Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC - N.I.N.A.: New Identity Non-Applicable [Unreleased, 2002]

Complete collection of known songs recorded a little before and during the era of slain one-third diamond-selling R&B girl group TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ shelved, unfinished second solo album “N.I.N.A.: New Identity Non-Applicable” (2002).

The project is rumored to have entered production as early as the fourth quarter of 2001, following the upsetting last-minute decision by her previous label in shelving Lopes’ solo debut album “Supernova” (2001) in the states. Around this time, Lopes had migrated to deceased hip-hop giant 2Pac’s home label Death Row Records, where she had composed moderate quantities of musical material in composition of the debut’s follow-up, tentatively titled “N.I.N.A.: New Identity Non-Applicable”.

Lopes had then adopted a different stage name (N.I.N.A.) and showcased her new look during a January 22, 2002 taping on BET’s ‘106 & Park’ with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. It is believed circa the early break of spring that Lopes wanted to recruit big names on the album, most notably pop icon David Bowie. However, further plans failed to materialize, when on April 25, 2002, Lisa was killed in an automobile wreck during her overseas spiritual retreat in Honduras.

Following her death, labelmate Kurupt took to ‘MTV News’ to reveal that he and producers from his camp would finish the album by recruiting additional help from Lisa’s contemporaries, specifically Missy Elliott, whom Kurupt noted that she and Lopes had a “tight bond” and it would make sense to add her as a producer or feature since they were “real close” prior to Lopes’ passing.

Suge Knight would later come forward to relay that he had plans to finish the album in due time and ready its release sometime in October 2002; however, due to unspecified reasons, the CD never came out as promised.

Fans would not get much of an update on the project until 2011 when a rare CD-R pressing of the project circulated online and then finally leak in full 6 years later coincidentally on the 15th anniversary of Lisa’s passing. It remains unknown if the direction of the album was to be truly a remixed form of “Supernova” featuring her Death Row peers, or if it was to follow a totally different route.

Track-listing is as follows:

1.) N.I.N.A. (Intro)

2.) Block Party (feat. Eastwood & Alicia “4Bia” Cherry)

3.) Life (feat. Danny Boy & Eastwood)

4.) Universal Quest (feat. Esthero & Crooked I)

5.) Let Me Live (feat. Crooked I)

6.) Rags 2 Riches (feat. Kurupt)

7.) Untouchable, Part 2 (feat. 2Pac)

8.) I Believe In Me

9.) Hot Lanta (feat. Kurupt & Juvenile)

10.) Tru Confessions (feat. Angela Hunte)

11.) Too Street 4 T.V. (feat. Danny Boy)

12.) Let ‘Em Have It (feat. 2Pac)

13.) Friends (feat. Danny Boy, Kurupt & Cassandra of Changing Faces)

14.) Cherry, Cherry (feat. Drick) [**]

15.) Ease Back (feat. D.R.I.P. da Gumph) [**]

16.) What’s Up (Unfinished Official 1998 Remix) ft. DeDe O’Neal [**]

17.) Too Street 4 T.V. (Original Mix) ft. Ray J

18.) Crush on You (introducing Ejypt) [*]

[*] = denotes track being the definite final recording in Left Eye’s lifetime; session took place in Honduras circa April 2002.

[**] = denotes track(s) rumored to be part of Left Eye's very first unreleased solo project "Fantasy1.com" (1998).