Justin Timberlake is going back to the Future.
The pop superstar’s next album is reportedly done and will feature a sound reminiscent of his past. During an interview with Variety, Timbaland compared the “fun” project to FutureSex/LoveSounds, which he produced.
“We just finished up and everything sounds great. Now it’s really on him how and when he envisions it to come out, but it’s done and it’s coming,” said the super-producer.
He revealed that they wanted to channel the vibe of Timberlake’s 2006 album, which spawned hits like “SexyBack,” “My Love,” and “What Goes Around… Comes Around.”
“It’s fun Justin — it’s like FutureSex/LoveSounds but nothing too heavy, just giving you what you expect from us,” he added. “Music is a young sport — of course, we’ve both seen a lot of life, but you have to bring out the 13-year-old kid again, you know?”
Timberlake’s last album was 2018’s Man of the Woods, which featured contributions from Timbaland, The Neptunes, Alicia Keys, and Chris Stapleton.
This time around, the dynamic duo is not overthinking it. “We had songs that maybe were too complicated, so we said we want it to feel like FutureSex part two, so we did songs that will fit that,” said Timbaland.
In addition to Timberlake, Timbaland has been in the studio with Missy Elliott, whose upcoming album will have a reggaeton-infused sound, which he dubbed “Missy-ton.”
“I know how Missy works: It’s got to be new and fun — or maybe not so much new as kind of underground, and everything is upbeat,” he shared. “Some of it has a kind of Latin feel to it, almost a Bad Bunny effect, some of it’s kinda like underground Brazilian funk. People gonna eat it up — and it might reach a just a different demographic of people. It’s like it’s her doing… not reggaeton but Missy-ton.”
He hopes to release the long-awaited project this summer. “We’ve got a lot of songs we’re gonna start recording soon, and my dream is to have it out around her birthday in July. I want it to sound how she looks — she looks incredible right now. We both look like we 19 again — see?”