Jodeci’s Mr. Dalvin is asking fans to keep TLC star T-Boz in their prayers after the singer recently missed a performance because of a reported sickle cell flare-up.
Dalvin DeGrate, who has known Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins since the 1990s, shared an emotional message for his longtime friend Tuesday, asking his followers to pray for her recovery.
“I’m asking you, everybody, under the sound of my voice, to ask God to touch her and heal her, that she may have a speedy recovery,” DeGrate said in an Instagram video.
He also asked fans to send Watkins strength and peace as she deals with the latest health setback.
“We all love you and we all appreciate you,” DeGrate said directly to T-Boz.
His message came days after Watkins was absent from TLC’s Aug. 27 concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York. Her groupmate Chilli performed without her.
Chilli told concertgoers that Watkins was experiencing a sickle cell flare-up. Some of T-Boz’s vocals were reportedly played through prerecorded tracks during the performance.
Watkins has lived with sickle cell disease since childhood and has spoken publicly about the condition throughout her career.
Sickle cell disease can cause red blood cells to become rigid and obstruct blood flow, potentially leading to severe pain and other complications. Crises can last for hours or days and, in some cases, require hospitalization.
T-Boz has also experienced other significant health challenges. In 2024, she was hospitalized with an abdominal blockage caused by scar tissue from a previous surgery. She later clarified that the condition was unrelated to her sickle cell disease.
Despite those challenges, Watkins has continued performing with TLC for more than three decades.
The group remains one of the most influential R&B acts of its generation, having sold more than 65 million records and won four Grammy Awards.
DeGrate and Watkins’ friendship dates back to the 1990s, when TLC and Jodeci were both emerging as major forces in R&B. The two have maintained their connection over the years and have also collaborated and teased future music together.
For now, however, details about Watkins’ current condition remain limited.
Neither T-Boz nor TLC has publicly provided additional details about the flare-up, and there has been no confirmation that she was hospitalized or when she will return to the stage.
Until then, Mr. Dalvin’s message is clear: He wants fans to stand behind his longtime friend and keep T-Boz in their thoughts and prayers.
