j-cole-tlc

He enlisted Missy Elliott for his debut, and now J. Cole is calling on another iconic act for Born Sinner. The Roc Nation rapper has collaborated with TLC on his sophomore album.

During an interview with Fuse, Cole revealed that the R&B duo will be featured on the follow-up to his 2011 debut Cole World: The Sideline Story.

“I wanted to go with my favorites and then have them do the things that I love them for doing,” said Cole. “Like Missy Elliott on ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ sounds like Missy Elliott in the ’90s. It’s not like we try to go do something that’s not her. She’s doing what I loved her for. Same with TLC. They doing what I loved them for. Those are incredible features. TLC, that’s like a blessing even having them. That’s crazy.”

He recorded with T-Boz and Chilli separately.

“I got T-Boz in L.A. She came out to the studio. I got her part. And I got Chilli in Atlanta. Just an incredible experience getting them there.”

Born Sinner will contain other guests, but no rappers.

“There’s no rap features on the album. Nobody else other than J. Cole is rapping on the album, but there’s some great features,” he said.

TLC has also worked with Cole on their first album since 2003’s 3D.

Earlier this week, Cole announced that Born Sinner will drop a week earlier on June 18 to compete directly with Kanye West’s Yeezus.