Timbaland & Pharrell Praise Each Other Beats (Video)
Virginiaâs own Pharrell and Timbaland are two of rapâs most important producers, having made songs for Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and countless others. So itâs only right that the pair respect and admire each otherâs work.
During an OTHERtone panel that took place at Pharrellâs inaugural Something in the Water music festival, the two went back and forth highlighting songs from each otherâs production catalog.
Timbaland & The Neptunes, Teddy Riley, Pusha T (OTHERtone Episode 53)
Recorded in front of a live studio audience at Pharrellâs community festival â SOMETHING IN THE WATER, OTHERtone welcomes Virginia Beach-natives Chad Hugo, Pusha T, and Timbaland, as well as music legend, Teddy Riley.
Pharrell, Push, Chad and Timbaland discuss growing up together, meeting Teddy in Virginia Beach, and why the SOMETHING IN THE WATER festival is so important for their hometown.
Timbaland, Pusha T & The Neptunes (SITW Fest 2019 Panel)
Photos by R. Ostermaier. OTHERtone came to Virginia Beach with a panel featuring The Neptunes, Teddy Riley, Timbaland, and Pusha T. Pharrell Williamstalked about the importance of bringing the Something In The Water Festival to Virginia Beach. âBlack students did not come here to cause trouble, and we still want the HBCUs to come here. Itâs not just music, itâs business, the community, the religious leaders, and itâs an inspiration. Music is the thread that connects it all. How long does a horse looks at itself in the water and sees itself and sees its strengths? This is VA and itâs time. The world is gonna see VA for the first time.â
The experience became an incredibly engaging moment for attendees who had the opportunity to sing and rap in front of these incredibly successful musical tastemakers. One audience member had a demo reel of her work as a producer on a USB and offered it up for a listen and Timbaland took the USB and placed it in his pocket. Teddy Riley says, âPharrell is the new chapterâ when it comes to the evolution of how the music industry is changing. That certainly rings true to what Pharrell has done with SITW. Independent artists donât have to travel to New York or Los Angeles to âmake it bigâ, instead they can be inspired by the stories shared by these local powerhouses to make it on their own right in their backyard. Teddy Riley was an inspiration for Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo who both attended Princess Anne High School just a few blocks away from Teddy Rileyâsrecording studio. Pharrell says, âTeddy Riley was the guy that brought Micheal Jackson to Virginia. The biggest change in the industry is independence. Today any person can go online and express themselves. I enjoy the independence of putting stuff online and it goes to the masses.â said Pharrell. âI knew The Neptunes were so far ahead of their time itâs like they were on Mars. You have a sound, you have to name it. After you create a sound give it a name so you can have a genre to self. If you donât look like your music, it wonât connect.â says Teddy Riley.
When each of the artists was asked by Scott Vener, about new Virginia-based artists that impress them, Timbaland adds âYoung Crazy has some good music out thereâ. Timbaland also added that when it comes to visual art in music, he doesnât see the design, he only sees colors. Michael Chad and Pretty Boy are VA-based artists that Teddy Riley likes. Chad Hugo replied he wasnât certain, and instead asked the crowd directly if there was anyone present worth listening to â allowing the crowd to shoot their shot and audition in front of the panel.
The experience became an incredibly engaging moment for attendees who had the opportunity to sing and rap in front of these incredibly successful musical tastemakers. One audience member had a demo reel of her work as a producer on a USB and offered it up for a listen and Timbaland took the USB and placed it in his pocket. Teddy Riley says, âPharrell is the new chapterâ when it comes to the evolution of how the music industry is changing. That certainly rings true to what Pharrell has done with SITW. Independent artists donât have to travel to New York or Los Angeles to âmake it bigâ, instead they can be inspired by the stories shared by these local powerhouses to make it on their own right in their backyard.
