Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg – TLC | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6) and R&B (#2); 1992
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
TLC’s music and image blended classic girl group pop flavorings with somewhat edgy rap sensibilities to produce an exciting combination. Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes first joined musical forces as Second Nature.
When R&B singer Pebbles took over management of the two, she added Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas, and TLC – after the girls’ nicknames – was born. Pebbles’ husband just happened to be L.A. Reid, renowned producer and co-owner of LaFace Records, who signed the Atlanta trio and assigned Dallas Austin to work with them.
Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg, the first single from Ooooooohhh…On The TLC Tip, penned by Austin and Lopes, laid down the signature TLC sound, and the accompanying video introduced the group’s outrageous taste in fashion.
Austin included samples from Kool & The Gang’s funky Jungle Boogie and Silver Convention’s disco fav Fly, Robin, Fly, as well as others from James Brown, AWB, and Bob James.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Dallas Austin
Lyrics Written by:
- Dallas Austin
- Lisa Lopes
- Roger Ball
- Robert Bell
- Ronald Bell
- Donald Boyce
- George Brown
- Malcolm Duncan
- Steven Ferrone
- Alan Gorrie
- Owen McIntyre
- Robert “Spike” Mickens
- Claydes Smith
- Hamish Stuart
- Dennis Thomas
- Richard Westfield
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).