Timbaland Says His Best Music Was Made When He Wasn’t on Drugs

Timbaland opened up about his battle with addiction in a recent episode of The Pivot podcast, discussing how it affected his creative process.

When asked about when it started, the legendary producer explained that his addiction began around the time of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience and continued when he produced songs like “Magna Carta Holy Grail” by Jay-Z and Timberlake, and “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé and Jay-Z. 

“It was fun,” Timbaland said about the experience. “Those were cool albums, but my best work was done when I wasn’t on drugs. It was just fun and creative. I was doing all of those albums back to back.”

Timbaland continued on, expressing his belief that those songs weren’t his best. “I look back at it now and they were great, but they don’t stand out like my big records, like ‘Big Pimpin,’ ‘Dirt Off Ya Shoulder,’ and ‘One In A Million,’” he continued. “Those are drug-free, so when I look back at my highlights, that (drug period) is probably a dip.” 

Timbaland bounced back from his troubles and is back in full creative mode. Last month, he announced that he wanted to do an In the Booth segment with Plaqueboymax. The producer held a stream and was chatting with up-and-coming artists when he responded to someone suggesting that he ought to get with Plaqueboymax to make a song. 

“Somebody said I should do a stream with Plaqueboymax,” Timbaland said. “Yes, we should. Any of ya’ll know him? Send this out to him, ’cause yeah, we should. ‘Cause he do music and I’d love to be on his stream and do some music with him. Yeah, that would be dope.”

Last year, Timbaland spoke with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast, where he discussed being addicted to pills and how it endangered his life.

He also credits Jay-Z and Drake for being voices of reason during his darkest moments. During the interview, he shared that his addiction began with Vicodin, which made him feel invincible. He later revealed he was taking 160 milligrams of OxyContin daily.