TLC at the Grammy Awards red carpet event in 2000. (Photo: Lisa Lopes Foundation)

A star to many, gone too soon. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is known as the lyrical genius that exploded onto the music scene alongside Chilli and T-Boz in 1992 to form one of the greatest female R&B groups of all-time: TLC. With Ooooooohhh ... On the TLC Tip, CrazySexyCool and Fanmail under their belt, TLC was literally blowing up the charts, airwaves and even at the Grammys. Snatching the Best R&B album in 1996, Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and Best R&B Album in 2000, TLC was on top of the world. Compelled by necessity, the group's success ended with Left Eye's tragic death.

Their self-willed style and powerful behavior molded TLC into leaders of the independent female sex. TLC broached on subjects that every female could relate to, varying from slow ballads about feeling unpretty to the independent ladies anthem "No Scrubs". In their personal lives, the girls experienced the ups and downs of relationships they so often sang about. The media got word about T-Boz's domestic violence issues with rapper Mack 10, while a swarm of helicopters with camera men were flying above Left Eye's house after accidentally burning her boyfriend's mansion down to the ground when she wanted to set Andre Rison's tennis shoes on fire as a revenge for his infidelity and abuse. Even though she was charged with torching his house, the couple continued their turbulent relationship for a while before parting ways for good.

With her own self-written raps and eccentric style, Left Eye was the most remarkable of the group. She was a self-taught keyboardist and displayed those talents during her solo spot on TLC's headlining concert performances. She was also known for wearing a pair of glasses with a condom in place of the left eye lens in the beginning of her career, which was one of the ways the group promoted safe sex, and from where she got her nickname "Left Eye".

After the success of three chart-topping albums, Left Eye ventured out as a solo artist. She teamed up with the likes of Donnell Jones ("You Know What's Up"), Melanie C ("Never Be The Same Again"), and Toni Braxton ("Gimme Some") and eventually released her debut Supernova overseas, in 2001. "When Lisa did Supernova she was at a certain place in her life that she was trying to get across to the people," her brother Ronald Lopes explains in an interview with BallerStatus.com.

Although she was clearly passionate about creating her own music, her solo projects were rumored to have started riffs between the threesome. "She never went solo as a means to leave TLC. TLC never broke up, despite many of the rumors. I think that she just wanted to express herself 100% and to do that she had to step away and do a solo album and really put herself out there", he says.

Lisa Left Eye Lopes (Photo: Lisa Lopes Foundation)

After doing a project with Suge Knight's Tha Row Records, under her alias N.I.N.A., Left Eye had already started work on both her second solo album and on songs for a fourth TLC album, which was later released as 3D. Attempting to get away from the media and the music industry, she decided to spend some time in Honduras, a place close and dear to her heart. But on a spiritual retreat on April 25, 2002, Left Eye's life was tragically cut short in a car crash, the sole fatality of ten people in the vehicle. An outpour of support from fans grew as word travelled that the spontaneous yet talented and gifted woman they loved was no longer with them.

Left Eye was remembered in a VH1 documentary, entitled "The Last Days of Left Eye." Her family, along with Ronald and their sister Reigndrop, all pitched in to create the documentary showcasing Left Eye's final moments in Honduras. "We had a lot of help from VH1. My sister Reigndrop went through most of the footage, but it wasn't that painful or anything. I think we considered it as an opportunity or a way of honoring Lisa," says Ronald.

The documentary shows video diary entries filmed by Lopes during her 30-day vacation with family and members of the R&B group Egypt. In these entries she reflected on her personal life and career. The high-energy performer revealed a calmer side, with interests in numerology and yoga. "She would tell me how to figure out your number, as far as your birth date, the year you were born, pretty much adding all those numbers and taking it back down to a single digit," Ronald elaborates. "There were different things we would read like what was the meaning of that number, your different astrological positions in the heavens and things like that. She used to try to break it down to us. We tried to follow as long as we could."

It was a bitter sweet moment for him. Not only did he help put "The Last Days of Left Eye" together, but he was also there in Honduras, the same time of Left Eye's accident. "For me, it was a life changing experience and probably for some of the other people who were there. Lisa was pretty much introducing us to a new way of eating, taking care of your body and new ways to keep your body healthy," Ronald said. "She had the camera crew down there and they pretty much followed us around throughout the whole day. They recorded maybe between 17 to 20 hours per day, there were tons of footage and she wanted to use that footage to put together a documentary. Unfortunately, she passed away before we could finish it and we made sure it still happened."