I havenât seen my brother Magoo in more than like seven years. Itâs so great to be back in VA!!! @somethinginthewater is going to be real special today. #sitwfest
Timbaland Won't allow you to deny his genius. Tonight he's sprawled out sleepy on couch in Studio 4 of NYCs famed Manhattan dia-mond-studded watch that periodically peeks out from under his modest threads and catches your eye, he could go easily unnoticed. And in this rare case, he may want to be anonymous. He's been working around the clock on a number of projects, including his third LP "Indecent Proposal" So rest time is is scarce. Some might debate whether his cockiness is warranted, but no one can contest Timbaland's Achievements, Since 1996 his music has made household names out of Aaliyah, Missy Elliott and Ginuwine and helped sustain the careers of MCs like Jay-Z and Nas. The quixotic beatsmith closed the millennium with more hits than AOL , the beats of the talented Mr. Mosley soon became the foundation for most of the music dominating the airwaves in the late 90's. crickets and triple time drums because as common on radio as static on a 45 if imitation is the sincerest from flatery, Tim is way overdue for a swelled head. the former DJ from Virginia who stood in the shadow of Jodeci's DeVante back in the day believes he's now ready for his own pedestal , And he has strong case After all, neither hip-hop, pop nor R&B can really claim him exclusive.His triple-time synchopated style has had more imitators than Elvis And Tupac.
I heard that you walk around with a bank of sounds you created on a disc, Do you play any instruments or does it all come from your head?
I fiddle with a little bit of everything butI don't play. and I don't wanna learn how to play cause I might lose my touch. I don't know nuthin' bout writing music. I can hear everything by ear. I might play couple lil' chords but I know tone like a mug. It might be too articulate insted of me finding something and say"That's all".
Magoo took a lot of heat from critics for everything from his voice to his rhyme skills. Do you thing he's stepped up this time around?
Magoo is ready to shock a lot of people..i had people come into my sessions that didn't like him, and now when I play a couple of songs, they say he's okay. We just had fun this time Magoo trying to make a living being the best rapper he can be. you can't hate him for that . Black people hate too much, you won't find no white kids saying that Backstreet Boys album was wack, even though I know there are seven wack songs on there, We've sold a million and a half records as a group me and Magoo. Y'all ain't gotta like everything we do but give it a shot.
Your friend Pharrell makes a lot of political Statements on the new N.E.R.D. project.Do you ever think about things like commitment to the culture or resposibility as a musician? I'm not into it that deep, All other stuff is extracurricular Once I'm out, I'm out My Kids can say "Daddy you was in that?" and I can say I was Right now makin' beats is a job. I do love music, But at certain point, you care less who buy it 'cause you make it for you. But you can't get into all [Politics] that stuff will kill ya.
With the seeming lack of recognition from peers and industry people, what keeps you going? The fans i just wanna thank all Of the women saying they love my beats. Dudes came after but hated at first. I knew I was hot when I had girls paying attention to my beats. What female you know pay attention to beats? I used to be a DJ and been in music all my life and I ain't never hear a girl say they like a beat before me. They say they like a song. Now they say that beat , So I gotta give this article back to the people 'cause they a real big fan of mine 'cause this is a job just like McDonald's and I don't wanna get laid off.
There Have been a lot of Timbaland Copycats over the years Is it because it's cheaper to mimic you than to hire you? I'm High as Crap. I'm so high [priced] amaze myself. People don't even ask me no more. I don't like producing outside my camp. I don't wanna make record companies no hits no more. Hits is boring to me I'm on a new page. I gotta get back to that. The only person that can get something from me anytime.
Why do you call your album Indecent Proposal? I'm a Master at all games. Any dice you wanna roll, be prepared to pay me cause you gonna lose. I called this album "Indecent Proposal" cause I bet you a million dollars you gonna like it.
You seem to draw upon influences outside Hip Hop, whether R&B or whatever,Is there anything in hip hop that really moves you to wanna create? I don't even listen to rap music, Rock people influenced me. the only hip hop album that ever influenced me was Dr.Dre 2001, The way it was mixed . how the songs flowed then it was Stankonia. Thatput a little smile in my heart . There's a lot of creativity going on on that album. The rest of em out there is just records.
People say you got your style from jungle and drum 'n' bass.Is that true? Man, I didn't know nothin' bout no drum'n' bass. I hadn't even been to london back then.
But can you see how people madr the comparison?
Naw, man, that mess was fast! Mine had more rhythem, more syncopated.
