Embrace the mainstream reviews, folks: that sub-genre of hip hop isn't going away anytime soon, so it's impossible to pretend it doesn't exist.
I'd be willing to bet money that most of my two readers could give a flying fuck about Timbaland, but the man has created a staggering amount of hot beats, and has changed the very way pop radio sounded more than a few times. These days, he just seems to delegate production work to his many minions (Danja being the most successful), but there was once a time when he handled the beats for dolo. He even managed to keep some of them for his own projects, both his collaborative effort with partner-in-rhyme Magoo (Welcome To Our World) and his own solo disc, Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment.
In 2000, Tim Mosely decided to hook up with Magoo again for Indecent Proposal, their not-so-highly-anticipated follow up, released four years after their debut. In between their first project and this one, Timbaland had formed the Beat Club, a Fight Club-inspired crew of producers, rappers, and singers, which included Magoo, Missy Elliott, Tim's brother Sebastian, vocalist Tweet, Ms. Jade, and Mad Skillz, among others, and he decided to turn Indecent Proposal into a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, Missy didn't get the memo, as this is the only Timbaland project that she had nothing to do with, strange considering their past history. Skillz only appeared on one track, as he was about ten seconds away from leaving the crew behind entirely, hoping to move on to a hip hop career that consisted of having bloggers (and those that follow blogs daily) hanging on to his every word at the end of every year. Tweet was a new Timbaland discovery, and was poised to make her debut on here. To whet appetites, Timbaland helped executive-produce the soundtrack to Romeo Must Die, a film which starred Aaliyah and Jet Li, and included the Tim & Magoo track "We At It Again", which, I have to admit, was actually pretty good, for what it was.
However, label politics (and the fact that the first single, "Drop", well, dropped with little to no fan reaction) forced Indecent Proposal back onto the drawing board. Originally intended for release in 2000, it finally hit store shelves in late 2001, a few months after frequent collaborator Aaliyah, who appears on one track, passed away in a plane crash. Indecent Proposal also failed to properly introduce Tweet to the masses: this disc came out after Missy Elliott's third album, which included what was now officially the first appearance of Tweet on officially-released wax.
When it finally dropped, Indecent Proposal barely made a dent in the genre, even though it does feature a vastly improved Magoo and a, well, coherent Timbaland on the mic. They are surrounded by such a large number of guests that it's almost impossible to discern who's actually supposed to be there and who isn't. Which probably contributed to the project's low sales (according to the RIAA, this shit didn't even go gold).
1. INTRO (FEAT DJ S&S)
This obnoxious bullshit already has me upset. That can't be good.
2. DROP (FEAT FATMAN SCOOP)
This is not so much a Timbaland and Magoo song as it is their interpretation of a club track that Fatman Scoop wouldshout during be involved with if he were available. Which, luck would have it, he was. Both Tim and Magoo sound much too calm for this to be the club banger it wants to be when it grows up. It's also six fucking minutes long, and there is no real excuse for that. Moving on...
3. ALL Y'ALL (FEAT SEBASTIAN & TWEET)
The second single (the first was the previous song, although I never heard that one on the radio around my way), which may be censored on my copy: I'm pretty sure Timothy mentions being called the “fuckin' governor” and not the “effin'” one, as he seems to on my disc, but whatever. Anyway. I don't understand why Timmy has to wait for the first of the month before he can do whatever he wants: he's fucking rich. It's almost as confusing as to how he can have all of this disposable income, and yet, not have any money, flowers, or a “red” American Express in order to woo Keri Hilson. I can't figure out why this dull track was a minor radio hit.
4. IT'S YOUR NIGHT (FEAT SEBASTIAN & SIN)
I'm a fan of Timbo, but I readily admit that not all of his beats click. This one was boring as shit, but then again, this leaves room for all of the rappers involved to try and impress the listener. Amazingly, Magoo sounds pretty good, but Timbaland destroys all goodwill by comparing himself to 2Pac. Maybe all of the steroids were affecting his thought processes.
