"Throwback" is a song by American recording artist Usher, taken from his fourth studio album, '' Confessions'' (2004). It was written by

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, and

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his mu ...

, while production was handled by the latter. "Throwback" is influenced by 1970s

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and rock music. An R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

song, it is built on a hip hop and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

, and samples

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

's song "

You're Gonna Need Me "You're Gonna Need Me" is a 1973 soul song recorded by Dionne Warwick on her album, Just Being Myself. It was released as the b-side to the title track, which peaked at #62 on the R&B singles chart in 1973. Released during the post-Bacharach an ...

", written by

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During ...

Writing and production

"Throwback" was composed by

, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, and

. Blaze initially produced the song for

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

's unreleased ''

Detox Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...

'', which was expected to be his final album. With Dre announcing his retirement from recording, Blaze suggested they create an "exit record" which would have left Dre's fans yearning for a comeback, prompting him to build a track around a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

's song "

" from her 1973 album ''Just Being Myself'', which includes the lyrics 'You're going to want me back'. In 2003, Blaze and songwriter

Jon B Jonathan David Buck (born November 11, 1974) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, ''Bonafide'' (1995), went platinum. Early life Born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States and raised in Altadena, ...

were consulted to work with singer Usher on his fourth studio album. However, creative differences regarding the sound of their songs resulted in reportedly uninspired collaborations, and while the pair came up with several ideas "nothing really panned out". As it became apparent that ''Detox'' would not materialize due to Dre's shifting commitments, Blaze decided to give the record to Usher, who was looking for a hip hop track to record. The material was left unused at first, and it was not until late into the album's production that Usher's team approached Blaze again to resume work on "Throwback". In the studio, he was joined by Smith and Love, who had one day to finish the song. "Throwback" marked the first major placement from Love, who came on board to finalize the lyrics of the song. With the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

('You're gonna want me back') already set and Usher going through a very public breakup with

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas in late 2003, Love felt the "direction of the song was kind of obvious" when he sat down to pen additional lyrics for "Throwback". Rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

was originally supposed to appear on the song, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from recording in time to meet the mastering deadline of ''Confessions''. Next, rapper

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...

, who was putting finishing touches on his second album '' Kiss of Death'' at that time, was approached,. He also declined due to scheduling conflicts. Following the album's release, Jadakiss admitted in an interview with

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

radio station

WQHT WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

that he had "slept on it". Soon after, the rapper recorded vocals for a remix version, which he later sent Usher and his team. His version was included on the re-issue of ''Confessions'', released in October 2004.

Critical reception

Andy Kellman of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

felt that "Throwback" sounds "like it was made for the sole purpose of trailing

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

's "

You Don't Know My Name "You Don't Know My Name" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album '' The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). It was written by Keys, Kanye West and Harold Lilly, and produced by Keys and West. The song ...

." Like the latter's song, it's "sensitively treated soul sample provides a nostalgic tint that complements the wistful, regret-filled tone of the lyrics."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

References

External links

Usher's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Throwback (song) 2004 songs Usher (musician) songs Songs written by Rico Love Songs written by Patrick "J. Que" Smith Song recordings produced by Just Blaze