There were a lot of producers recruited for Jay-Z's latest event-album Magna Carta Holy Grail, but no one is as prominent on the album as Timbaland. While Jay and Timbo have worked together consistently in the past, they had reached a point where they were no longer close-- something they had to get over to make MCHG happen.
"It was over petty stuff," said Timbaland over the tension with Hov. "It was more personal stuff, disagreements. It was not no industry-related. It was more personal and I was wrong. I was wrong. When I was working with Justin [Timberlake], he sent me a text. 'We need to talk. We need to hook back up.'"
Timbo explained that once they met in person, they were able to get over their differences fairly quickly. "We looked at each other and just gave each other a hug," he said.
The producer explained that kicking his addiction to Oxycontin had improved his outlook on life, which Jigga noticed off the bat. "He was like, 'What you been doing, man?' 'Man,' I said, 'I'm right. I'm back. I got my mind right.' He said, 'You look totally different.' I was like, 'I get it now. I understand life a little more.'"
Tim revealed that it was one track in particular that got the project rolling. "The first song that we did that sparked everything off, we did the song called "Picasso [Baby]," which is the hardest song on that record," he explained. "That sound set the tone for how the whole album was going to be.
The legendary beatmaker expressed his confidence in the effort. "This is the best Jay-Z album," he declared."I told him, I said, 'All The Blueprint, those were good. But this is your first, first big album for the new millennium." he said. "It's a great Hip Hop album...It's going to change Hip Hop."
Watch the interview below.
