TLC’s Lisa Lopes remembered

Thousands turn out for funeral of Grammy-winning singer

? Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of the Grammy-winning trio TLC was remembered for her funky raps, her vivacious personality and her sometimes turbulent attitude at her funeral on Thursday.

The service for the self-anointed “crazy” member of the female R&B group took place a week after her death in a Honduras car crash.

Mourners look on as the casket of Lisa Left

Thousands of fans joined family and celebrity friends at the funeral, which seemed more like a concert at times; gospel duo Mary Mary were among those who sang, backed by a 150-member choir.

Among the mourners were Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, the surviving members of the multiplatinum-selling group, and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.

Lopes’ white casket was engraved with a rap she recited on TLC’s No. 1 smash “Waterfalls.” It read, “Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you.”

“I know in this situation it’s difficult to rejoice at the passing of someone we loved,” said the Rev. Eddie Long, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta. “But it would be a mockery of her life if we did not celebrate life.”

Lopes died April 25 when the sport utility vehicle she was driving rolled off a highway in Honduras, her favorite vacation spot. She would have turned 31 this month.

The band TLC, left to right, are Rozonda Chilli Thomas, Tionne T-Boz Watkins and Lisa Left

She was the “crazy” member of TLC, considered the best-selling female group of all time, compared to Watkins’ “cool” demeanor and Thomas’ “sexy” looks.

Best known for her deftly crafted rhymes, Lopes also was the most energetic member of the trio and the most volatile. At times, she had public spats with the two other women.

But she was at her most infamous when she pleaded guilty to arson in a 1994 fire that destroyed the million-dollar mansion of former Atlanta Falcons receiver Andre Rison, her boyfriend at the time.

Rison was among hundreds who attended a private memorial service Wednesday night in Decatur, another Atlanta suburb.

“She was my heart,” Rison told WSB-TV after leaving the service. “We’re going to let her fly with wings like angels do. She’s truly and definitely an angel.”

Antonio “L.A.” Reid, president of Arista Records, TLC’s label, acknowledged at the funeral that Lopes had a mercurial side. However, he said: “She was difficult for the right reasons. Her creativity never stopped. Lisa, your exuberance will be missed, your passion will be missed.”

Her aunt said that while Lopes may have been headstrong, she also had a sweet side.

“I have a name for her the Lionhearted Little Lamb because just as much as she was brave and tough and streetwise, she was gentle,” said her aunt, Pamela Young. “She was gentle as a lamb.”

Lopes, born in Philadelphia, was working on a solo project on Suge Knight’s Tha Row records when she died. Knight also attended at the funeral.

Lopes is survived by her mother, a brother and sister, and a 9-year-old girl she adopted two years ago named Snow.