the studio and make music like that.”
She pauses to take a look at a few of the shots and have a drink of water. As a woman who first came to national attention as part of a trio, she knows that this is a chance to really show the world who she is. More than anything, she wanted to make a record that was true to her. “I wanted people who were hungry and wanted to grind and work really hard — as I do,” she shares. “That was my inspiration [for] reaching out to new people.”
And she took the opportunity to showcase a few unexpected tricks; namely rapping, something she hasn’t done since TLC’s debut. I did some [rapping] on our first album, and that was a lot of fun for me,” she says, smiling. “[This time] I definitely stepped outside the box.” She was further motivated by another Atlanta music icon who is renowned for switching gears. “André 3000 was my inspiration,” she reveals. “He stepped outside the box to sing and pulled it off. I wanted to tap into that.”
Her first solo single, “Dumb, Dumb, Dumb,” is a pulsating club banger, with Chilli’s trademark sexy vocals over a funky Eastern-flavored digital backdrop. The infectious track has also inspired her to challenge her fans to participate in a contest to create a dance for the tune. “I thought it would be a lot of fun to incorporate the fans,” she explains. “I want all of the dancers out there to make up a routine. It would super-hot if we had a ‘Dumb, Dumb, Dumb’ dance!”
Chilli’s fans never seem to be too far from her mind, and that love is reciprocal. “What’s funny in this industry [is that] I find that a lot of people had to struggle in the beginning and once the success came they changed into someone that no one knew,” she says. “I’ve been in the industry for 17 years. Because of my personality, I’ve always been the type of celebrity that if I’m eating and someone comes over and wants my autograph, I’ll [sign] — or ask politely, ‘can you wait?’ I was that way at 20 and I’m still that way today.”
Chilli’s Photogallery
The fact that she uses air quotes when she says ‘celebrity,’ further emphasizes that the Grammy-winning superstar is really just Rozonda Thomas — a down-home Southern girl who doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. “It has a lot to do with my upbringing, my mom and my big mama did not play when it came to a lot of things,” she says when asked about her down-to-earth personality. She’s stayed focused in an industry where everything from her love life, her financial status, and her parentage has been fodder for the front page. “I’ve grown in many ways and the one big lesson that I’ve learned in this industry is that you can’t take anything personally,” she explains as her picture is snapped a few more times. “I used to in the beginning because I’m a very sensitive person. If someone said something to me that I felt wasn’t nice to say, I’d react. Now I just go into my gray area and say ‘whatever.’ ”
No matter what, TLC is always a part of Chilli’s legacy, and the bond will remain strong between her and Watkins. But she knows that it’s time to start a new chapter. “I can’t say that I don’t miss T-Boz and Left Eye,” she says of working without her two sisters-in-arms for the first time. “T-Boz is my sister, we talk all the time, [and] this time — by myself — it is different, but I think timing is everything and I think we’re at a time now where people are OK with seeing us by ourselves, especially since [Lisa] isn’t here anymore. But I’m excited to come out, [make] new fans and reconnect with the fans that have been with TLC for a long time.”
Chilli’s Photogallery
Of course, Thomas is more than just the “C” in TLC these days. She’s an entrepreneur, a committed advocate for the youth, and most important, a mom. “Being Tron’s mother, at this point, there’s a lot more things that I think about when it comes to what I choose to do in my career because I don’t ever want to do something in my life or my career that he can’t see or his friends can’t see, that’s not my style,” she shares. Tron is as much a part of who she is as an artist (“He’s already made up a dance to my single!”) as who she is as a person. Her love for her son is directly linked to the love she received as a youngster, and she has some advice for those who aren’t fortunate enough to have loving parents in their lives. “If you are a young person and you don’t have the love of Mom and Dad, don’t use that as an excuse to act out in your life,” she pleads. “My mother grew up without her mom and when she had me the most important thing to her was to not be how her mother was. I know that it’s possible to overcome those types of situations and it’ll make you a better person and a happier person. You [just] have to always keep a positive mind and always pray. We can’t do anything without the guidance of ‘Big G!’”
Chilli’s Photogallery
The photographer takes a break to reset the lighting and Chilli’s handlers begin checking every hair and lash to make sure it’s in place. When they’re finished, she leans back on the sofa. In her lap, she clutches one of her new customized handbags. You can visit her Web site, www.BagsByChilli.com, and upload a photo that will be emblazoned on a handbag, tote or wallet of your choice. The one that she holds today has a picture of her and Tron, smiling cheekily, on the front. She smiles. “Being a mom has helped mold what was already there,” she says, still smiling. “I’m still a prankster, that hasn’t changed. T-Boz probably wants that to change, but I’m sorry — if I see a straw, spitballs are going to be flying — I’m just silly like that.” She glances back down at the portrait of her and her 10-year old son. “But the nurturing, I’ve been that way since the day I was born,” she shrugs, in her signature ‘aw-shucks’ way, before adding, “And I’m still that way today.”