5. INDIAN CARPET (FEAT STATIC)
The title is ridiculous, as it has nothing to really do with the song: the phrase is repeated within the hook merely because it's the fucking title. That said, Timbo's beat is really fucking good, coming off as something he may have meant to give Aaliyah (R.I.P.) earlier in his producing career, and Magoo is actually not horrible. The vocals (provided by the late Static Major (R.I.P.), formerly of the group Playa) are also entertaining. You can't help but wonder how much better this song could have been had a better rapper taken the reigns, though (*cough* Ludacris *cough*).
6. PARTY PEOPLE (FEAT JAY-Z & TWISTA)
This sounds like it wants to be “Lobster & Scrimp II”. Hova and Twista completely outshine Timbaland and Magoo (as was expected), but the hook is pretty terrible, and even though Timbo's instrumental is alright (especially during its final minute), there's a very valid reason why this song never comes up whenever hip hop heads discuss hot Jay-Z and Timbaland collaborations.
7. PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF (FEAT STATIC)
I actually liked this song when Indecent Proposal dropped, mainly because of the beat and the way that Static Major takes over vocal duties for Timbo toward the end. There isn't much to this track, but it's still enjoyable enough today.
8. VOICE MAIL
Interlude...
9. SERIOUS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Not the biggest Petey Pablo fan (he lost me when he started working with Lil' Jon and Ciara; also, when he appeared in Drumline), but I like his work with Timbaland, and he comes across as the only artist on “Serious” that can handle its hyperagressive beat. A beat which sounds really good, by the way. But Tim and Magoo are overwhelmed to such a degree that I'm surprised they allowed this track to make Indecent Proposal's final cut.
10. ROLL OUT (FEAT PETEY PABLO & SEBASTIAN)
Timbaland already produced a song called “Roll Out” (for Ludacris: it was released on a Luda album one week after Indecent Proposal dropped, but had been a massive hit prior to this), so the title of this track is confusing. Not in a “Huh?” kind of way: more like a “What the hell was he thinking?” type of mindset. Also, this song sucks monkey taint. If you played this track for someone and then explained that this was the same Timbaland that too over pop radio airwaves from 2005 through 2008, they would smack your father for raising such an obvious fucking liar. For those of you two who care (and I doubt you two actually exist, but I'll say this anyway), every rapper on here sounds a little bit worse than the last.
11. LOVE ME (FEAT TWEET & PETEY PABLO)
Timmy passes off production duties to Craig Brockman, who slows down things a bit too much on here, with Tweet's vocals inducing sleep much more than any form of love. This is probably someone's favorite track on Indecent Proposal, and I just trashed, it, so all I can say is, I feel sorry for you.
12. BABY BUBBA (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
I may like some of Petey Pablo's work with Timbo, but this dull-as-a-child's-butter-knife track is the exception. Pass.
13. IN TIME (FEAT MS. JADE & MAD SKILLZ)
Ms. Jade, Timbaland's former protege who was last seen assistant-managing a Foot Locker, pops up on here with an unimpressive performance. She manages to outrap all three other artists on here by the mere fact that she simply has more verses (yep, even Skillz, who, to be honest, doesn't really seem to care on here), and thus, more of an opportunity to try.
14. MR. RICHARDS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Skit...
15. CONSIDERATE BROTHA (FEAT LUDACRIS)
Magoo's pimp rhymes during the first verse are the funniest thing ever. Timbo's waking up in the morning and “fixing” orange juice is an image that is also pretty hilarious. It shouldn't be a shock at all to learn that Luda completely outshines his hosts, even though he hardly comes across as the “Considerate Brotha” of the title: he actually sounds like a dick.
16. BEAT CLUB (FEAT TROY MITCHELL, SIN, & SEBASTIAN)
A song titled after Timbaland's crew of producers and weed carriers should have the illest beat on Indecent Proposal. Should. Instead, the instrumental is wholly ineffective. The artists who spit verses all sound okay, though. This actually sounds like Timbo's interpretation of Swizz Beats, doing the “Jigga My N---a” beat that the Ruff Ryders later spit to for “Scenario 2000”. Or is that just me?
