Album: Timbaland & Magoo

Indecent Proposal, Blackground

He's the hottest producer in the world at the moment, with a Midas touch that bestows success on virtually everyone he works with, so you'd think Tim "Timbaland" Mosley could do a bit better, as regards collaborators, than the rappers appearing on Indecent Proposal. Sure, the likes of Jay-Z (on "Party People") and Ludacris (on the big-pimpin' brag "Considerate Brotha") are reliable enough though breaking no new ground here. But there's little compelling about Tim's main MC, Magoo, or routine chatters such as Static of Playa, Sin and Petey Pablo. The latter's car-cruising street anthems "Serious" and "Roll Out" are probably the best efforts of a mediocre bunch, apart from the lone contribution of FatMan Scoop, who comes on like a demented fitness instructor on "Drop" – a track so good, it features two completely separate grooves, either of which Michael Jackson would give his right glove for. Timbaland's own rap style is laid-back, cool and rhythmic, though with no more commanding a character than his collaborators'; but it's his music that's the important thing here, with that familiar twitch embellished with wah-wah guitar, pizzicato strings and even some rather obvious Celtic music samples. Only on the draggy "Love Me" does the standard dip too sharply, with surely the worst vocoder sound ever committed to disc; otherwise, it's a fine string of grooves spoilt by some less-than-stellar toasting skills.