Chilli said TLC didn't get Rolling Stone cover because Black artists "didn't sell really well"

Even though their heyday was around three decades ago (take a deep breath), pop/R&B trio TLC is still very much a household name. Not only are they one of the best-selling girl groups of all time (per RIAA), but they also have multiple gold-standard karaoke hits to their name in “Waterfalls,” “Creep,” and obviously “No Scrubs.” They even indirectly gave us this iconic moment from We’re The Millers that alone should have netted them some sort of award.

Still, the band didn’t get all of the flowers they deserved at the height of their popularity. In her acceptance speech for TLC’s Legacy Award at Variety’s recent Power Of Women luncheon, band member Chilli took the time to acknowledge some of the unfair treatment the group received as women of color in the music industry.

“When you are a woman of color, it’s real hard—it’s a huge struggle,” she said. “I’ll always remember when ‘No Scrubs’ came out and it was actually our first number one… I always wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine… we didn’t get the cover. I won’t say who [got the cover], it’s okay because he deserved it too but we also did. The message was ‘the last time we had someone Black on the cover, it didn’t really sell well.’”

She continued: “I have to say that just because you hear many ‘nos’ does not mean that you don’t have the talent because you do—we never stopped believing in ourselves and each other.”

Despite these past snubs, the group is certainly being celebrated now. Not only have they announced a headlining summer tour with Shaggy, but Lifetime is also currently producing a documentary about the group titled TLC Forever that will include interviews with both Chilli and bandmate T-Boz (third trio member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes died in 2002), as well as Questlove, Missy Elliot and others (per Variety). The documentary will premiere June 3. You can watch the full trailer below.