Where do you see yourself in relationship to other producers like Dr.Dre? Me and Dre are like the movie Devil's Advocate, where he's the devil and I'm Keanu Reeves. He's Daddy looking down over Son. We shouldn't be in a category with other producers. We are official producers, We gotbig-title belts I hate when people try to compare me to people that are my friends, like the Neptunes or Swizz Beatz. I hate that. These are young Black men trying to do their thing .I do feel that me and Dre and Jermaine Dupri are separate, though I say ''Us'' because we know how to break an act . Teddy is Poppa Don. Im not saying he's out of The game , but he's on the same wavelength . I say Jermaine is over me because hes been doing it since he was young. He's broke new acts and had hits. Then it comes me. You can't forget about puff, Y'all might've talked about him sampling, but how many people sampled the same thing he sampled and didn't work? Like that ''One More Chance'' Remix. I heard that before he used it on Big but he made it work , I can't explain to you what the formula is. But we know it when we hear it in our heads like, ''BLING!'' there it is.
Does that ''Bling'' have anything to do with why you consider yourself a genius? Anytime I got people from overseas dancing, I'm Mozart. A lot of people know how to play and still can't make beats as dope as me. I can tell a girl what to sing and how to sing it. I can write a hook off the top of my head. I just love what I do It's a musical gift that god gave me . "Is that Your Chick" is a year and half old and look how it sound today? "Pony'' was three years old when it came out. What does that tell you?
It seems like producers are getting more light these days than ever. Still, is it enough? I just feel like producing is such a hard thing. There's always a newcomer, but you don't hear about the newcomer after a certain number of songs . The Neptunes are peeps. I used to be in a group with them . and they from my hometown, But I don't want the puplic to look at then just for now and not tomorrow. Don't just pay attention to them when they've got a hit record Just because we do a song with Jay-Z, We get attention. Thats bogus.
A lot of People who hire you also use DJ Premier [Jay-Z, Lox, Nas]. Why do you think that is? You gotta go back to Premier. He's the ghetto king. I think his perfect match in heaven was Biggie. That was his magical artist, Big and Premier had something special. O could do the dirty, grimy records. I could go back on a Roland 808, But Premier got that on lock.
Producer Timbaland Revamped Hip-Hop Now He Wants Out!
In Less Than A Decade Timbaland (aka Tim Mosley) Has Amassed dozens of hit Records as A Producer And/Or Songwriter. He is also Performing artist, engineer, remixer, and Head Of A Record Label, The Interscope-distuributed BeatClub Records.
Now Timbaland Says He is Planning to eventually walk Away From The Music Business; He Candidly talked about Why and Provided Other thoughts on The Music Industry.
What Are The Biggest Problems Facing the Music Industry today, and What Are the Solutions? There's Too Much Being developed at once. there's new software, new music and new programs that come out too quickly. By the time something new comes out, people are ready to move on to the next thing The "Instant-Hit" [Mentality] can mean instant failure. I wish the record companies would put more effort into artist development.
You've Said That You Want to Walk Away From Hip-Hop. Why? It's not just Hip-Hop. I want to walk away from music, period. To me, the music business is too saturated, and there's too much politics with the record companies and radio. I'm not walking away right away, I'm about to totally change my whole image in 2004, It's Going to Shock People.
If Hip-Hop has Become Boring, What Kind Of Music Excites You? I Like Coldplay -- that's real music to me. I like what the Neptunes are doing, But after a while, everything sounds the same. Even my Stuff.
What Are The Most Important Things You've Learned? Then most important thing I;ve learned is to always have that ambition to keep fresh and always challenge yourself. I'm always competing with myself.
Justin Timberlake has released Man of the Woods, his fifth studio LP and his first since 2013's The 20/20 Experience â 2 of 2. The album features production from The Neptunes, Timbaland and Danja, According to the pop singer, the new album is heavily inspired by his son, his wife, his family Over the course of the albumâs 16 tracks, Timberlake is collaborating withAlicia Keys, and country music star Chris Stapleton. Among the early singles were âFilthyâ, âSuppliesâ, and âSay Somethingâ.
The release comes just days before Timberlake headlines the 2018 Super Bowl Halftime show. In support of Man of the Woods, heâll also embark on a North American tour beginning next month. Grab tickets here.
