Remaining group members Rozonda Thomas and Tionne Watkins enlisted Dallas Austin, Babyface, Rodney Jerkins, the Neptunes, Raphael Saadiq, Missy Elliott and Timbaland to work on the album.

During and after the release of TLC's third studio album, FanMail (1999), Lopes made it known to the press on multiple occasions that she felt that she was unable to fully express herself working with the group.

Things were heated between the women for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless".

During this time period, Thomas had begun working on a solo project until she realized that rumors of TLC's demise had taken over in the media.

It was then that Thomas made a call to LaFace label-head L.A. Reid to discuss working on TLC's fourth studio album.

In April 2002, as Watkins' condition improved greatly, Lopes went to Honduras to do missionary work and also record a documentary film about her life.

Watkins and Thomas decided that they would complete the remainder of their fourth album, to be called 3D, which featured production from Rodney Jerkins, the Neptunes, Raphael Saadiq, Missy Elliott and Timbaland.

"[14] Billboard magazine found that "with 3D, TLC has crafted a fitting tribute to a departed sister", calling it "a nearly perfect collection.

"[15] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly remarked that "thanks to such hired guns as the Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins, TLC have made a better post-tragedy album than expected.

"[1] Rolling Stone writer Barry Walters concluded that "the album isn't the romp it might have been had Lopes survived, but 3D solidly embodies black pop in a year in which it has lacked a center.

[16] Selling 143,000 copies, it sold less than half of the first-week total scored by previous album FanMail (1999), which had opened at number one on the chart with 318,000 units.

[16] On December 10, 2002, 3D was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million copies.