(June 12, 2017) Bobbed socks and Mary Jane flats, Rick James and hair beads, your momma’s cornbread and your daddy’s brisket….you get the hint: some things always occur as a pair and you can’t imagine one without the other, which is the feel-good sentiment that TLC returns with in their synth-laden summer-ready jam, “Way Back.”
It’s admittedly been a rough 15 years for the TLC brand: marriages, reality shows, breakups, babies and the abrupt passing of their mercurial and mesmerizing ‘wild card,’ Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, made fans believe that T-Boz and Chilly would stay keepers of the legacy without performing again, but the two make a compelling duo; Tionne kicks off the verses in her cool, conversational rasp and Chilly’s tangy vocals join hers in the alternate verses and the chorus: “Don’t you ever think back on all that other [expletive], we went through, you know I remember yeah/Don’t you ever wish, one day we could reminisce, it feels like we were just together.” Some may enjoy the cameo featuring Snoop Dogg and some may yearn for a long-ago Left Eye verse to resurrect, but his signature Cali drawl gets the job done, flipping phrases like “twenty sack,” “one-hour-photo,” “tenderoni” that hearken back to that late 90s vibe and feel.
On its own merits, “Way Back” is a tight jam tailor-made for spring cook-outs, summertime lounging and even a new go-to groove for family reunions (if Auntie Peaches and Uncle Elroy can overlook the early dropping b-word and s-word). Necks will bob, shoulders will rock, and feet will shuffle, all while Left Eye sends her kudos from up above. Check out the brand new video for “Way Back”
By Melody Charles
TLC feat. Snoop Dogg – “Way Back”