Man of the Woods Tracklist:
1. Filthy (Timbaland + Danja) 2. Midnight Summer Jam 3. Sauce (Timbaland + Danja) 4. Man of the Woods 5. Higher, Higher 6. Wave 7. Supplies 8. Morning Light feat. Alicia Keys 9. Say Something feat. Chris Stapleton (Timbaland + Danja) 10. Hers (Interlude) 11. Flannel 12. Montana 13. Breeze Off the Pond 14. Livinâ Off the Land 15. The Hard Stuff 16. Young Man (Timbaland + Jroc)
Justin Timberlakeâs 2nd Single from Man of the Woods, titled âSupplies,â has just debuted!, The music video features Mexican Actress Eiza GonzĂĄlez and Pharrell Williams.
JT reuniting with The Neptunes on production, and follows the lead single âFilthy.â Man of the Woods drops February 2nd.
in the spirit of reunion implied by JT's gram, Danja is back in the fold now and he, along with Timbaland, is behind the boards for our first slice of Man of the Woods, the decidedly non-woodsy "Filthy." Despite an album trailer that seemed to promise a straight up country collection, the song sounds much more like a FutureSex-indebted choice for a lead single.
With JT's intended direction more mysterious than ever now, Complex hopped on the phone with Danja after the release of "Filthy" to get some clarity and hints ahead of Man of the Woods.
The album trailer dropped, and the scenery and certain lines of dialogue had everyone thinking that Justin made a country album. "Filthy" is most definitely not a country song. Is it an outlier? What can we really expect for the sound of the album? I think the trailer is very accurate to the landscape of the project. I don't know who ever said he was making a country album [Laughs]. You know, he's always mixing a lot of different things together. It's always funk, R&B, soul, hip-hop, countryâhe definitely is very, like you said, personal in terms of subject matter and the feeling of itand the essence of the project will have some of those grassroots element.
"Filthy" actually starts the album. In what ways does it kind of set the tone for what's to come? I like to think of "Filthy" as the disruption between the world we're living in and his world. The world that he's living in with his family, his friends that he came up with, his musical roots and everything. We're gonna go into, easily, the other type of feelings and vibes of his album that were kind of presented in the trailer. So, "Filthy" was just that kick in the door: "I'm here, and oh by the way, let me erase everything that you've been listening to, that you've been vibing to, all of this emotional, tropical island-y, vibe-y stuff that the world has gotten into, let me disrupt the order, the world order and kind of create a new world order" with this world that he grew up in.
That's interesting that you cite those sonic examples, because I was gonna ask later, what does JT think of pop's current landscape? You know, he's been gone a while, so what were the conversations and the sessions like between you guys about what's going on in music right now? We didn't have any conversations about the current state of music and that's what we always do. We go in the studio and just do what we feel. This time around, I just feel like he had more of a direction. Like, when we did FutureSex/LoveSounds, we didn't have any conversations of direction or what's going on in the current state of music. We went in and had fun and made music. So, this time around, he definitely knew what he wanted to do. I had parameters, I had guidelines. Myself and Timb, we knew the world that we had to be in and we had to create within that world, but we didn't think about, oh yeah, this is what's going on out there and this is what we need.
Of course we're gonna think about it as producers, and know what to do to kind of bridge everything together, but I think the decision ultimately came down to, forget about what's happening now, we're gonna just answer up everything that's going on currently. It doesn't even matter. This is what we do.
What were some of those parameters that he gave you? It's literally verbatim within the trailer. He wants to talk about these things or moreâ how can I put it? The word country was never used in the discussions. Just Memphis. That's what it really was. I remember walking into the studio, and I'm like, "So, what's the vibe?" He just raised his hands up like, "This is the vibe." And what he had on was a flannel, some Adidas, some jeans. He had his beard and a skully on. That was the vibe. When you look at his album cover, the other half of the cover of the artwork is him in a flannel and some jeans and exactly what he told me in the studio. And it was Memphis, and he put up a board in the studio that had influences from Memphis. And I was like, oh okay, so I'm gonna do a record pertaining to this. And, that's what it was.
When did the sessions for this album start up, pretty much? Man, he was working on it for a while. I can't even say a start point.
