Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)"
Song by Justin Timberlake
from the album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2013
StudioLarrabee (North Hollywood)
GenreElectro-funk
Length5:15
LabelRCA
Songwriters
Producers
  • Timbaland
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his fourth studio album, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy. Musically, it is an electro-funk song in which Timberlake urges his lover to "get closer to your animal inside".

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" received mixed reviews from music critics, who were divided on whether it was an appropriate album opener. Some praised its sensually driven funkiness, while others criticized its extended outro and lyrical metaphors. The track peaked at number 69 on the Gaon Chart in South Korea.

Background and production

On March 16, 2013, record producer and drummer for the Roots, Questlove announced that Timberlake was planning to release a follow-up record to The 20/20 Experience in November. He referenced the album's 10-song track listing and title by saying, "10 songs now...10 songs later = 20 vision".[1] Affirming Questlove's comments, the album's co-producer J-Roc revealed that it would consist of outtakes from the original album, as well as new material from upcoming studio sessions.[2] Timberlake announced on May 5 that his fourth studio album, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, would be released in September.[3]

Timberlake wrote "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" with Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, J-Roc, and James Fauntleroy, and produced the track with Timbaland and J-Roc. Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals, which were recorded at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. Harmon provided keyboards, while Elliott Ives played guitar on the track. It was engineered by Chris Godbey, assisted by Alejandro Baima, and mixed by Jimmy Douglass with Godbey and Timberlake at Larrabee Studios.[4]

Composition

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" is an electro-funk song with an approximate length of five minutes and fifteen seconds.[5] Time magazine writer Chris Bosman cited the song as being an "extra-smooth" combination of the funk, pop and R&B genres that shifts "unexpectedly from memorable moment to memorable moment",[6] while Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described it as "cyborg-funk".[7] 411Mania's Jeremy Thomas described the song as a "clear club hit" that oozes sensuality,[8] while Paste magazine's Holly Gleason cited it as an "epic dance track".[9] Jason King of Spin said that "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)", along with "TKO", "could be lost cuts from Timbaland's 2007 smash Shock Value" with its "sputtering buzz-saw synths" and "pneumatic drum programming".[10] Bosman declared it to be a "classic Timberlake" song, although he felt that it is a "watered down" version of "Don't Hold the Wall", the third track on Timberlake's third studio album, The 20/20 Experience (2013).[6]

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" opens with Timberlake singing about animalistic carnal desire,[8] which Drowned in Sound writer Dave Hanratty noted to be a "note-perfect transition" from "Blue Ocean Floor", the closing track on The 20/20 Experience.[11] The song then progresses into a more "nightclub-friendly environs" that fuses typical hip-hop beats[12] with a "syncopated backbone" of acidic funk and a guitar groove that Bosman found to be reminiscent of a stripped-down version of Daft Punk's 2013 single "Get Lucky".[6] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said that Timberlake "turns into a one-man choir as he plays call-and-response lead vocals against a wordless background swirl".[13]

Lyrically, Timberlake urges his lover "to get closer to your animal inside".[14] Thomas wrote that the song's lyrics are not subtle, noting that Timberlake has "never been about subtlety".[8]

Critical reception

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" received mixed reviews from music critics. Andrew Barker of Variety magazine wrote that the track opens the album effectively while being its "most winningly silly sexual imagery".[15] On the other side, In a review of The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, Mesfin Fekadu of The Huffington Post stated that the album starts on the wrong note by using "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" as its opener.[16] Idolator's Carl Williott wrote that the song is a "clunky jungle-as-sex metaphor" that should have been erased when Bruno Mars's 2013 single "Gorilla" was released.[17] However, Melinda Newman of HitFix gave the song a grade A while describing it as a "sultry, sexy funky number" that introduces what is yet to come on the album.[18]

Chris Bosman of Time magazine cited it as one of the album's best tracks.[6] He, however, was critical of the song's extended outro, calling it an "awkward spoken word moment" that "slams the song's already obvious metaphor of the bedroom as jungle into the beaten ground."[6] David Meller of MusicOMH wrote that "there's nothing particularly striking" about the song, but that it's "competent enough".[12]

Live performances

Timberlake included "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" on the set list of his 2013–15 worldwide tour entitled The 20/20 Experience World Tour.[19]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2.[4]

Locations

Personnel

  • Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley – producer, songwriter
  • Justin Timberlake – mixer, producer, songwriter, vocal producer, vocal arranger
  • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon – keyboards, producer, songwriter
  • James Fauntleroy – songwriter
  • Chris Godbey – engineer, mixer
  • Jimmy Douglass – mixer
  • Alejandro Baima – assistant engineer
  • Elliot Ives – guitar

Charts

Chart performance
Chart (2013) Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon Chart)[20] 69

References

  1. ^ Payne, Chris (March 17, 2013). "Questlove: Justin Timberlake's '20/20 Experience,' Volume 2 Due In November". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  2. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (April 17, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's November Album To Feature Material From '20/20' Sessions". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Letkemann, Jessica (May 5, 2013). "Justin Timberlake Tweets '20/20 Experience' Part 2 Due September 30". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  4. ^ a b The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (booklet). Justin Timberlake. New York City, NY: RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Rosen, Jody (October 2, 2013). "Rosen on Justin Timberlake's Bloated, Tedious 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e Bosman, Chris (October 2, 2013). "Justin Timberlake Overreaches on His 20/20 Follow-Up". Time. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  7. ^ Wood, Mikael (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake edgier on '20/20 Experience — 2 of 2'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 13, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Thomas, Jeremy (October 1, 2013). "Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Gleason, Holly (October 1, 2013). "Justin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2". Paste. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  10. ^ King, Jason (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake Attempts to Wow Us Again on 'The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2'". Spin. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  11. ^ Hanratty, Dave (September 30, 2013). "Album Review: Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Meller, David (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake, 'The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2' review". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  14. ^ Kaufman, Gil (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience – 2 Of 2: The Reviews Are In!". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  15. ^ Barker, Andrew (October 1, 2013). "Album Review: Justin Timberlake, 'The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  16. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2' Album Is Full Of Leftovers (Review)". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  17. ^ Williott, Carl (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience – 2 Of 2': Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved January 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ Newman, Melinda (September 30, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 'The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2': Track-by-track review". HitFix. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  19. ^ Farber, Jim (November 7, 2013). "Concert review: Justin Timberlake kicks off '20/20 Experience' tour with flirty gig at Barclays Center". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  20. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
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