TLC are music pioneers. At a time when R&B was not a "popular" musical genre, TLC emerged as one of the acts that brought R&B to the top of the pop charts, with several of the singles from their debut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip reaching the top 10 of the Hot 100. R&B went on to dominate the charts in the 90s. They, along with others such as Mary J. Blige, made music known as Hip-Hop Soul (although, I would consider their 1st album of the New Jack Swing era), which is the merging of Hip-Hop beats and R&B, and were one of the first artist to mix singing with raps, which later developed into R&B singers doing collaborations with rappers, such as Mariah Carey, Brandy, etc... This is (as you know) used prominently in music until this day.
Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip (1992)
During the release time of Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, TLC were often criticized for their sometimes explicit lyrics and talking about men in their songs. They were know as "feminist rappers". Later on they would be praised for their "girl power" lyrics because it empowered women to sing/rap about men in the same ways, that many male rappers talked about women in their songs.
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