17. I AM MUSIC (FEAT AALIYAH & STATIC)
This was originally supposed to be a duet between Beck and Aaliyah, but to this day I'm still not sure what happened to him. (Timbaland produced Beck's David Bowie cover “Diamond Dogs” for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, which I happen to like, but their heavily-touted collaborative album has not materialized, and it probably never will.) Not that his presence would have made this dull song sound any brighter, though. Thank fucking God this disc is finally over.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Indecent Proposal borrows its name from a movie starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Demi Moore's breasts, but the album presents listeners with an unfair proposition of its own: in exchange for your hard-earned cash, Timbaland and Magoo provide mostly inferior-sounding songs with little to no cohesion between tracks. For folks who listened to the first Timbaland and Magoo album (Welcome To Our World), this formula shouldn't be much of a surprise, but it appears that their calculations were off a bit this time around, because most of these songs suck. Timbo (very) occasionally brings us some inspired beatmaking, and while Magoo has stepped up behind the mic, he still doesn't captivate an audience with his Q-Tip-inflected phrases. In short, Indecent Proposal is best left ignored.
BUY OR BURN? If you're a Timbaland fanatic, a burn is sufficient, but if you're like everyone else who read this blog and bitch about the commercial albums when they pop up, you'll probably skip this one, and I can't fault you for that. Besides, according to Amazon.com, this shit costs $21.99. Seriously? The fuck? I paid two dollars for this shit, and even that was too much!
BEST TRACKS: “People Like Myself”; “Indian Carpet”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Timbaland & Magoo – Welcome To Our World
Timbaland – Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment
I'd be willing to bet money that most of my two readers could give a flying fuck about Timbaland, but the man has created a staggering amount of hot beats, and has changed the very way pop radio sounded more than a few times. These days, he just seems to delegate production work to his many minions (Danja being the most successful), but there was once a time when he handled the beats for dolo. He even managed to keep some of them for his own projects, both his collaborative effort with partner-in-rhyme Magoo (Welcome To Our World) and his own solo disc, Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment.
In 2000, Tim Mosely decided to hook up with Magoo again for Indecent Proposal, their not-so-highly-anticipated follow up, released four years after their debut. In between their first project and this one, Timbaland had formed the Beat Club, a Fight Club-inspired crew of producers, rappers, and singers, which included Magoo, Missy Elliott, Tim's brother Sebastian, vocalist Tweet, Ms. Jade, and Mad Skillz, among others, and he decided to turn Indecent Proposal into a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, Missy didn't get the memo, as this is the only Timbaland project that she had nothing to do with, strange considering their past history. Skillz only appeared on one track, as he was about ten seconds away from leaving the crew behind entirely, hoping to move on to a hip hop career that consisted of having bloggers (and those that follow blogs daily) hanging on to his every word at the end of every year. Tweet was a new Timbaland discovery, and was poised to make her debut on here. To whet appetites, Timbaland helped executive-produce the soundtrack to Romeo Must Die, a film which starred Aaliyah and Jet Li, and included the Tim & Magoo track "We At It Again", which, I have to admit, was actually pretty good, for what it was.
However, label politics (and the fact that the first single, "Drop", well, dropped with little to no fan reaction) forced Indecent Proposal back onto the drawing board. Originally intended for release in 2000, it finally hit store shelves in late 2001, a few months after frequent collaborator Aaliyah, who appears on one track, passed away in a plane crash. Indecent Proposal also failed to properly introduce Tweet to the masses: this disc came out after Missy Elliott's third album, which included what was now officially the first appearance of Tweet on officially-released wax.
