let the muSSSic play

This is the third single from American record producer Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II. The long player is Timbaland's first not to carry a Parental Advisory or to contain the "n word".

The song features Justin Timberlake with whom Timbaland has collaborated several times previously, including on the Grammy-nominated "Give It To Me." He told MTV News: "We got a chemistry that cannot be described. People ask, 'Well, what are you and Justin like?' Can't tell you what it's like - it's a chemistry that can't be described. Something you would have to see for yourself and be, like, 'Them two got magic.'"

Timbaland told MTV that this is his favorite track on Shock Value II. He explained: "That is my favorite, favorite record. Me and my best friend J.T. - Justin Timberlake. That [song] reminds me of a 2010 'Drop It Like It's Hot.' All these sounds from all over."

Timbaland told MTV News that the studio session for this song was similar to their previous collaborations. Timberlake came in, heard the track, and without a pad or pen, composed the lyrics in his head. The producer explained the lyrical content to MTV News: "We tried to give another slang for women. Instead of 'Your phat butt' or 'Your big breasts,' we say, 'Oh, I need you. Can I be your carry out? Be my carry out. I want you to be my dinner, my leftovers, my everything.' It's a different slang. We're grown men, I wanna be subliminal to females. Like, 'Oooh, carry out? That's kinda sexy.'"

"Carry Out" is a southern name for a shop or restaurant where customers pick up food for consumption elsewhere, and in this song Timba and Timber use the term as a metaphor for what they would like to happen with some eye candy of the female persuasion.
Source:Songfacts