In the five years since The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake seems to have taken the various J. Cole shots to heart as he adjusts his target audience with the release of his new album, Man of the Woods.
Timberlake describes Man of the Woods as “a wide range of sonics” featuring everyone from The Neptunes to Chris Stapleton and arrives just in time for Timberlake’s halftime performance at this Sunday’s Super Bowl (Feb. 4).
The dropping of this project reveals Timberlake’s unseen side. Throughout the songs of his fourth album, he strives to detail the relationship between himself and his son, Silas – whose name gives the work its title as it means “of the woods.” This connection could explain Timberlake’s new career direction.
“Everything before Man of the Woods is aspiration and Man of the Woods really is the inspiration,” the Memphis-native explained during an interview on Beats 1 Radio. “When you have kids, all of a sudden, you’re faced with your own childhood.”
Yet because the promotion leading up to the album is not the “JT” many are used to, there is a sense of intrigue about what Memphis and his son mean to the musician, generating intrigue for what Man of the Woods has in store.