Between hard gangster rap hardness and silky RandB lies Timbaland, producer extraordinaire. The veteran can be credited with bringing the gyrating sounds of salsa and samba to hip-hop, a blend that has flavored a massive catalog of music.
So what happens when Timbaland – usually a record’s backbone, not its face – is put center stage? Shock Value is all about loving that stardom, and Tim invites the likes of Elton John and the Hives to a big party celebrating his own greatness. First track “”Oh Timbaland”” kicks off the album’s chest-beating slack: Piano keys play over Timbo’s incessantly simple self-promotion (which sounds remarkably like Talib Kweli’s “”Get By””). The producer may still consider himself a revolutionary, but laziness and complacency is the surest harbinger of a genius’s downfall.
By the time “”Give It to Me”” comes around, the self-revelation is on full-blast: “”If sexy never left, then why’s everybody on my shit?”” purrs Timberlake, taking turns with fresh radio darling Nelly Furtado. The track is a rare highlight, with Tim laying a perky, throbbing beat for the all-star trio (himself included, of course). Its feverish danceability blows just enough cocky air, a fine line that his recent celebrity has tragically shattered.
Yes kids, there was a Timbaland before “”Cry Me a River.”” There was the Timbaland who could flip an Egyptian flutist onto his booty to make the bumping 1990s anthem that was “”Big Pimpin.”” Before that, there was the Timbaland that spawned funky classics with MC Magoo, Aaliyah and Missy Elliott. Today’s pop-infected tweens might never know the greatness of “”Supa Dupa Fly”” or “”One in a Million”” – instead, they’ll get “”Boardmeeting”” and “”Bounce,”” Shock Value’s two tracks with Magoo and Eliott that are as uninspiring as they are typical.
