The Throne is Reserved Thanks to Timbaland’s “King Stays King”

on 12/29/2015 at 10:59 am

Let me preface this whole entry by saying that my love of all things DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) runs deep. Some might say I carry an unfair bias, I call it putting perspective on an area where most people tend to overlook. Sue me. Anyway, Timbaland has had a very strong 2015. After having him oversee all musical influences on Fox’s hit sitcom Empire and recently releasing his first book. To cap off the year, Timbo drops his first mixtape in decades, and even dusts off his old moniker in DJ Timmy Tim.

The first track is pure honest feel good vibes. Outside of his work with Missy, Timbo’s sweetspot is and will always be when he can sonically pair his otherworldly synths and hi-hats with a vocalist and it is apparent with the first track perfectly titled “Get No Betta” with Mila J. For years, the beat smith has been told his stylings have never been mature for years, he honestly took heed and shows and prove with this one. Clearly a rollout friendly record, Mila J fits in pocket and makes the song an infectious track that earns its weight in replay value.

An unreleased song from the late Aaliyah follows the song. Let me stop here for a sec. Production aside, a clear contrast can be heard from how far Timbaland has come. When you run through his catalog, although sonically pleasing, Timbo’s sound never was contained for lack of a better term. Missy played to the sound which we love her for, but for the sake of artists like an Aaliyah, they would be tasked with grounding his soundscape in reality, whereas these days, he ushers the singer into the energy of the record. Nonetheless, “Shakin” with gone to soon songstress is a great nod to her memory and the sound of yesterday.

Though casual listeners enjoy his production backing well known talent like 2 Chainz and Rich Homie Quan and Migos — who all make appearances on the free offering — longtime fans know that Timbaland is notorious for bestowing gems to relative unknown artists. Shit, how do you think Magoo and Sebastian were able to sustain varying levels of success? #NoShots. The easiest examples of this case are from tracks like slow jams (damn, haven’t seen that word at all in 2015) “Tables Turn”, Sequence’s “All I See Is You” and my personal favorite turn up joint “Servin” with Blaze and Tweezie.

A highlight of the project was Timbo playing today’s hot tracks of the year like Future’s “Commas” and Rich Homie Quan’s “Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh)” and sampling elements of them to make his own tracks. While I understand why him bridging the gap to the dab crazy hover boarding youth, one of Timbaland’s biggest short comings on this mixtape is that he had to conform what he may have believed people might like rather than delving fully into his untapped realm of sounds and percussion. Part of the reason he is heralded is because of the fact that his music selection or roster of features is not in consistent thought with everyone else.

The 2 Chainz featured “This Me Fuck It” colorfully decorates an element of trap luxury to Timbo’s catalog. Tity Boi who normally is animated throughout his 16’s handles the bars while DJ Timmy Tim is delegated with doling out playful ad-libs which adds more value to the pairing.

Overall, when you remove the “Knuck If You Buck” flow infused tracks, there’s a solid body of music that deserves to be heard, distributed on playlists to vibe out to and most importantly enjoy. Collectively, the r&b songs are traditional at best, while the raps are marginal — which mirrors the game circa 2015. Don’t take it from a kid who grew up in the DMV, hit play below.