831's Official "Timbaland: Shock Value 1" Review

Started by 831's Finest, Mar 30, 2017, in Music Add to Reading List

  1. 831's Finest
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    831's Finest West Side Gentleman

    Mar 30, 2017
    This album has always interested me for it's very diverse features & sound. When this came out, Timbaland was at his absolute peak, having worked on extremely successful albums with Justin Timberlake & Nelly Furtado as well as producing hit after hit (with help from DanjaHandz). Shock Value is Timbaland's best solo effort & while it's not a lyrical masterpiece it has some really good highs that are still re-playable 10 years later. The production for the most part is great but unfortunately Timbaland's own lyrical contributions hurt the album quite a bit at times.

    1. Oh Timbaland - Shock Value 1 starts off with Timbaland rapping over a beat heavily sampling Nina Simmone's "Sinnerman" cleverly, making it sound like Nina's saying "Oh Timaland" instead of "Sinnerman," a technique used by plenty of producers who can afford paying off samples usage. Timbaland's rapping on this & throughout the album on most tracks is ghostwritten by Attitude. It seems Timbaland really wanted to get his gangsta on despite being on a pop friendly for a whole year:

    "I been killin' 'em with these beats
    Now I'm spittin' them killer flows
    Whatcha know about me dog
    Not a d--- thing
    Gotta problem? You can see me in the streets dog
    I'm a one man game
    Don't take this lightly
    If I want you dead and gone
    I can make that happen because
    n-----, my bread is long"

    7/10. Not a bad opener but my expectations were never high to begin with lol.


    2. Give It To Me (Feat. Justin Timberlake & Nelly Furtado) - The Scott Storch/Fergie/Prince diss/club song. Timbaland's pettiness was in full force on this song because Scott Storch was bitching about not being credited on "Cry Me A River" & it looked like Nelly & JT wanted to start pettiness of their own on a very weird beat & very bad lyrics.

    "I'm the type of girl that look you dead in the eye-eye
    I'm real as it comes if you don't know why I'm fly-y-y-y-y
    Seen you tryna switch it up but girl you ain't that dope"
    :wellsht::hard::lawd:


    Then Timbaland's "Piano Man" Diss:

    "I get a half a mil' for my beats, you get a couple gra-a-and
    Never gon' see the day that I ain't got the upper hand
    I'm respected from Californ-I-A way down to Japan
    I'm a real producer and you just a piano man
    Your songs don't top the charts, I heard 'em, I'm not a fa-a-an"

    Which led to more cringe-worthy material:



    Then we have JT dissing both Janet Jackson & Prince, at least he sounded listenable :kanye:

    "Now I saw you tryin' to act cute on TV, "Just let me clear the air..."
    We missed you on the charts last week, d---, that's right you wasn't there
    Now if se-sexy never left, then why's everybody on my shi-i-it
    Don't hate on me just because you didn't come up with it"

    Not even the hook could save this. 2.5/10


    3. Release (Feat. Justin Timberlake) - A major improvement from Give It To Me, Release is very catchy club song with a very funky uptempo beat. The vocal effects worked well and show that Timbaland never needed auto-tune which he'd use all over the very s-----y sequel to this album. Nothing to quote here. 9/10.

    4. The Way I Are (Feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) - I would call this a My Love ripoff, but Timbaland produced that too lol. Timbaland pulls a Lil Jon & uses a very similar beat from a previous hit and it manages to work, I actually like this beat a lot. The Way I Are on the album is short as h---, Timbaland not including Sebastian's verse (see music video) on this was a big mistake. Timbaland's very basic bars work for a single but still s---. Keri Hilson's contributions to the hook were nice and shortly after this song, her career skyrocketed. D.O.E.'s went absolutely nowhere & he has the most basic bars of any rap single I've ever heard lol. Since this is the album version without a much needed extra verse (OneRepbulic Remix was my s--- a long time ago), this gets a 6/10.

