sessions with wongie: timbaland

i was actually looking forward to checking out timbaland's new album shock value (he is the biggest producer in hip hop/r&b today). so when i got the invite to go to his listening session with tim himself personally introducing the album, who am i to say no?

held at the 'exclusive' bar PM, i was pretty skeptical about the venue since it's pretty much known as one of those bottle serviced joints for corporate types and wannabe models. luckily the crowd this evening was more FOT (friends of timbaland) which included loads of record label folk, a few fashionistas, some journalists (um... i guess i'm one of those) and justin timberlake (he being the pink elephant in the room - we knew he was there, but we were too cool to actually stare at how regular he looks in person).

after waiting about 2 hours for timbaland to show up, the crowd (and camera crew) started to circle around a hooded figure slowly walking his way over to the DJ booth above the club. once he got there, timbaland spent another few minutes saying 'mic check' then started his intro by thanking a few people and saying we were all going to experience a great party. the crowd was ready, the drinks were free flowing and i, the music nerd, couldn't wait for a loud boogie down.

to say i was disappointed is a bit of an understatement. the music barely blasted out of the speakers and after 30 seconds of the crowd realizing that the sound system was shite, everyone went back to chatting and acting as if timbaland hadn't started the listening session yet (i went to a killers listening party last year and the music was so encompassing that i not only ended up loving the album, but i left singing a few tunes too.)

you could see that shit was hitting the fan because one of the big wigs was walking around the room looking pretty pissed off. to make matters worse, timbaland didn't say anything after his intro. he just stood there looking miffed that the room wasn't reacting in ANY way. after 5 songs (and two hours of eating way too many finger foods), the lack of energy bummed me out and i left. while putting on my jacket, i looked up and saw tim staring at my departure. i felt bad, but honestly i was hoping for something cool and fun.

note to the record label, just because a venue is 'cool' doesn't mean it's good for a listening party. ironically enough, club cielo was next door and their sound system is ear popping amazing.

TRACK LISTINGS
1. Oh Timbaland
2. Give It To Me (Feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake)
3. Release (Feat. Justin Timberlake)
4. Way I Are (Feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.)
5. Bounce (Feat. Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake)
6. Come & Get Me (Feat. Tony Yayo & 50 Cent)
7. Kill Yourself (Feat. Sebastian & Attitude)
8. Boardmeeting (Feat. Magoo)
9. Fantasy (Feat. Money)
10.Scream (Feat. Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger)
11.Miscommunication (Feat. Keri Hilson & Sebastian)
12.Bombay (Feat. Amar & Jim Beanz)
13.Throw It On Me (Feat. The Hives)
14.Time (Feat. She Wants Revenge)
15.One & Only (Feat. Fallout Boy)
16.Apologize (Feat. One Republic)
17.2 Man Show (Feat. Elton John)