Timbaland is regarded as one of the greatest producers of all time. With almost 30 years in the game, he has crafted multi-platinum hits for a plethora of artists. But some of his most recognizable songs were produced when he was fighting a drug addiction.
During his recent appearance on The Pivot podcast, Timbo admitted that he was high while creating JAY-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail, Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love” and Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience.
“It was fun,” Timbaland explained. “Those were cool albums, but my best work was done when I wasn’t on drugs. That’s facts. It was just fun, creating. I was doing all of those albums back to back. It was just that experience […] They were great, but they don’t stand [against] my big records.”
Some of Timbaland’s biggest tunes such as JAY_Z’s “Big Pimpin” and “Dirt Off Ya Shoulder,” and Aaliyah’s classic “One In A Million”, were some of his signature songs that were created when he was sober.
“Those are drug-free, so when I look back at my highlights, that [drug period] is probably a dip,” Timbo said. “Even though it was still good, that’s just God-given talent in me. Like, God still having his hand on me—that’s why those songs were still beautiful, but they don’t have like [Timberlake’s] FutureSex/LoveSounds in them.”
He also confessed that his production quality took a “dip” during his drug use.
Timbo opened up about being addicted to OxyContin on Club Shay Shay. He noted that taking Vicodin made him feel “unstoppable”, which led him to take 160 milligrams of OxyContin a day.
He aslo credited Jay-Z and Drake for standing by him during his darkest moments.