    5. Bounce (Feat. Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake & Missy Elliott) - This song is the closest you will ever get to that mythical Timbaland/Dr. Dre collab album. Timbaland sampled a f---ing hiccup for a club song and it actually turned put pretty sick. Six-2 (that guy from Xxplosive) was working for Timbaland at the time & got to ghostwrite Dr. Dre's verse & that was probably the last time those 2 worked on a song again, I found that pretty cool. Nobody's verse is a lyrical masterpiece but they work for the song's intent. Dr. Dre's still kills me lol:

    "There she go, just what the doc's been lookin for
    She just what I need, lookin Chinese like ~Sum Yung Ho~"


    Justin Timberlake's hook is way out of his element but it's so out there & catchy it works.

    "(Bounce) like your a--- had the hiccups
    (Bounce) like we was ridin' in my pickup
    (Bounce) why you lookin' so sad babygirl you need to cheer up
    (Bounce) I got the remedy, it's you on me and me on you"

    8/10.


    6. Come & Get Me (Feat. Tony Yayo & 50 Cent) - Timbaland's gangsta fully kicks in on this track & the next, with this one imo being a lot more favorable. We get a top 5 Tony Yayo verse along with a pretty good 50 Cent one as well. Too bad Timbaland's ghostwriter couldn't write a better verse then Yayo cause he felt right at home on this beat :

    "I'm like Nicolas Cage, Yay' is the Ghost Rider
    P89, yeah, I like my toast lighter
    Costa Rica to Brazil I got my hoes in the Lear
    While your b---- bald-headed like Britney Spears
    I'm in the projects, gettin' dope and piff money
    Two more flips that's Anna Nicole Smith money
    f--- a G4, I'm in a G500
    G450, G550
    That's airplane talk, I'm the aviator man
    Baby AR s---t your baby out your hands
    Spaghetti and corn bread mix got me blunted
    This ho talkin' about she don't f--- on a empty stomach
    Buy out the mall and hug the block
    A hundered thou woodgrain in a Phantom drop"

    Another 8/10.


    7. k--- Yourself (Feat. Attitude & Sebastian) - Now this just seemed way out of Timbaland's character. Seems like an attempt of a horrocore rap song with the Resident Evil sample & even though this has an amazing piano beat, I cannot not take Timbaland seriously at all making a song called "k--- Yourself" after hearing that s-----y 2 Many Hoes beat he gave Hov, also Timbaland cannot pull off the gangster image, even when he was fit for 5 months.

    "It's life or death, either one
    The king is back, take head and run
    I piss and take a s--- on your beat for fun
    I killed the Game, I ain't even use a gun
    You better than me? Don't make me laugh
    I run this s---, babe just chase my a---
    I ain't talkin' s--- n----- just tellin' the facts
    I think all the tracks I'm hearin' from n----s is whack
    I be hearin' this n----s, what they say in their rimes
    I took my spot, nobody gave me mine
    I make the beats, that "Boom Boom Boom" in their trunks
    You disagree homie then go on in the junk
    You can pump your gun, you can say what you want
    That's all you doin, cause you n----s is punk
    I'm number one, you ain't number s---
    When they need a hit, who do they come to get
    Talk to me"

    Attitude & Sebastian's verses were miles better but Timbaland had no place on this. Should've let somebody a lot more credible rap on it & him just get production credits.

    5/10.


    8. Boardmeeting (Feat. Magoo) - Now this is a throwback. For people who don't know who Magoo is, he was working with Timbaland in the late 90s-early 2000s & many called him a Q-Tip ripoff because of his voice. His Up Jumps Da Boogie verse is legendary. Boardmeeting is a short reunion between the 2 & it's only disappointing factor is just how short it is. Magoo's verse is like 15 seconds for f---s sakes. 8/10

    9. Fantasy (Feat. M$ney) - Fantasy has no contributions from Timbaland at all, he put it on here to introduce M$ney & I have never heard from her since. She's got a nice voice but this is something you'd only play when you're trying to f--- lol. 7/10.

    10. Scream (Feat. Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger) - One of 2 songs on Shock Value with very little Timbaland involvement, which was a good thing. Nicole & Keri's singing was good & were hot af in the music video but again, not a song I'd play unless I'm with a girl. 7.5/10.

    11. Miscommunication (Feat. Keri Hilson & Sebastian) - I like this song's concept. In similar form to Round & Round by Jonell & Method Man, we have Timbaland & Keri Hilson expressing their frustrations in their own verses with a vintage Timbaland sounding beat. Sebastian's verse didn't fit the concept that well but it's not a bad one imo. Could be Tim & Keri's best collab. 9/10.

