Timbaland Explains What Makes Metro Boomin A ‘Great Producer’

Timbaland is generally regarded as one of the greatest producers of all time, and he feels similarly about a producer who got his start several decades later, Metro Boomin.

Talking to Rolling Stone in an interview published on October 18, Timbo shared what he feels makes Metro so great.

“Every producer has that one record that makes you go back and listen to the ones before,” he said. “And I believe that ‘Superhero’ record was the one that made me go back and listen from the beginning. I was like, ‘Wow, he understands sonics. A lot of people clutter music. He only uses four or five sounds, but they felt like 30 sounds.’ To me, that’s what makes a great producer.”

He continued: “When you’re coming from the hood — my mom didn’t have money to go buy me equipment, so I used to beat on the lunchroom tables and use double cassette decks and dub ahead so I could record over them. If you can do shit with just four elements, that’s a masterpiece. Simplicity is easy to say but hard to do. If you listen to Metro’s hits, there’s a tone in there. That’s all you need.”

Last month, Timbaland shared an excerpt of a recent interview Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg did with Stephen A. Smith where he criticized rap albums that feature beats from a large number of producers.

“Find your collaborator. I don’t like the fact that there are, like, nine different producers on one album. I like the idea of one producer on one album. Continuity is everything,” he said.

Asked by Smith where the trend came from, Dre replied: “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

He added: “If you a producer, you should be able to produce the entire album. That’s what I thought it was supposed to be. That’s what I was doing at the beginning.”

Timbaland added a caption to the video expressing agreement with Dre’s sentiments.

“Preach!!!!” he wrote.

Metro Boomin agreed, writing “All facts!” in a comment.

Timbaland Promises Massive Comeback: ‘I’m Going To Shift The Game One More Time’

September 3, 2024

Other notable artists, DJs and producers weighed in as well. Scram Jones attempted to provide some clarification.

“People getting confused,” he wrote. “[You] can get outside beatmakers and still be the main producer of the album if u orchestrate what to do w those beats and control what vocals and formats are placed on those beats, and are in charge of sequencing and mixing the entire project.”

Legendary producer Buckwild appeared to disagree, mentioning a few high profile albums Dre worked on that had a variety of beatmakers.