Timbaland's Ayo Technology

50 Cent’s Ayo Technology, featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland – or rather, Timbaland’s Ayo Technology, featuring 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake – is a prime example of what makes Timbaland the inventive, ever-evolving producer that he is.

The song opens with an introduction that is probably too long, much like the introduction to Madonna’s Four Minutes, also produced by Timbaland. This opening, which largely serves to build anticipation, is notable only for the drum fill that lead into the actual beat. If you listen closely, you can hear that each short drum roll features a different number of hits. Timbaland, as always, is extremely attentive to detail.

The actual beat doesn’t start until 30 seconds into the song, but it is certainly worth waiting for. An extremely sparse drum pattern provides lays the foundation. On top of this layer is a bubbly, highly kinetic synthesizer part. Like the contrast between the deep base part and the higher synthesizer part in Dr. Dre’s Let Me Ride, the contrast between the drums and synthesizer in Ayo Technology gives the song its driving force. The beat simply never gets old.

But later in the song, Timbaland takes his beat to another level. When Justin begins his solo portion of the song around the 70 second mark, Timbaland adds another layer to the beat: a slow, soaring synthesizer part. This riff has a strong hint of folk music, as if it came straight from Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The beat as a whole is very dark, but this slow, soaring theme gives the song a sense of awe and majesty.

This song, like so many other hip hop successes, is about the beat. 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake are, for the most part, mediocre. Their lyrics are unmemorable. Particularly tasteless is Justin’s request that the song’s female protagonist “sit down on top of” him. However, the brief segment in which Justin and 50 sing together is very well done. 50 Cent’s uncanny ability to sing and rap at the same time comes through strongly.

Timbaland’s vocals on the song are hardly worth mentioning. The only reason Timbaland sings is so the song might be marketed as “featuring Timbaland,” not just “produced by Timbaland.” In reality, the latter seems like much better marketing – at least to this critic.

In the end, Ayo Technology represents Timbaland the producer at the height of his faculties. The beat manages to bring together a relaxed undertow with a manic excitement, and to do so in a way that makes perfect sense. On top of this, Timbaland introduces an element of folk music, giving the beat a truly transcendent quality.