New Music: TLC - 'American Gold'

TLC shines on with “American Gold,” the newest single from their forthcoming final album.

Over haunting piano keys, T-Boz and Chilli sing about tragedies and death. “I think none of us are safe,” sings T-Boz. “We’ve been in and out the race / Cries, they echo into space / Tragedies we have to face.”

Together, they continue: “I lost some friends, some friends that I didn’t want to / I lost some stars, my heart bleeds red, white, and blue / I’ve been in and out of the fire battling for you / Bleeding on American soil.”

“American Gold” follows “Haters” and the Snoop Dogg-assisted “Way Back” off their final album, TLC, which is due June 30.

To go along with the new song, T-Boz and Chilli also linked up for an interview with “Nightline.” During the career-spanning Q&A, the duo talked about what it was like to lose Left Eye in 2002, when they dropped their last album, 3D.

“When I would talk about her, I would speak like she was still here,” said Chilli. “I couldn’t speak about her in past tense. I couldn’t do it. It’s always going to be a sore spot for us because that was our sister.”

Since then, T-Boz has also struggled through health conditions, battling sickle cell anemia for many years and a more recent brain tumor that threatened her livelihood.

“I lost my sight, my speech, my hearing, and my balance,” she explained. “That’s everything I do with my job. You either have a choice to sit there, woe is me, or get up and fight. I chose to fight.”

Now, they’re back. After dropping their final album, TLC is going on tour. Their “I Love the ’90s: The Party Continues” jaunt kicks off July 7 with Naughty By Nature, Biz Markie, Montell Jordan, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, and more.