When it finally dropped, Indecent Proposal barely made a dent in the genre, even though it does feature a vastly improved Magoo and a, well, coherent Timbaland on the mic. They are surrounded by such a large number of guests that it's almost impossible to discern who's actually supposed to be there and who isn't. Which probably contributed to the project's low sales (according to the RIAA, this shit didn't even go gold).
1. INTRO (FEAT DJ S&S)
This obnoxious bullshit already has me upset. That can't be good.
2. DROP (FEAT FATMAN SCOOP)
This is not so much a Timbaland and Magoo song as it is their interpretation of a club track that Fatman Scoop would
3. ALL Y'ALL (FEAT SEBASTIAN & TWEET)
The second single (the first was the previous song, although I never heard that one on the radio around my way), which may be censored on my copy: I'm pretty sure Timothy mentions being called the “fuckin' governor” and not the “effin'” one, as he seems to on my disc, but whatever. Anyway. I don't understand why Timmy has to wait for the first of the month before he can do whatever he wants: he's fucking rich. It's almost as confusing as to how he can have all of this disposable income, and yet, not have any money, flowers, or a “red” American Express in order to woo Keri Hilson. I can't figure out why this dull track was a minor radio hit.
4. IT'S YOUR NIGHT (FEAT SEBASTIAN & SIN)
I'm a fan of Timbo, but I readily admit that not all of his beats click. This one was boring as shit, but then again, this leaves room for all of the rappers involved to try and impress the listener. Amazingly, Magoo sounds pretty good, but Timbaland destroys all goodwill by comparing himself to 2Pac. Maybe all of the steroids were affecting his thought processes.
5. INDIAN CARPET (FEAT STATIC)
The title is ridiculous, as it has nothing to really do with the song: the phrase is repeated within the hook merely because it's the fucking title. That said, Timbo's beat is really fucking good, coming off as something he may have meant to give Aaliyah (R.I.P.) earlier in his producing career, and Magoo is actually not horrible. The vocals (provided by the late Static Major (R.I.P.), formerly of the group Playa) are also entertaining. You can't help but wonder how much better this song could have been had a better rapper taken the reigns, though (*cough* Ludacris *cough*).
6. PARTY PEOPLE (FEAT JAY-Z & TWISTA)
This sounds like it wants to be “Lobster & Scrimp II”. Hova and Twista completely outshine Timbaland and Magoo (as was expected), but the hook is pretty terrible, and even though Timbo's instrumental is alright (especially during its final minute), there's a very valid reason why this song never comes up whenever hip hop heads discuss hot Jay-Z and Timbaland collaborations.
7. PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF (FEAT STATIC)
I actually liked this song when Indecent Proposal dropped, mainly because of the beat and the way that Static Major takes over vocal duties for Timbo toward the end. There isn't much to this track, but it's still enjoyable enough today.
8. VOICE MAIL
Interlude...
9. SERIOUS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Not the biggest Petey Pablo fan (he lost me when he started working with Lil' Jon and Ciara; also, when he appeared in Drumline), but I like his work with Timbaland, and he comes across as the only artist on “Serious” that can handle its hyperagressive beat. A beat which sounds really good, by the way. But Tim and Magoo are overwhelmed to such a degree that I'm surprised they allowed this track to make Indecent Proposal's final cut.
10. ROLL OUT (FEAT PETEY PABLO & SEBASTIAN)
Timbaland already produced a song called “Roll Out” (for Ludacris: it was released on a Luda album one week after Indecent Proposal dropped, but had been a massive hit prior to this), so the title of this track is confusing. Not in a “Huh?” kind of way: more like a “What the hell was he thinking?” type of mindset. Also, this song sucks monkey taint. If you played this track for someone and then explained that this was the same Timbaland that too over pop radio airwaves from 2005 through 2008, they would smack your father for raising such an obvious fucking liar. For those of you two who care (and I doubt you two actually exist, but I'll say this anyway), every rapper on here sounds a little bit worse than the last.
