TLC, No Scrubs | Bangerz N Bopz 🔥

In the 48th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2025), we highlight “No Scrubs” performed by Grammy-winning girl group TLC.  

Bring on the bold, fierce songs! Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 serves up background info and insight into songs of various styles, especially songs that raise eyebrows and stir the pot.  Featured records can be classic or brand new. In the 48^th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2025), we break down “No Scrubs” performed by TLC.

“No, I don’t want no scrub / A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me / Hangin’ out the passenger side of his best friend’s ride / Tryna holla at me.” Ooh-wee! Preach ladies! Grammy-winning Atlanta R&B/hip-hop girl group TLC – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (1970 – ), Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes (1971 – 2002), and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas (1971 – ) – was a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s.  Among their best and most popular songs is “No Scrubs”, the fifth track from their 1999 album, Fanmail. Fanmail, which won the Grammy for Best R&B Album at the 42^nd Annual Grammy Awards, was also nominated for Album Of The Year.  As for “No Scrubs,” it won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for the prestigious Record of the Year. “No Scrubs” spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Take one listen, and you’ll understand instantly why it shot up the charts! In 2020, it was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. This song right here – DEFINITELY a big deal! Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs, Kandi (Kandi Burruss), and Tameka “Tiny” Harris wrote “No Scrubs.” Briggs also produced it.

The premise is simple, though. TLC aren’t messing around, lame-ass guys who ain’t ‘bout shit – pardon my French! Chilli handles the lead vocals, characterizing and defining the scrub perfectly in the first verse. “A scrub is a guy that thinks he’s fly / And is also known as a busta / Always talkin’ ‘bout what he wants / And just sits on his broke ass.” Damn! The truth hurts, doesn’t it? The sentiment is similar in the second verse, where she memorably asserts, “Can’t get with a deadbeat ass.” True dat! In the pre-chorus, she refuses to take his number or give hers! To quote Linda Ronstadt, “You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good / Baby, you’re no good”. T-Boz sings alongside Chilli in the chorus, excerpted earlier, with Left Eye credited with additional vocals.  There is also the bridge, where Chilli states the dealbreakers – red flags 🚩 she won’t dare entertain.  No car, lives with mama, has a girlfriend he treats poorly, and has no money, it’s a NO GO 💯! Beyond the lyrics and fabulous vocals by Chilli in particular, “No Scrubs” thrives thanks to its sleek, hip-hop-infused, contemporary R&B sound.  Late ‘90s to the core of its sound, this gem sounds refreshing listening back in the 2020s.  Also, how many pop and R&B artists have sought to recapture the glorious sound of the ‘90s in the ‘20s? Many of them! Irreplaceable, “No Scrubs” is one of those once-in-a-lifetime songs that will never not slap. Also, many folks need to heed the group’s sound advice!