Jamal Lopes is best known as the son of Lisa Nicole Lopes, aka Left Eye. Left Eye was a talented rapper and singer, and without her efforts, the R&B girls group TLC would not have existed.
Left Eye won four Grammy awards, among many other accolades, thanks to her work with TLC. However, she was not only a success on stage but also a great mom. In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about one of the two kids she left behind, Jamal Lopes.
Who Is Jamal Lopes, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’s Son?
Jamal Lopes is the son of the now-late Lisa Nicole Lopes. He is one of the two kids Lisa adopted while alive, and he was 12 when she took him in. His mother was a beloved performer best remembered as a core R&B girl group TLC member, alongside Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.
Not much is known about Jamal’s early life as he has not been forthcoming with information. However, we do know something of his roots. His maternal grandparents are Wanda Denise, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes Sr., a US Army staff sergeant.
He also has an uncle, Ronald Jr., and an aunt, Raina Anitra (nicknamed Reigndrop). Since Jamal lives such a private life, his age, as well as his date of birth, have remained unknown.
He seems to avoid social media as he has no accounts, and publicity never finds him until his iconic mother is discussed. As such, it is also unknown whether he or his sibling has welcomed any of Lisa’s grandkids.
Jamal Lopes Sibling
Lisa adopted two kids, including Jamal, while she lived. The first child she adopted was a girl named Snow Lopes. She was eight years old at the time of adoption.
The late rapper adopted Snow after spending time in rehab. Her stint at the facility was a court-mandated sentence she received after she mistakenly set fire to the mansion she shared with Andre Rison in 1994.
Lisa was arrested. However, she claimed there was only a fire because Rison had assaulted her after a night out, and she had tried to burn his sneakers as revenge. The fire got out of control, and she was slammed with five years of probation and an alcohol treatment program.
Lisa met a struggling mother in rehab, and their interaction impacted her deeply. When she left the facility, she chose to adopt the mother’s daughter, and that’s how she became an adoptive mom to Snow Lopes. The detailed story behind her adopting Snow was featured in the emotional documentary “The Last Days of Left Eye.”
Jamal Lopes’ Mother
Lisa Lopes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 27, 1971. She was born to an Army Staff sergeant and a seamstress.
Her father was reportedly a “very strict, very domineering” man. Still, he was also a “talented musician” who played the harmonica, clarinet, piano, and saxophone – a talent he passed on to Lisa.
When her parents divorced, Lisa started living with her paternal grandmother. As a child of five, she had already developed an interest in music and was often messing around with a toy keyboard.
By age 10, she was already composing songs and later got her siblings to form a musical trio called “The Lopes Kids” with her. As a band, they sang gospel songs at local events and churches.
When she got older, Lisa moved to Atlanta to audition for an open cast call for a new girl group. However, she ended up forming a female band she called 2nd Nature. It was this group that later became TLC.
The group name was derived from the first initials of its members: Tionne Watkins, Lisa Lopes, and Crystal Jones. Lisa was one of the predominant creative forces behind the group, and she received more co-writing credits than the others.
She also handled many aspects of the group, including outfit design, staging, etc. Lisa won up to four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC. She also had a solo career, releasing the singles “Not Tonight” and “U Know What’s Up.” She also got featured on several singles.
Lisa Lopes Death
Jamal Lopes’s mother died on April 25, 2002, in a car accident in Roma, Honduras. She had been driving a rented Mitsubishi SUV when she lost control of the car.
According to the police, she was driving at around 85 mph, and the SUV veered off the road before turning over several times. Lisa was ejected from the vehicle and died from head and chest wounds at the scene.
Other famous faces like Lisa, who passed away tragically due to a car accident, include Paul Walker, Princess Diana, and Leslie Jordan.
