TLC Wins Big With Kickstarter, Will Begin Recording Their Final LP

In a victory for R&B fans everywhere, TLC ended a massively successful Kickstarter campaign this week, hitting a final donation total of $430,000. That sum will go toward funding the writing, recording and release of their fifth LP--which will also be their last. Originally set with the more-modest goal of $150,000 (making records is never cheap, you know), the duo of Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas and Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins received a massive outpouring of support artists and industry figures that were thrilled at the prospect of finally hearing the next/last chapter in the TLC story.

The LP, which be TLC's first since releasing 3D only months after Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez's tragic death in 2002, is expected to be released later this year. After the campaign closed yesterday, the group wrote a heartfelt thank you message to their fans and financial backers, which you can read in full below:

Hey Y’all. When we set out on this mission, we didn’t know what expect. Over the course of the past month, we have been shocked, surprised, moved and touched EVERY SINGLE DAY by ALL OF YOU. We woke up every morning, and went to bed every evening thinking about you guys. Thank you so, so much to the #TLCARMY for all of your support over the past month. Y'all came through in a HUGE WAY. We are so blessed and inspired. Seeing Y’alls reaction in the past 48 hours has given us more inspiration than we could imagine for our final album. We couldn’t stop checking our page throughout this campaign, especially in the last 24 hours. You have touched our hearts and our souls with your love and support. We will never forget this. Can't wait to give you guys the BEST ALBUM possible.

In case you missed it on facebook, check out Chilli’s HEART FELT THANKS.

“When we started this kickstarter campaign we had no idea how AMAZING our fans would be in helping us reach our goal and BEYOND! I am blown away by the love we've received from fans and other artists that we have so much respect and love for. I want everyone to know that EVERY pledge was a blessing regardless of the amount. You've allowed us to once again follow our dreams and create an album that we can be proud to share with our fans. Words can't express how thankful I am and how blessed I feel to be a part of this group. TLC Meant2Be!” - Chilli

Billboard reported that the extra funding will be used to bring in the most talented producers and writers available, which means that we can expect more than a perfunctory victory lap effort from Chilli and T-Boz. Already attached is veteran producer Ron Fair, who told Billboard "The return of TLC is surrounded by incredible positivity. The entire creative community of artists, producers and songwriters is invited to the celebration." It's all music to our eager ears--expect for OKP to be bringing you news of new TLC singles soon.