Their collaboration goes all the way back to Timberlake's 2002 debut album, 'Justified.'
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland are back to doing what they do best -- collaborating!
The "Sexy Back" singer and hit-making producer were seen together in the studio listening to beats in a video Timbaland shared Wednesday to his more than 3.5 million followers on Instagram. The mega producer captioned the video, "Soon to come," along with a few eye emojis and fireworks. It's unclear if they were sampling beats for Timberlake's upcoming sixth studio album or if it's more closely related to Timbaland's new business venture, Beatclub, an online beat-selling marketplace that connects aspiring music creators with mega artists who have joined the digital platform.
"It gets me excited to collaborate with people I've never even met," Timberlake told The Associated Press back in September. "Even the stuff we're working on right now with my record, it's all Beatclub. It's Tim bringing in people who he's found through his platform and bringing them to me."
In any event, seeing Timberlake and Timbaland in the studio only added fuel to the fire that they're that much closer to not just collaborating again but dropping their next masterpiece sooner rather than later.
In the video, you can see Timbaland sitting in a comfy chair while JT's standing and soaking up a beat that's reminiscent of Aaliyah's 1998 hit, "Are You That Somebody." The baby's giggle is quite pronounced. Timbaland wrote, produced and dropped a bar on that track.
GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Ant Clemons can also be seen in the Instagram video chopping it up with the hitmakers. At one point, Clemons is so hyped with the "Are You That Somebody"-like beat he suggests recruiting DaBaby and Lil Baby to rap on the track, to which JT adds, "And my baby." Immediately after, a second beat drops and JT's clearly feeling the vibe, because he starts dancing.
The video lasts only 25 seconds but it's enough to give fans a small taste of what may lie ahead. It's no secret that plans have been in the works for Timberlake and Timbaland to reunite in the studio. Timbaland teased as much in an Instagram post back in August 2020, showing the duo in a photo performing together onstage at JT's concert. Timbaland captioned the post, "FUTURE SEXY LOVESOUNDS pt ✌🏾🤐🤐."
Timberlake and Timbaland go way back, as far as JT's 2002 debut album, Justified. In fact, Timbaland would go on to work on JT's next four albums as well, including the 2006 hit album FutureSex/LoveSounds, which earned them two GRAMMYs with "Sexy Back" and "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows." They'd earn another GRAMMY with "Pusher Love Girl" from the 2013 album The 20/20 Experience. Timbaland also produced JAY-Z's 2013 hit, "Holy Grail," featuring JT. That track also won a GRAMMY in 2014. Most recently, Timbaland produced JT's fifth studio album, Man of the Woods, which dropped in 2018.
Timberlake told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show back in January that he likes to take his time when making his albums. Well, it's been nearly a year since made that revelation, so it's safe to say JT fans champing at the bit have at least one beat stuck on their heads right about now -- tick, tock!
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