Danja Tells All: The Stories Behind His Biggest Hits

“We changed the landscape of pop music,” says Danja, the producer extraordinaire, about the incredible run he went on with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Nelly Furtado in 2006. “It changed the music business and what people felt like they needed to succeed with music. It definitely opened the doors for the Skrillexs, David Guettas, and the Afrojacks you see today.”

Though Danja is an accomplished musician in his own right, he’s best known for teaming up with Timbo and helping take the Virginia producers from a hip-hop/R&B hit-maker, to one of the biggest pop craftsmen of the Aughts. With JT’s new album in stores this week, we got on the phone with the producer to talk about which artists are easy to work with, why artists need to be open-minded, and Timbaland’s massive sound library.

As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)

RELATED: The 25 Best Justin Timberlake Songs
RELATED: 50 Things You Didn't Know About Justin Timberlake

Album: The Hunger For More
Label: G-Unit/Interscope

Danja: "The way me and Tim were working at that time was that he would pick a sample and I would create a loop. When you listen to 'I'm So Fly,' you hear the flutes and the guitar and all that stuff. Those were things that I played. Tim would sample that and put a beat to it in his ASR-10. I was creating samples for him to use that were original records.

"I would play the instruments however I want. I would do a dummy drum beat-because I knew he'd do the drums-and just create everything musically. Then I would take out all of the drums. He would run it through his ASR, sample my loop, and recreate the drums. Then we'd probably add a little more when he got the Protools up.

"For the most part, we used everything we made. Even before I met him, sound selection and quality were big things to me. By the time I got to him, I was able to identify good sounds. We didn't go and make a track and have to replace sounds later. We never had to do that, it was always a one-shot deal."

Album: The Documentary
Label: Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope

Danja: "I had a little set up in the house so I started doing some tracks. Tim worked on the bus while I was working in the studio. He came back in the studio off that bus with that track and it blew everybody's head off in the studio. He came in and said, 'I got something.' I added on the choir, the piano, and stuff like that. The beat was definitely done by him, I was just in there but it was a competitive thing. It was always a competitive thing with us in the studio, that carried through the projects we worked on.

"I don't know where Tim finds his [sounds]. He had stuff like that just sitting. You could make five beats just off the sounds he has. His sound collection and the elements he would find are so crazy and so easy that it's a layup for him, he can just put stuff together. Once you get certain elements, sometimes they can almost work for any track.

"As far as myself, I have a massive amount of elements sometimes like little voice samples or little hits. You got them all pulled up in the studio, you can incorporate them into any track, but it takes time to search for all of that. Once you have them, it's amazing because it makes your track that much more interesting, that much more intricate, and those are the elements people will remember."

Album: Loose
Label: Geffen/Mosley Music

Danja: "We worked on Nelly Furtado's album first and then during the mixing process for that, Justin came in and started his project. So we did those back to back. We jumped right into Justin's in Virginia and while we were finishing his project, we jumped into Shock Valueand finished that. We would start an album and during the mix of one album, start another album as the singles from the previous album rolled out.

"Tim had a working relationship with Nelly Furtado for years, she did remixes [with Missy and songs with Ms. Jade]. She was on Interscope as an artist and his label was there. It was a natural progression of artists being on the same label and Jimmy Iovine giving him the opportunity to produce that next album. That whole thing was made in Miami and mixed in Virginia. It took at least three months.

"I was in the studio [the whole time]. [Laughs.] I didn't have time for the clubs. If anything, I was at a strip club. [Laughs.] I was in the studio knocking things out, [Tim] might go out and catch a vibe and come back. His studio was down in Virginia and he decided to go to Virginia to mix and start Justin's album there.

"I had a beat playing. Tim walked in and said what came to him. he started doing the hook and added some drums. A lot of stuff we would start together, some he would start on his own and some I would start on my own. Then we'd come together and finalize it.

"The funny thing about 'Promiscuous' is he had that record done before we started on Nelly, though he might have had her in mind for it when we made it. I don't remember if she was 100 percent feeling it or not. It was one of those, 'I like it but we're still getting ideas out.' In the end, that was the last song we completed for the album. It ended up being the biggest song on the album."

