Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes: Masculinist Aesthetics of Hip-Hop

Lisa Lopes, better known as “Left Eye” from the R&B group TLC, made her mark in the music industry at a young age. As the rapper of the female trio, Lopes’ individualized herself as “Left Eye,” and was known for wearing a condom on the left eye lens of her glasses (to promote safe-sex). As TLC rose to fame, Lopes continually marked her left eye, either by covering it or underlining it with a black stripe. However, what set Lopes apart from the two other members of TLC was her “badgirl” or “tough” image. In most photo shoots, she would wear baggy clothes, or more “thuggish” outfits. Her poses and her facial expressions hardly ever expressed happiness or a cherry attitude but rather a serious, tough expression that can be seen on the faces of many male rap artists.

Recently we have discussed Imani Perry’s article about the emergence of women in the hip-hop music industry. When the hip-hop industry began introducing female artists, many of them illustrated masculinity in their music and appearance. Perry suggests that in an industry that is relatively male-dominated, women have struggled “to find a place for themselves,” (Perry, 156). In order to establish a name for themselves, they mimicked and displayed characteristics of that of male artists. Male hip-hop artists have routinely illustrated a “bad boy” image in the music scene, so women sought to do the same. When first emerging, many female artists dressed in baggy clothes, and presented themselves as less feminine. Perry states, “…we find a host of female ‘badmen’ in hip hop who use the language of violence, power, and subversive tricksterism to articulate their artistic proweness” (Perry 156).

Lopes is a perfect example of Perry’s point. Not only did Lopes dress the part, many of the lyrics she wrote displayed a masculinity that Perry refers to. By the coming of their second album, you could see a change beginning to evolve. Lopes, as well as the other two members of TLC, began dressing a lot more feminine. This very well could be to keep up the pace with styles of the other artists in the music industry. Many females began shaping their image as more sexy and provocative, so TLC did the same. You can see a demonstration of this in the pictures surrounding this post.

It is interesting how many artists try to declare this unique image, to stand out from other artists. However, rarely does it really work. Lopes emerged into the music scene with a more masculine image, in order to compete with a male-dominated industry. When the industry became more diverse, and female R&B artists became more accepted, no longer was a display of masculinity the key to success. It is interesting to analyze certain music groups, and how they have evolved with the evolution of culture and society.