How Missy Elliott and Timbaland Freaked the World

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When the song “Get Ur Freak On” hit radio in 2001, it set the world of popular music on fire. Missy Elliott and Timbaland’s first crossover hit sounded nothing like the chart-topping bluesy rock of Aerosmith or Lenny Kravitz, or the smooth R&B of Joe or Jagged Edge. It was a song that compelled you to dance - literally, with Missy issuing repeat commands to “get ur freak on” and encouraging crowds to gather ‘round in what we’ve only ever experienced as a hot slick mess of bodies, cheering and vibing as one pretzeling mass. But this song was years in the making. Timbaland and Missy had been hard at work on the sound for nearly a decade before “Get Ur Freak On” was heard by anyone. This week, in yet another segment of our Modern Classics miniseries, our guest host and former producer Megan Lubin shares the story of the sound that made “Get Ur Freak On” a pop music phenomenon, and transformed Timbaland into one of the most ubiquitous producers of the aughts. Songs Discussed Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On Tweet - Oops (Oh My) Jay-Z - Dirt off Your Shoulder Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around... Comes Around 2Pac - Me Against The World TLC - Creep Ginuwine - Pony Aaliyah - One in a Million Jay-Z ft. UGK - Big Pimpin’ Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) Justin Timberlake - Cry Me a River Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous Justin Timberlake ft. T.I. - My Love Timbaland ft. One Republic - Apologize Sports Car - Tate McRae Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Listen, we all love a good hustle. We all love a rise and grind mentality. But let's be real. You could do all that and still be super comfy, right? Right. Nothing says comfort quite like a pair of crocs. Since 2002, they've been disrupting the footwear industry with their iconic clogged silhouette.
0:22.8	And now you can choose for more than a hundred styles to find the pair of crocs that is perfect for you, like the Echo Wave,
0:29.1	with a sculptural boundary pushing design that was crafted with the urban explorer in mind.
0:34.2	Whatever your style, buy yours at crox.com.
0:37.4	Your crocs, your story, your world.
0:53.9	Welcome to Switched on Pop. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan.
0:57.7	And I'm your guest host, Megan Lubin.
0:59.8	Megan, it's awesome to have you back on the pod.
1:03.1	You were a producer for the show back in, I want to say, 2021.
1:06.2	You've contributed some of my favorite episodes about Rosalia and Esperanza Spalding. And we are going to do
1:12.9	another installment of our modern classics miniseries that helps explain how hits of the early
1:20.7	2000s continue to shape the sound of our modern soundtrack. So I'm enormously excited to ask.
1:26.8	What have you brought for us today?
1:28.1	We're talking about the song,
1:29.7	Get Your Freak On by Missy Elliott,
1:31.8	produced by her friend and long time producing partner, Timbaland.
1:39.0	Nate, are you aware that the legendary Miss C at Mastimeanor Elliott actually headlined her very first world tour last year.
1:51.9	Wait, wait, wait. What, her first world tour? How is that possible? Like, she's been in the game forever. She's a legend.
1:58.3	I know. What is this first that you speak of? It's totally bizarre, but it's her
2:02.8	first world tour. It was pretty brief. It was only about a month and a half long, so I did not
2:07.7	catch a show, but I did watch YouTube clips. And oh, man, talk about a throwback. I mean,
2:15.4	an incredible throwback. Yeah. Yeah.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.