Album: Loose
Label: Geffen/Mosley Music

Danja: "For 'Say It Right,' everyone was in a room together and Nelly had a mic, Tim had drums, I'm playing chords. It was a tiny room and we did all of the records in there. Nelly would write down dummy vocals and then she would write out the lyrics while she was in the booth. She'll write some stuff down and sing it, that's how that one went.

"We weren't even sure of the direction [of the album] at that point. I was just tossing ideas. Tim is a well more versed as a producer so he knew what he was doing. I'm sure Tim had a divine plan on how he wanted album to be. It was a smart thing to incorporate some of the old, classic Nelly Furtado with the new that we brought. It was the perfect blend. Everybody was happy: She gained new fans, her old fans saw her in an new light, and it worked perfectly for her.

"[She became a bigger star] just doing the uptempos and club-type records. I didn't know any of that would work in the club but it did. With those projects, it was straight energy, there wasn't a lot of thought put into it. I could say, 'Okay, we might have been thinking of making it this was.' But no I don't think we thought about too much of anything, it was just good energy, good creative juices, and good chemistry flowing.

"We were all super excited. We knew we were doing something different. It's was up to the powers that be, the executives, to identify the hits and the singles. That's how the process went but we didn't really think about it. We were just having fun. But we were working at all times of the night. I would go in as early as possible, sometimes 5 o'clock. We would go until 8 in the morning. We were dedicated to the studio."

Album: Loose
Label: Geffen/Mosley Music

Danja: "For Nelly [we might have had some leftover songs], but we used most of what we recorded. With 'Maneater,' we had a record going. I came in and dropped some drums down and the idea for 'Maneater.'

"In general, we'd be working on ideas before Nelly got there and she would jump right in. She was opened minded, Justin was open minded too. You got to be an open-minded person, you got to be willing to accept what we're doing in the studio, and not be scared. You just add your own thing and make it a hit. It just so happen we were making incredible music at the same time. When you have an amazing track, an amazing melody and lyrics, and a superstar artist such as Justin or Nelly, you're gonna get what happened in 2006."

Album: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Label: Jive/Zomba

Danja: "Tim and Justin already had a smash with 'Cry Me A River' [before I came into the picture]. Tim worked on four records on the first album so it's one of those 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' type things. They maintained the relationship and Justin went back to work with him. I just so happened to be in on the process.

"We need to making [one artist/one producer albums]. There's talk within the industry of people wanting to do that again. Every classic album has that element [of a single producer]. There's not too many albums nowadays that have a plethora of producers and writers that's been super successful. Yes, there are some, but there are very few.

"For 'SexyBack' We were vibing in the studio. The way those sessions went, we jumped right in. The first record we did was 'What Goes Around Comes Around' and then we hopped into another idea. Me and Timbaland were jamming in the studio and Justin was there. We were recording while we were busting riffs, melodies, and beat patterns.

"There was maybe 45 minutes to two hours of us just jamming and they turned into songs like 'SexyBack,' 'Summer Love,' 'Sexy Ladies,' and another track. We went back, fine-tuned them, and make them songs. Everything we did in those sessions ended up on the album except for one song. Everything else, we made it on the spot and ended up on the project. There was no leftover songs from the FutureSex/LoveSounds sessions except for maybe one."

Album: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Label: Jive/Zomba

Danja: "Tim really went in on that. He had beatboxing, drums, guitar and all kinds of things going on. By the time I got to the studio, that thing was rocking already. I added some stuff here and there but it was a masterpiece by the time I walked in, he was in the zone with that one.

"The creative energy in the studio is important and it's a vibe. It's a domino effect: If good things happen, we're just going to keep going. It doesn't stop. It's easy. You're not distracted and we know we have nothing but time to work."

