Rozonda Thomas

Rozonda Thomas
Birth name	Rozonda Ocelean Thomas
Also known as	Chilli, Sexy, C
Born	February 27, 1971 (1971-02-27) (age 40)[1]
Origin	Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, hip hop
Occupations	Singer/Actress/television personality
Years active	1991–present
Labels	LaFace Arista Interscope Records
Associated acts	TLC, Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes

Rozonda Ocelean Thomas (born February 27, 1971),^[1] best known by her stage name Chilli, is a four-time Grammy Award–winning American R&B singer and actress who rose to fame as one third of the successful R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop girl group TLC.

Early life

Rozonda Ocelean Thomas was born in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Benjamin E. Mays High School in Southwest Atlanta.^[1] Her father, Abdul Ali, was of West Indian descent and her mother, Ava Thomas, is of African American and Native American descent.^[2] Thomas, who had been raised by her mother, later allowed the Sally Jessy Raphael television talk show to air footage of her meeting her father for the first time in 1996.^[3]

Music career

1991 - present: TLC

Main article: TLC (band)

Thomas was first a dancer for Damian Dame. In 1991, she joined TLC, replacing founding member Crystal Jones, and was nicknamed "Chilli" so that the group could retain the name TLC. The group went on to sell over 45 million records worldwide and became the second best selling group in the world and first in the US girl groups of all-time.^[4]

Since the death of group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes in April 2002, Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins have occasionally performed as a duo. In 2009, Thomas and Watkins performed a series of concerts in Asia, and are currently planning a possible new album and a possible tour.

Solo career

Thomas began working on her solo album in 2001 after the completion of promotion for TLC's third album, FanMail. She ceased production when work began on the next TLC album, 3D. In 2006, rumors of having signed a four-album deal with singer/rapper Akon's label Kon Live Distribution in 2006, she later denied these reports and confirmed that she was entertaining offers from other record labels. It was confirmed that the name of the album would be titled Bi-Polar, but due to scheduling conflicts and constant delays, the album was shelved. The album was once rumored to include work by Missy Elliott as well as tracks produced by T-Pain, and Tricky. Certain tracks that were intended for the album were leaked from 2006 to 2008. A track titled "Gameproof," which featured her TLC band mate T-Boz, was leaked in spring 2006. On February 16, 2007, "Straight Jack," a track featuring Missy Elliott and produced by Polow da Don was leaked. The track entered the Deutsche Black Chart in at #35.^[5] In early April 2008, Thomas's first official solo single, "Dumb, Dumb, Dumb" was released.^[6] No further singles have been announced or leaked. The album has now been shelved, and Thomas said via Twitter she may release the songs that she recorded for the album on her website.

Film & television

Thomas made guest appearances on shows such as The Parkers, That 70s Show, Living Single and Strong Medicine. In 2000, she was featured in the made-for-television movies A Diva's Christmas Carol and Love Song (with Monica), and in the film Snow Day and Hair Show. In 2001, she co-starred in the action film Ticker, directed by Albert Pyun. She also played a small role in the 1998 film Hav Plenty. In 2011, Chilli made cameo appearances throughout the first season of VH1's Single Ladies (TV series).

What Chilli Wants

In June 2009, VH1 announced the airing of a reality series starring Thomas. The series, What Chilli Wants, which documents Thomas' quest to find love and manage her life with the help of love and relationship expert Tionna Tee Smalls, premiered on April 11, 2010.^[7] The second season of What Chilli Wants premiered on January 2, 2011.^[8]

Personal life

At age 20, she became pregnant by producer Dallas Austin. Due to career aspirations, and the outside pressures, she elected to have the pregnancy terminated; on her show, What Chilli Wants, she would reveal having regretted the decision.^[9] Thomas and Austin continued their relationship, and would later become the parents of a son, Tron, born on June 2 in 1997. Following Thomas' breakup with Austin, she became involved with singer Usher Raymond (and was featured in his music videos for "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad.") The couple broke up in January 2004. She also markets a line of handbags titled, Bags by Chilli.^[10]

Discography

Main article: TLC discography

Albums

• 2009: Bi-Polar (shelved)

Singles

• 2008: "Dumb Dumb Dumb"

Featured singles

• 2009: "Let's Just Do It" (Lisa Lopes featuring Missy Elliott and TLC)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} MSN (2008). "Chilli". MSN. http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16227479&. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
2. ^ Jenkins, Sacha (2002). Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism. HarperCollins. pp. 74. ISBN 0-060-98896-7. 
3. ^ Christopher John Farley (2008). "The Spicier Girls". Time magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,20611,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
4. ^ RIAA Top 100 Certified Artists
5. ^ Die Deutschen Trend Charts
6. ^ CHILLI'S NEW SINGLE HAS 'INK' ALL OVER IT: Written by Cri$tyle, 'Dumb, Dumb, Dumb' sparks controversy.
7. ^ "More Sober House, Fit Club, Pepa And Chilli On The Way From VH1!". vh1.com. 2009-06-29. http://blog.vh1.com/2009-06-29/more-sober-house-fit-club-pepa-and-chilli-on-the-way-from-vh1/. Retrieved 2009-10-19. 
8. ^ http://www.singersroom.com/news/5816/Chilli-Granted-Second-Season-Shot-At-Love
9. ^ http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10051404.html
10. ^ Official Bags by Chilli Website

External links

• Rozonda Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Rozonda Thomas on Myspace

Persondata
Name	Thomas, Rozonda "Chilli"
Alternative names	Thomas, Rozonda Ocelean
Short description	Singer/Actress
Date of birth	February 27, 1971
Place of birth	Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death