    12. Bombay (Feat. Amir & Jim Beanz) - Another song with a more vintage Timbaland sound, he shows his heavy interest in Indian music with Amil's vocal contributions. Timbaland has a very basic but not cringworthy verse for what the song's meant to be, with Jim Beanz on background vocals. Timbaland's production on this particular song shows why he gets the props he gets. Amir sounds great on here. 9.5/10.

    13. Throw It On Me (Feat. The Hives) - Now we enter the rock section of Shock Value. I've never listened to The Hives, but they sounded good on here. TImbaland's verses were alright. His louder voice without major effect is not bad which again confuses me with his decision making to f--- around with it after this album. Song it short af which is its big problem. "From the look of that a--- you'll probably a gold digger but I ain't Kanye" is f---ing lulz. 8.5/10. Would rate higher if it didn't clock at 2:11 come the f--- on Timbo.

    14. Time (Feat. She Wants Revenge) - This is a gem on Shock Value. Time is about a complicated woman with a calming guitar beat & TImbaland's verses on this were the best on the album imo. She Wants Revenge's chorus is great too, never bothered to research their own work however. The guitar beat is absolutely amazing on here, Timbaland should've really worked with rock bands more on Shock Value 1. Perfect 10/10.

    15. One & Only (Feat. Fall Out Boy) - During 2007, Fall Out Boy was peaking with Infinity On High & back then I listened to them often. Timbaland manages to get a really great chorus & verse out of Patrick as well as a great guitar beat I'm assuming by the band. Timbaland is once again rapping about complications with a woman & attempts to bring out his inner rock star which wasn't that bad but he definitely doesn't have the vocal for that lol. & we get a random Petey Pablo cameo at the end!!! Only thing keeping this from being perfect is Timbaland's not very creative lyrical input, 9/10.

    16. Apologize (Feat. OneRepublic) - The breakup song of breakup songs. While I prefer the original version of Apologize, Timbaland's production is flawless on here. OneRepublic would become an instant worldwide success story & is still putting out music with success (without Timbaland) to this day. 10/10.

    17. 2 Man Show (Feat. Elton John) - The last track on the album was a bit of a disappointment. Elton John was only on the piano & Timbaland didn't really know what to do lol. The choir for the chorus was good that's about it. 3/10.

    BONUS

    18. Hello (Feat. Attitude & Keri Hilson) - Now why wasn't THIS on the album? Smooth beat & Timbaland, Attitude & Keri did it complete justice. Timbaland's flow, Keri Hilson's sign-rap & Attitude's rapid verse were all excellent. To add to that the chorus was originally on a pre-fame Timbaland song called Another Level from Da Bassment. 10/10.

    19. Give It To Me (Laff At Em Remix) (Feat. Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake) - JT & Jay-Z's first collab technically. Definitely not their best either. Unlike the original Give It To Me though, this is listenable without cringing at the lyrics. The beat seems to sample a cell phone alert (?) & sounds completely different from the rest of Shock Value. Timbaland's verse isn't anything amazing & is basically a Nextel Ad. JT only has a chorus that isn't really in his element but it works then Jay-Z comes in with a super ignorant verse that is extremely forgettable like this Remix. 5/10.

    20. Come Around (Feat. M.I.A.) - Coming Soon

    Album Rating (No Bonus): 7.5/10

    With Bonus: Coming Soon
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2017
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  2. Cyreides
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    Cyreides gfy

    Mar 30, 2017
    this and 2 are some of my favorite albums ever
     
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  3. 831's Finest
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    831's Finest West Side Gentleman

    Mar 30, 2017
    Half the album's been reviewed, working on the 2nd half rn
     
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  4. 831's Finest
    Posts: 2,557
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    831's Finest West Side Gentleman

    Mar 31, 2017
    The regular album's reviewed working on bonuses later
     
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    Mar 28, 2024
  5. Cyreides
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    Cyreides gfy

    Mar 31, 2017
    Agree on quite a few of these, others we clearly seem to have some differing taste about.
     
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