let the muSSSic play

This song is a duet between Furtado and Timbaland, who produced the album. The lyrics are a flirtation between the two, typical of a couple who meets at a dance club or other social gathering. They are both sexually active, but the girl doesn't want the guy to take advantage of her and think of her as a slut, so even though she is attracted to him, she will tease him and test him to make sure he has strong "game," meaning he is a good talker and exudes confidence. As the song progresses, he proves himself and she agrees that they both want the same thing. At this point, there is no need to play games, as he has passed the test.

At the time, Furtado was romantically linked to fellow Canadian Steve Nash, who was the MVP point guard of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. Furtado mentions Nash in the line, "Is that the truth or are you talkin' trash, is your game MVP like Steve Nash?"

The verses are rapped, which was familiar territory for Timbaland, who often raps on his productions, but was a departure for Furtado, who was known for her singing on hits like "I'm Like A Bird" and "Turn Out The Light."

In an interview with Blender magazine, Furtado said that the song is not about sex, but verbal foreplay: "Tim and I called it 'The BlackBerry Song' because everything we say in the song you could text-message to somebody."

Justin Timberlake appears in the video dancing with the extras. (thanks, Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR)

Furtado and Timbaland perform this in the video, which cuts between scenes of them on the phone and in a dance club. They also performed the song on Saturday Night Live, acting out the flirtation with Furtado playing up her sexuality and Timbaland displaying a relaxed cool.
Source:Songfacts

Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake perform on this with Timbaland. Furtado duetted with Timbaland on her 2006 hit single "Promiscuous," making this track something of a favor returned. He has also produced a number of tracks for her, including "Promiscuous," "Maneater," "All Good Things (Come To An End)" and "Say It Right." For Justin Timberlake, he produced "SexyBack," "My Love" and "What Goes Around."

The single is a dig at several unnamed music stars. Timbaland has confirmed in an interview with MTV that fellow producer Scott Storch, with whom he co-wrote Timberlake's 2002 single "Cry Me A River," is the target of his verse. Though the production of "Cry Me a River" is credited solely to Timbaland, Storch has claimed that he was responsible for producing it.

There are contradictory reports that Justin Timberlake's target is either Janet Jackson or Prince, while Nelly Furtado has denied in interviews that her verse is about Fergie despite many reports to the contrary.

On the same day that MTV premiered the music video for this song, Scott Storch responded by releasing "Built Like Dat," featuring the Latino rapper Nox, which makes various accusations against Timbaland.

Furtado expressed regret about contributing to this track in a December 2010 interview with The Metro: "I wish Justin, Timbaland and I hadn't put out that dis song Give It To Me," she said. "It was like the first ever pop dis song – a genre usually reserved for rap. We put a lot of negative energy out into the world."
Source: Songfacts

This is the first single from Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II.

The song features the seductive vocals of French-American singer SoShy, who is a recent signing of Timbaland's Mosley Music Group. Frequent Timbaland collaborator Nelly Furtado also contributes a verse.

Timbaland told MTV News that the song was inspired in part by the popular vampire franchise, Twilight. He said: "The song, I can't describe it, it's so different. It's not different for me, but I can tell you this - it fits everything going on with the vampire theme. It fits everything with Twilight."

Featured artist SoShy (real name Deborah Epstein) was born in France to a French-Argentine-Italian mother and French-Russian father, She split her childhood between Los Angeles and New York City. Timbaland told MTV News: "She's like Amy Winehouse to the 10th power. But not crazy. Sane. Not saying Amy Winehouse is crazy; she's ambitious. Soshy is ambitious, but she has a point to prove."

Two more pieces of SoShy trivia:
1. She co-wrote "Lost Cause" for alternative rock/pop artist Chris Cornell on his 2009 album Scream.
2. Her single "Dorothy" is featured on the FIFA 10 soundtrack.
Source:Songfacts