Timbaland
Shock Value

Rating: 4/5
Tracks to download: “Give it to Me,” One and Only”
For fans of: Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, the new fresh sound of hiphop

What do Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and the Pussycat Dolls have in common? Besides vague caucasian ancestry, these three pop stars are among the many that benefited from the brilliant mind of visionary hip hop producer Timbaland over the course of the past twelve months.

You may remember Nelly Furtado as the waifish songstress proclaiming her aversion to commercialism and expounding upon her similarities to a bird. In reality though, you probably remember her as the slutty girl in the video for “Promiscuous.” Like Timberlake before her, Furtado made the transition from being a docile white person to an edgy, suave, almost black person; somewhere along the journey, the two became the most successful acts of the last year and legitimate superstars in their own right.

The credit for this goes to the burly mustache writhing next to Furtado in the video for “Promiscuous,” Timothy Mosley, more fittingly christened Timbaland in reference to the iconic, eponymous footwear.

A producer since 1990, Timbaland was until lately most famous for his frequent collaborations with childhood friend Missy Elliott. A detractor of the hip hop norm of the sample, Timbaland’s instantly recognizable aural style revolves around the repetition of a slick, short, synthesized hook (think of the intro to “SexyBack” or the loop on Elliot’s “Work It”) and a thumping bassline. The Timbaland style is so sharp and successful that he can no doubt be considered one of the most important figures in pop music, producing two huge hits for both Furtado and Timberlake in the last year (“My Love” and “Say It Right” included).

With “Shock Value,” Timbaland attempts his own journey to superstar status and fails. He does, however, continue to produce a menagerie of tight tracks and a superior album. His lukewarm attempts at rapping (usually in the general boast manner) and comic vocal effects do not enhance this album. Rather, they are a stain to something so pure and good that it seems ill-advised even to attempt it; just like that time Michael Jordan tried to play baseball or that time Lindsay Lohan’s boobs decided they wanted to sing.

Any Timbaland album is a party and everyone’s invited, and there are exactly zero songs which allot Tim solo rapping time, though he gets his shots in almost every track. For the record, Timbaland’s much hyped battle with fellow revolutionary producer Scott Storch is characterized by equally puzzling verses on both sides; it is kind of like watching two boxers trying to sort out their differences by having their wives brawl.

Furtado, Timberlake, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, The Hives and indie synth rockers She Wants Revenge are all on board, doing their damndest to keep up with the glory that is a produced Timbaland track. Timbaland has the innate ability to bring out humor and clever self awareness in all his collaborators. Furtado, who typically sounds like she has a booger stuck in her nose, is in her element on leadoff single “Give it To Me” and FOB gets a little badass with some fist-pumping handclaps on “One and Only.”

The bottom line is that every single song could be a huge commercial success, and they fit together sonically like Russian dolls on “Shock Value.” So, listeners: cop this disc immediately because I think it’s really cool. And, Timbaland: stick to your guns. They’re pretty good guns.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.