MTV News spoke with T.I. about his new album, T.I. vs T.I.P., due out in July. Among the names he’s working with this time around are Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Danja (Timbaland protégé Nate Hills), Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Wyclef, Nelly, Lil’ Wayne, R. Kelly, Ciara, and Just Blaze. “I’m not just making an album, I’m making f—in’ opera here,” he said.

T.I. is also expecting a baby girl this July with longtime girlfriend Tameka “Tiny” Cottle. It will be T.I.’s and Tiny second child together. The two were even engaged, but have recently decided to amicably end their long relationship and remain friends. “She’s still a part of my life,” he explained the turn their relationship has taken. “I love her to death. Her children is still my children, my children are still her children,” he said (both have kids from previous relationships). “We want each other to be happy. It’s nothing she did and it’s nothing I did.”