11. LOVE ME (FEAT TWEET & PETEY PABLO)
Timmy passes off production duties to Craig Brockman, who slows down things a bit too much on here, with Tweet's vocals inducing sleep much more than any form of love. This is probably someone's favorite track on Indecent Proposal, and I just trashed, it, so all I can say is, I feel sorry for you.
12. BABY BUBBA (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
I may like some of Petey Pablo's work with Timbo, but this dull-as-a-child's-butter-knife track is the exception. Pass.
13. IN TIME (FEAT MS. JADE & MAD SKILLZ)
Ms. Jade, Timbaland's former protege who was last seen assistant-managing a Foot Locker, pops up on here with an unimpressive performance. She manages to outrap all three other artists on here by the mere fact that she simply has more verses (yep, even Skillz, who, to be honest, doesn't really seem to care on here), and thus, more of an opportunity to try.
14. MR. RICHARDS (FEAT PETEY PABLO)
Skit...
15. CONSIDERATE BROTHA (FEAT LUDACRIS)
Magoo's pimp rhymes during the first verse are the funniest thing ever. Timbo's waking up in the morning and “fixing” orange juice is an image that is also pretty hilarious. It shouldn't be a shock at all to learn that Luda completely outshines his hosts, even though he hardly comes across as the “Considerate Brotha” of the title: he actually sounds like a dick.
16. BEAT CLUB (FEAT TROY MITCHELL, SIN, & SEBASTIAN)
A song titled after Timbaland's crew of producers and weed carriers should have the illest beat on Indecent Proposal. Should. Instead, the instrumental is wholly ineffective. The artists who spit verses all sound okay, though. This actually sounds like Timbo's interpretation of Swizz Beats, doing the “Jigga My N---a” beat that the Ruff Ryders later spit to for “Scenario 2000”. Or is that just me?
17. I AM MUSIC (FEAT AALIYAH & STATIC)
This was originally supposed to be a duet between Beck and Aaliyah, but to this day I'm still not sure what happened to him. (Timbaland produced Beck's David Bowie cover “Diamond Dogs” for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, which I happen to like, but their heavily-touted collaborative album has not materialized, and it probably never will.) Not that his presence would have made this dull song sound any brighter, though. Thank fucking God this disc is finally over.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Indecent Proposal borrows its name from a movie starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Demi Moore's breasts, but the album presents listeners with an unfair proposition of its own: in exchange for your hard-earned cash, Timbaland and Magoo provide mostly inferior-sounding songs with little to no cohesion between tracks. For folks who listened to the first Timbaland and Magoo album (Welcome To Our World), this formula shouldn't be much of a surprise, but it appears that their calculations were off a bit this time around, because most of these songs suck. Timbo (very) occasionally brings us some inspired beatmaking, and while Magoo has stepped up behind the mic, he still doesn't captivate an audience with his Q-Tip-inflected phrases. In short, Indecent Proposal is best left ignored.
BUY OR BURN? If you're a Timbaland fanatic, a burn is sufficient, but if you're like everyone else who read this blog and bitch about the commercial albums when they pop up, you'll probably skip this one, and I can't fault you for that. Besides, according to Amazon.com, this shit costs $21.99. Seriously? The fuck? I paid two dollars for this shit, and even that was too much!
BEST TRACKS: “People Like Myself”; “Indian Carpet”
-Max
RELATED POSTS:
Timbaland & Magoo – Welcome To Our World
Timbaland – Tim's Bio: Life From Da Bassment
small trivia about "indian carpet" and its title.
ReplyDeletethe song samples (piano and vocal) an Italian song, called "ulisse coperto di sale" by Lucio Dalla (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFNHX90SGwk)
At 00.15 you can hear the world "imbancate" (whitened) which sounds more or less like "indian carpet". Mr Mosley probably came out with the title due to this phonetic misunderstanding.
i never been a fan of these 2, magoo to me is like a copy imitation of q tip, and timbo, hes just wack
ReplyDeleteMight sound like a dickrider, but I actually like magoo
ReplyDelete