Welcome To Our World

“Welcome to Our World” is the debut studio album by Timbaland & Magoo, released on November 11, 1997, through Blackground Entertainment and Atlantic Records.

The story

Timbaland and Magoo had worked together in Norfolk, Virginia, since 1989 and followed Missy Elliott into DeVante Swing’s Swing Mob camp in New York. By 1997 Timbaland was in demand after producing Aaliyah’s “One in a Million” and Ginuwine’s debut, and Blackground, the label behind Aaliyah, signed the duo. The album arrived four months after Elliott’s “Supa Dupa Fly,” and it drew on the same circle: guests included Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Shaunta Montgomery and Mad Skillz.

Sound and production

Timbaland produced the album, with Smoke E. Digglera credited on “Joy.” The tracks pair his clipped, syncopated drum programming with Magoo’s high, playful rhymes. The opening track samples Elliott’s “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” tying the two albums together, and a later track samples the “Knight Rider” television theme by Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips. The lead single “Up Jumps da Boogie,” released on July 11, 1997, features Elliott and Aaliyah and interpolates Heatwave’s 1977 single “Boogie Nights” in its chorus. It reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, and was certified gold. “Luv 2 Luv U” served as a promotional single, and “Clock Strikes,” released on April 14, 1998, reached No. 37 on the Hot 100.

Legacy

The album peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and No. 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and the RIAA certified it platinum on May 12, 1998. Robert Christgau gave it an A−, Spin rated it 8 out of 10 and Entertainment Weekly gave it a B. The Village Voice wrote that the duo brought “hiphop back to its party-arty roots, creating something fun and fabulous.” Timbaland & Magoo followed it with “Indecent Proposal” (2001) and “Under Construction, Part II” (2003). Magoo died on August 13, 2023, and “Welcome to Our World” remains the duo’s most successful record and a companion piece to Elliott’s debut.

Released November 11, 1997. More from hip hop in 1997.