The partnership between Timbaland and Missy Elliott is maybe best described as prolific. Together, the Virginia natives leveled up Hip Hop and R&B, pushing the genres into new realms with the sounds they crafted during the ‘90s.
The genius that exists between the two creatives is not lost on super producers either. In the latest edition of the Rolling Stone “Musicians on Musicians” series, Timbaland and Metro Boomin discuss the makings of a hit, a classic, the impact of collaborating with equally dedicated artists and more.
For Timbo, he knew that his synergy with the multitalented superstar had reached new heights with her fourth studio album, Under Construction. The 14-track LP was released in 2002, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 2 00. Its first single was “Work It.” “When I did ‘Work It,’ I knew. I said this [is] a classic,” the four-time Grammy Award winner told Metro.
Reflecting on his working relationship with Missy, Timbaland likened their studio session to somewhat of a school of hard knocks, one where he was forced to return to the drawing board time after time before finally crafting a track that would earn his longtime friend’s seal of approval. “She always beat me up, and it be like, mentally,” he said.
Moreover, the veteran hitmaker stated, “So I was trained by one of the best, you know what I’m saying, as far as like mentally to take criticism, to know how to accept a new and turn a no into a yes. She really took me through a wringer. You know as a creative, when you do something, you come in there [and] you be hype, then they shut you [down].” But with “Work It,” the tables were turned.
“From that point, when I did ‘Work It,’ it was I push her. When she heard the beat, I said, ‘[There’s] nothing you can say about this.’ And she was like, ‘Oh this s**t is hot!’” he recalled. Timbaland said that he ended up making Missy rerecord the song three times before she finally got it right. He gloatingly told Metro, “She looked at me, I said, ‘See how it feel?... She was so frustrated, but she says, ‘I know this is it.’ When she pushed play and that backwards sound came — that’s it. Stop… I said we No. 1 forever.”
The record spent 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 2, and in June 2023, it was certified three times platinum, moving 3 million units.