Well, when did you turn up? I came in, more-so, top of 2017, in January. And I was kinda in and out, up until he finished it sometime later in the year.
You mentioned how "Filthy" is kind of a disruptor, and it really does sound similar to âSexyBackâ in that way. So, I look at that, and I look at him bringing you back, Timb back, the Neptunes back, and it seems like he's trying to recreate some of his most successful sounds for the modern era, is that fair to say? Yeah, that's fair to say. I wouldn't say he's trying to recreate anything. He's just successful with everybody that you've just named, so why not go to the ones that you did your most groundbreaking music with? Justified, it did its thing. FutureSex and 20/20, they all were different. You know? It creates a body of work for his entire catalog. His catalog isn't going to sound the same, by any means.
But it is going to sound very cohesive, and it's not going to sound like he's got sore thumbs all over the place. You know, it's like Michael and Thriller and Bad and Off the Wall. All of those done by Quincy Jones. The same brains working together and evolving over the years. That's what it is. I don't think he's trying to recreate. It wasn't trying to recreate âSexyBackâ or 20/20, it wasâ you know, what's the chance of getting what you're looking for, musically, if you get in the room with the same brains you've been collaborating with? I think the chances are high.
I hear you have two more beats on the album. What can you preview about those songs? One you're gonna hear soon. The other one is in the world of the man of the woods.[Laughs] Both of them, actually, are in that world. I was running through some of his old songs, and he's got a couple really great, not quite country, but folksy type songs like "Drink You Away" and stuff like that.I love "Drink You Away." "Drink You Away" was, in a sense, a preview. If you want any idea, that would be the closest thing to what you might hear. I don't feel like that's accurate, either. It's not anything that you've heard from him. The album is just very, veryâ he explored a lot, and he put a lot of things together. He has those classic Memphis moments. Anything that you might hear from Memphis, whether it's country bop, blues, soulâ he's put everything Memphis into that project. Tennessee.
Speaking of Tennessee, it's too bad that we couldn't get Three 6 Mafia on this album. [Laughs] I know, I wish we did have a space for them. Juicy J is the man.
20/20was full of songs that didn't really have any interest in convention. Their runtimes are very long, there were experimental sounds that weren't elsewhere on the radio. Are we going to see more of that here? I'd say February 2nd is your chance to check it out. I can't let too many secrets out. To be honestâ I haven't heard the whole thing put together.
Really? Even at the end of "Filthy," that's something that I didn't hear after we finished the mix. I don't know know how we're going into the next song. I don't know some of the interludes. He really was in his own world putting the album together how he wanted to put it together. I'm getting surprises like everyone else. I didn't know what the video was gonna look like, I didn't know a lot of different things. So, I'm sitting on the side like a spectator and a fan like everybody else. I'm waiting to hear it all put together and hear the final product. I don't really know too much.
What was the collaboration process like this time, the same as past albums? I would say so. Once you have a formula or a chemistry thatâs just the way you work. Like I said, we had more guidelines and parameters this time, but that was it. But weâd go off and do our thing, come up with what we came up with and heâd come in and write to it and figure out how he wanted to approach it. And heâd hop on guitar or whateverâheâs very hands-on. Justin is a producer, heâs not just labeled as one because heâs the biggest name and itâs his album. Heâs actually hands-on, heâll hit some keys, play guitar, he plays on a lot of this album. Heâs a musician. He didnât just sit back and let us do our thing and figure it out. We figured it out together.
What else do you have going on or in the works? Man, a lot of things I just want to keep under wraps until it becomes real. But Iâve been very active in the studio writing a lot, creating a lot and doing what I do until itâs time to present to the world.
Anytime I got people from overseas dancing, I'm Mozart. A lot of people know how to play and still can't make beats as dope as me. I can tell a girl what to sing and how to sing it. I can write a hook off the top of my head. I just love what I do It's a musical gift that god gave me . "Is that Your Chick" is a year and half old and look how it sound today? "Pony'' was three years old when it came out. What does that tell you?
There's Too Much Being developed at once. there's new software, new music and new programs that come out too quickly. By the time something new comes out, people are ready to move on to the next thing The "Instant-Hit" [Mentality] can mean instant failure. I wish the record companies would put more effort into artist development.
