Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)
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"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 James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for writing credits on tracks by high-profile artists such as Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick ...
.


Writing and production

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon and
James Fauntleroy James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for writing credits on tracks by high-profile artists such as Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick ...
. The song was produced by Timbaland, Timberlake and Harmon. Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals, which were recorded at Larabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. Harmon provided keyboards for the song, while Elliot Ives played the guitar. The track was engineered by Chris Godbey, with assistance from Alejandro Baima, and mixed by Jimmy Douglass, Godbey and Timberlake at Larabee Studios.


Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" is an
electro-funk Electro (or electro-funk)Rap meets T ...
song with an approximate length of five minutes and fifteen seconds. ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' 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". Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush cited "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" as a "strangely compelling" pop song, and noted similarities between the song and the "sonic ethos" of Timberlake's second studio album, ''
FutureSex/LoveSounds ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, released on September 8, 2006 by Jive Records and Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba. Following a three-year writing hiatus, Timberlake conceived ...
'' (2006). 411mania's Jeremy Thomas described the song as a "clear club hit" that oozes sensuality, while '' Paste'' magazine's Holly Gleason cited it as an "epic dance track". Bosman declared "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" 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 ''The 20/20 Experience'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on March 15, 2013, by RCA Records, as the follow-up to his second studio album ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It is considered ...
'' (2013). "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" opens with Timberlake singing a cappella about animalistic carnal desire, 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''. The song then progresses into a more "nightclub-friendly environs" that fuses typical hip hop beats 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". Timberlake's vocals are supported by handclaps, blips, beeps and animal sounds. Lyrically, Timberlake urges his lover "to get closer to your animal inside". Thomas wrote that the song's lyrics are not subtle and noted that Timberlake has "never been about subtlety".


Critical response

Andrew Barker of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine wrote that "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" opens the album effectively while being its "most winningly silly sexual imagery". On the other side, In a review of ''The 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2'', Mesfin Fekadu of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' stated that the album starts on the wrong note by using "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" as its opener.
Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
's Carl Williott wrote that the song is a "clunky jungle-as-sex metaphor" that should have been erased when
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...
's 2013 single "
Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
" was released. Opposite, Melinda Newman of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
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. Chris Bosman of ''Time'' magazine cited "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" as one of the album's best tracks. 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." David Meller of MusicOMH wrote that "there's nothing particularly striking" about the song, but that it's "competent enough".


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2''. Locations *Vocals recorded and mixed at Larrabee Studios,
North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
, California 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


References

{{authority control 2013 songs Justin Timberlake songs Song recordings produced by Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon Song recordings produced by Justin Timberlake Song recordings produced by Timbaland Songs written by James Fauntleroy Songs written by Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon Songs written by Justin Timberlake Songs written by Timbaland