Album: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Label: Jive/Zomba

Danja: "That one was the first one we did in one day. We walked in, kicked it, then we got busy. I started playing that guitar lick on the keyboard and Tim came right in. hopped on the drums and it just had came about. It built from there. Justin was excited about it, he loved it.

"That song set the tone for the project. It just happened, no over thinking. As soon as you're not open to the first thing that comes out are you're like, 'Nah, I don't want to do this. Let's go in this direction,' that's when you're bringing 'over thought' energy into the studio and that's not what you want.

"For everything we did, there wasn't a lot of second guessing. We just went and did it. We didn't have to redo anything. The only thing we were doing when it came to a song-to-song basis was asking, 'Do we need a bridge? Do we need an intro?' We weren't recording songs and saying, 'That's not going to work for this project.'

"It was common to have jam sessions where we played for a few hours. It would be me and Justin. We had a bunch of sounds loaded up and we were just going. He's pulling stuff up in spur of the moment. Our engineers had to be so skillful and quick to be able cut up and chop what we're doing at the same time. We would have five or six keyboards going, drum machines, and we were just doing music in real time."

Album: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Label: Jive/Zomba

Danja: "That's another one that was done in that jam session and we did those four records just vibing, knocking stuff out. Then we went back and finished it. We did 'Summer Love' in that same jam session. Even though 'Summer Love' didn't have a video, it was a pretty big summer record. so we did a lot in a compressed amount of time.

"Justin would be writing it but he was writing it in his head. [Laughs.] If you can find a piece of paper with lyrics from any of those records, that piece of paper would be worth so much money because that's rare. He came up with stuff off the top of his head, went in the booth, and just put it all down.

"You wouldn't even think he had a whole song. He'd listen to it walking back and forth, he'll go upstairs and eat, we'll be talking, we'll be doing whatever aside from music. Next thing you know, he's like, 'Alright, I'm ready to go in.' [Laughs.]

"He'd go in the booth and lay down a whole song. He would do one take and then add on to it. I'm sure he rehearsed it in his head before he laid it down, but he knew how he wanted to sing it."

Album: We The Best
Label: Terror Squad/Koch

Danja: "By this time, we had hit records out so the traffic was bananas coming at us. I remember DJ Khaled specifically asking one thing. He was like, 'I need the hood 'Promiscuous.'' [Laughs.] That's what he wanted and that's what he got. In the studio I played some stuff and I remember he took his shirt off and started walking around.

"I just gave him the beat and let him do his thing. He got all these people to get on the records and it was amazing. Everyone knows Khaled so it was easy for him. I remember he was sick the day we mixed it, but he loved the mix and he went nuts. He still talks about that to this day."

Album: Shock Value
Label: Mosley Music/Blackground

Danja: "All those records [with Nelly, Justin, and the Timberland solo stuff] came together in that one year. For that song, I had some sounds and then Tim started playing my keyboard messing with sounds. I had a beat going and he did the [melody]. It was weird because now I'm sampling him [instead of the other way around]. I added the drums and everything around it.

"We both are always developing a new style so it evolved through the album-making process. It's always evolving, it's going to change and turn into something different. We strive to keep switching our styles, that's how we maintain eclectic sounds.

"We would all give our feedback to each other. It goes both ways. It may come from one person, but we have to have an open mind [just like I was saying about Justin and Nelly] having an open mind. If they weren't feeling it and they want to go in another direction, we have to be open minded enough to do it. Just like they have to be opened minded enough for us to give them something that may be a little bit different."

Album: Shock Value
Label: Mosley Music/Blackground

Danja: "Tim had that beat and he was like, 'Yo man, put something on top of this.' I start adding all the different chords and other stuff and he was loving it. Nelly was in there writing, Justin came in way later and he did his verse. If you think about it, it felt like 'Promiscuous.'

"[When we had a series of hits] it was one of those surreal moments. I didn't realize what was going on until later. I'm such a studio rat and not caught up in the industry and the hype. So in the midst of all that, I did something for Britney. I stayed busy."

