BLOG (comma) MUSIC: jay z

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For the few of you who haven't seen Avengers: Infinity War yet, I'll provide a quick debrief. In short, our villain in the story, Thanos, would like to restore order in the world by eradicating half of its population. Thanos (plus the infinity stones) has the ability to do this with a simple click of his fingers. This is relevant because in this new feature, I will have Thanos' ability to click people away, figuratively speaking. I will put two artists and their entire bodies of work side by side and, at the end of deliberations, will decide which one of them would cease to exist. The artists will be up for consideration under four main categories and today in the ring we have Timothy 'Timbaland' Mosley and Pharrell 'Skateboard P' Williams.

DISCOGRAPHY

Pharrell as a solo artist has had 2 albums, In My Mind and G I R L. I have to say that as a cohesive piece I enjoy the first album better than the second, however the shining moments in G I R L undoubtedly override the shining moments in IMM. Beats and rhymes-wise, Pharrell had it just right the first time. Given his popular culture success with the latter album though, I suspect that many would disagree. I, however, feel like the originality and energy on that album fell a little bit flat for me.

Timbaland has put out 3 solo albums to date and I have to say, the year that it came out, Shock Value II was one of my favourite albums out that year. That album took on a new level of overplaying from me. Before that Shock Value did capture a lot of my attention and put Timbaland on the mainstream map as a solo artist. Listening back to Shock Value I & II I can see that had those been released now I would be far less inspired than I was at the time. However, that's more to due with the evolution of music and my personal taste than the content itself.

PRODUCTION

Timbaland has been producing since 1993 and his production discography will make your eyes water. The man is basically the key to music as we know it. Spanning across genres and genders, most things that Timbaland touches turn to gold. People like Jay Z, Missy Elliott, Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and the list goes on and on, would not have seen the same success that they did without Timbaland's influence. No question.

Pharrell on the other hand, started producing in 2005 but only really began to make an impact and a signature for himself in 2013. Since then, he has had a hand in some of the biggest Pop bangers we've seen to date, by both himself and collaborators, and has worked with some of the biggest artists on some of the most memorable albums. No doubt, Pharrell is a household name in production too. The most notable thing about his production is the signature four count intro pattern but as he keeps building I assume there'll be more.

PUBLIC IMPACT

Timbaland is known to support several charities and causes including Chime For Change, Designers Against AIDS and UNICEF. Outside of philanthropy Timbaland has been fairly quiet within other entertainment spheres despite also producing music for TV and Film. Timbaland has struggled publicly with a variety of issues from plagiarism accusations to dealings with addiction and has battled through these whilst also reinventing himself in the process. Although, it's mean that he hasn't had his hand in absolutely all of the pies, it has made him a role model to many without even taking artistry into consideration.

As well as being impactful in music, Pharrell has also been extremely influential in fashion circles and philanthropical ventures. His charity 'From One Hand To AnOTHER' was developed for at-risk youth between the ages of 7 and 20. In addition to this, Pharrell has had a hand in broadcasting with his multimedia creative collective 'i am OTHER', which brought us shows like Awkward Black Girl and Nardwuar. Pharrell has been known to dabble in most facets within the entertainment industry and continues to make an impact in each one.

ORIGINALITY
Pharrell and Timbaland actually came up in the high school group together, Pharrell rapping whilst Timbaland was on the decks. This template obviously had a hand in bringing the two to the places they're in today. Pharrell's voice is not the only distinctive thing he brings to the table in the industry. However, one small croon or ad-lib from him and you're aware of his presence or influence on any track. Pharrell bring a clear level of originality and uniqueness to everything he puts his hand to, fashion, music or media.

Timbaland's style of production originated around the idea of warped records and distorted sounds. Whilst working on Ginuwine's "Pony", Timbaland was famously quoted saying that it was birthed by putting a record out in the sun to warp. He shaped beats around that sound. As well as being a very outside of the box way to begin looking at beats, it was also a starting point filled with an abundance of possibilities moving forward. He's evolved and diversified over the years and every time he branches into something new it switches up the game, and in his own words, he's not done yet.

Some of the most iconic instrumentals, samples and trademarks originated in Timbaland's studio, and although the same can be said for Pharrell, taking into consideration the sheer volume of work and musical development that Timbaland has had an effect on across genres and generations; on this occasion I think that Timbaland may just have won out.

WINNER: TIMBALAND

There have been quite a few opinions and criticisms surrounding this next choice actually, but after going back and forth with where I sit, based on music alone, this record is more than deserving of its place on the list. So without further ado, bringing us into our top 20 is Jay Z with 4:44.

A lot of people had a problem with Jay's album receiving critical acclaim because it served as a "response or apology" to Lemonade, and given how much I enjoyed Lemonade last year this criticism was something that I kept in mind at first. However, regardless of this specific aspect of the album, there were plenty of other things that this album spoke towards, and I don't think that the apology was the overarching theme here. Also, just as it would be ridiculous to compare a Solange record to a Beyoncé one; it's equally as nonsensical to do so with Jay and Bey. As such, it was pretty easy to hear this record for what it was after blocking out all the other noise.

Biggest tunes on this for me right now are "Kill Jay Z", "The Story Of O.J.", "4:44" and "Family Feud". After seeing Jay at V Festival earlier this year it served as a reminder not only for how many absolute BANGERS he has, but also as a reminder of just how much genius goes into making a Jay Z masterpiece. As much as he's famed for freestyling a lot of his work, some of the most memorable things about this record seem well thought out - his collaborations, his words on leaving a legacy for his children, the list goes on.

Now, this is a good album with nothing but solid songs on it, but for a Jay Z record, it's not in the same ranks as his earlier material in my opinion. I don't feel like this has grown that much since Magna Carta, there are definitely a few aspects of it that are a cut above (e.g. the samples, the influences, the witty lyrics), however in terms of innovation, I wasn't as blown away as I wanted to be. Despite these feelings, I don't foresee there ever being a time where I don't look forward to listening to a new Jay Z album.