Timbaland has shared the story behind one of his most famous tracks and revealed that it came to be all because of an accident.
During a recent appearance on the I AM HIP-HOP podcast, the legendary producer opened up about how one of his biggest hits, the late Aaliyah‘s “Try Again,” was created after he made a “mistake” while playing around on a keyboard.
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“I was playing with this keyboard and it was a mistake, and my engineer Jimmy Douglass caught it. I said, ‘Jimmy did you catch that lil rhythm?, [and] he said, ‘I sure did,” he began.
“So [after] he caught it and played it back, I put the beat on it. I said, ‘Ooo, chop it right there,’ and he chopped it right there.”
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Timbaland also revealed the late Static Major penned the track, and noted it originally sounded “too preachy” before the lyrics were changed. Additionally, he said it was JAY-Z who convinced him it was a hit, although he was initially unsure.
“When JAY-Z came in the studio, he was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and that’s when I was like, ‘Yeah, we got one.'”
Timbaland has opened up about many things recently regarding his extensive catalog and career in music. In another segment of the interview, the superproducer talked about how he discovered Ludacris while discussing his favorite rappers.
“I was the one who found Ludacris,” he said. “Because Ludacris was working in the radio station and I was like, ‘Hey, ain’t nobody sign you? What’s going on here?’ [He was like], ‘Nah man.’”
“Then he came down to Virginia and we did ‘Phat Rabbit,’ and from there, labels started calling. He asked me one time, ‘Would you sign to Def Jam or Elektra?’ I said, ‘Man, you better go to Def Jam.’”
He added: “And I didn’t know how the business go, I just backed them ’cause I knew he was incredible.”
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Ludacris reunited with Timbaland in the studio in 2019 for his still-forthcoming ninth album and reflected on his relationship with the producer from early in his career.
“Tim was the first person that really believed in me, along with Jermaine Dupri and Organized Noize,” he said. “But in terms of really the very first person, [he] came to the radio station in Atlanta when I was working there. Timbaland was the first person who was like, ‘Who is that?’”
