CrazySexyCool made $75 million, and T-Boz says each member of TLC got $50,000. So they marched into Clive Davis's office at Arista, where a friend told Puff Daddy his meeting was over.
Chilli says another friend stood at the door: nobody in, nobody out. Others stripped TLC plaques off the walls. Someone called the NYPD.
Then Chilli broke down crying: "We're selling all these records and we don't have anything to show for it."
The facts: TLC signed in 1991, aged 19 and 20, for a reported 7%. In July 1995 they filed for bankruptcy, owing about $3.5 million. Reports say part of it came from the fire Left Eye set at Andre Rison's house.
The case for TLC: they signed at 19 and 20. Their voices sold every copy. The money went to everyone but them.
The case for the label: it paid for the studio, the videos and the risk. Part of the debt was their own. TLC, the labels said, just wanted more money.
In the video below, Chilli tells what happened next.
If you sign a deal at 19 and it makes millions for someone else, should you be allowed to break it?