There is no question the documentary left many with an unsettling feeling, but at same time we got to learn quite a bit about Lisa in only a short amount of time. Many only knew her as Left Eye "an entertainer," but throughout the film, the world was able to see a different side of her.

"Lisa was definitely someone that I admired. Even though she was my sister, I felt that I could learn a lot from her. Growing up there were a lot of fights in our household and Lisa was always the one to kind of take our attention from that and find other creative things to do. [She] had us drawing [and] had us playing games. She always looked out for our well being. My mom, she worked a lot, [so] Lisa pretty much took care of me and Reigndrop growing up. She was more than a big sister to us, she was a caretaker for us.

"Then as she got older, she started her career and later moved us down to Atlanta and she always tried to keep us close to her. She always looked out for our well being," Ronald continued, as he reflected on their relationship.

He recalls a funny brother-sister moment they shared, even though at the time wasn't so funny. "I do remember one time I wasn't listening to her and she threatened to cut my legs off with a saw and I started screaming and crying, but she wasn't serious anyway. That's one of the funny moments Lisa would do."

Ronald and Reigndrop Lopes at an event in June 2008, to present Janet Jackson with the Lisa Lopes Foundation Community Service Award in Atlanta. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Lopes Foundation)

Ronald and Reigndrop Lopes at an event in June 2008, to present Janet Jackson with the Lisa Lopes Foundation Community Service Award in Atlanta. (Photo: Lisa Lopes Foundation)

But with so many TLC and Left Eye fans worldwide, it seems they would be holding out for more. And the question is: whatever happened to a tribute album or her unreleased material? Seven years after her death, Eye Legacy was released this January. The posthumous album showcases Left Eye's signature sound and features some of today's artists, including Lil' Mama and Bobby Valentino. But nothing would be complete without having TLC back together, most likely for the last and final time. Chilli and T-Boz are on the single "Let's Just Do It" with Missy Elliot.

Despite her popularity while alive, her brother Ronald admits that it was challenging for Ronald to put all the pieces together and get the album out. "I think one of the most challenging things was time restraints. It actually takes time to get the people you want on the project together and trying to put everything together in the timeframe the label wants everything done in," he explained. "So, that was definitely a challenge and trying to get the right sound. You know, a lot of this stuff Lisa recorded years and years ago, and trying to give it a feel that it's still up to date and at the same time trying to respect the integrity of Lisa and also give the fans what they want."

In addition to the aforement mentioned guests, Left Eye's younger sister Reigndrop also makes an appearance on the album ... twice. On the tracks "Crank It and "Never Will I Ever."

Chilli and T-Boz honor the memory of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes at the 2002 VMAs. (Photo: MTV)

The album not only musically suits Left Eye, it also brings forth her other goals as it contains a DVD with exclusive footage of her spiritual trip to Honduras -- something she wanted to share with her fans. Plus, part of the sales will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation.

It is no secret Lisa's dream was to put together a solo album. But she also had a few more, maybe even bigger than her desire to launch a solo project. She wanted to give back to the people by setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres of land she owned.

"I know her biggest things were her solo album, the documentary, and the home for children. Those were the three things that I knew that were very important to her at the time she passed away," her brother says. "I feel that we pretty much completed all those. And as far as the foundation, that's an on going project, probably for the rest of my life. But I will continue to build on Lisa's legacy through the foundation."

"The day I learned you were gone/ A new star was born,
Distant voices fill my mind/ Said look up in the sky,
And when I did there you were"

One of the songs from her debut Supernova is called "A New Star Is Born", a track dedicated to her late father and all those that have loved ones that have passed away. Left Eye once told MTV News, "It's saying that there is no such thing as death. We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' It's in your body. So in the song I pretty much go along with that idea. I don't care what happens or what people think about death, it doesn't matter. We all share the same space." Now the song is embraced by fans and has become some sort of a remembrance of and a dedication to Lisa Left Eye Lopes, one of the most flamboyant R&B artists of all time.

For more information about Left Eye, go to LeftEyeLegacy.com or visit LisaLopesFoundation.org to learn how you can keep her legacy alive.