TLC GapFill

The music industry and wider media industries have a history of  categorisingunder-representingmanipulatingundermining or misrepresenting  BAMEfemaleyoungerhomosexual artists. For example, the popular music video channel  MTVFuseBBCKerrang! was criticised for neglecting to showcase videos including people of colour throughout the early 1980s. 'Billie Jean' by  Michael JacksonTina TurnerChuck BerryPrince was the first video by a black artist to be broadcast on wide circulation. This undeniably had a huge effect on the promotion of music by artists of colour in the industry. TLC continued to pave the way for positive representations of BAME music artists, winning  threefouronesix MTV Music awards for 'Waterfalls', including the award for  Best choreographyBest pop videoVideo of the yearSong of the year. TLC were the first African American act to receive this award. TLC’s back catalogue of music videos predominantly features African-American performers and extras, making them significant role models for young people across the world. The band took their responsibility as role models further when they released their video for 'Waterfalls'. There is a troubling history of African-American women being  activelyselectivelystereotypicallypassively represented as either aggressive or exotically sexual in the media. The band members combat this stereotype by dressing in fluid, cartoonish clothing, interacting with each other in a fun and supportive way and by tackling serious social issues such as  police brutalitygun crimeunemploymentbullying in urban areas of America and the breakout of  swine fluEbolaHIVmeningitis. It was considered effectively  passivelystereotypicallycountertypicalactively to show three women of colour expressing such important issues in a mainstream music video.  Alesha DixonCherylNicole ScherzingerBeyoncé, the lead singer of girl group  Destiny’s ChildGirls AloudSpice GirlsLittle Mix, claimed that she had been hugely influenced by TLC as inspiring women of colour.