Album: Blackout
Label: Jive

Danja: "[I started producing for Britnety solo because] I didn't have a personal relationship with Justin so I was just a producer doing my job making music. I was left to my own devices. Even though it was just me by myself, we still had a lot of fun.I worked with Britney in Vegas, then we went to L.A. I was really working with her and that was another big project for me. Even though it didn't do what it could have done because she wasn't well at the time. That's the best way I can put it so... [Laughs.]. She didn't promote it and she didn't tour.

"I got Britney fans going crazy on my Twitter. I get hit up all the time about that album. I heard last year she had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's crazy to know that I did something that just reached people like that. The Justin stuff and the Nelly stuff is all massive, but that was one of the ones I did on my own and was notarized, but it wasn't successful.

"So it's like a cult classic and that's great. That's awesome for me that it's still recognized even though financially it didn't take off. It just hit platinum last year and it was released in 2007, so it really goes to show you the power of an artist when they are able to endorse their own project and the power of good music. People still loved it and the record still did well.

"[I got used to playing a lot of my beats in my headphones] because I didn't have the luxury to hear it on the speakers since I was working with Tim. And obviously, it's Tim. He has seniority in the room so whatever he's working on, I had to retreat to headphones. I wish they had these pair of Beats headphones that I have back then. I had some Techniques or something like that that did the job, but I had no choice so the headphones became a comfort zone and it was easy.

"Now, I still retreat to headphones every now and then, but now I obviously have the luxury of big speakers. Back then, it was just all I had. With headphones I lock into my world. I did it because I had no choice. Tim did it because he didn't want nobody to hear what he was doing.

"I remember artists will be there and he'll play it super low and get pissed if somebody opened the door while the track was playing. He didn't want anybody to hear it. I understand why he did it. It was just the surprise and he wanted to present it right. He wanted to play it in the right way.

"For me, I want to get my idea out for myself. Let me get my full idea out and then I can take all the criticism in the world. Sometimes engineers are just sitting in there and not doing anything. So you're just like, 'Is it crazy or not?' So you start second guessing because you're not getting any reaction from anybody. That's a thing with producers and having headphones and privacy in the studio. You're just more in your own space."

Album: T.I. vs T.I.P.
Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic

Danja: "Me and Tim were in New York and we did a track that was crazy. Tim didn't like it though. Everybody left the studio and I'm there by myself. I'm like, 'Should I leave the studio?' because I don't have my sounds or anything here. All I had was my MPC and a Triton. So I came up with that track. That track is so special to me because I made a track out of whatever I had which wasn't much. So I did that horn and I did it all on the Triton and sampled it back into the MPC.

"Gee Roberson came to the studio later that night and Gee sent it Tip who recorded it later. It ended up becoming a single but unfortunately at the same time, it was when the whole gun thing came up. It was about to take off, people were loving it, and it just was unplugged. All the air was deflated.

"It's so frustrating and that happened twice, first with Britney and then T.I. T.I. I had records that were going to be massive and events that outside of music pulled the plug on it. It's discouraging but I had enough going on to where I didn't think about it. Then when you look back, it's like 'Wow, I could have done this.'

"But that was still dope. I actually played Simple Plan the same track and they went nuts. If you look at it, the track is on T.I.'s album and Simple Plan's album, we just did a rock version for Simple Plan."

Album: Curtis
Label: Aftermath/Interscope/Shady

Danja: "Me and Tim were working on another album, we were just in the same place at the same time. 50 reached out to Tim and it just happened. In the midst of everything, all the success and the flood of people coming, 50 Cent was just in the mix."

Album: Hard Candy
Label: Warner Brothers

Danja: "We both spoke to Madonna separately. She reached out to me and I was like, 'Of course I would do it with Tim.' She reached out to Tim as well and circled all the communication and we ended up in London working.

"She was there writing, open minded, not a lot of input track wise. Justin was writing and myself and Tim were doing tracks. It was real easy. The biggest stars are the easiest ones to work with. Some of the artist with no hits or are mild success are the biggest pain in the ass, so it's amazing to work with Madonna.

"She'd crack her little jokes in her dark way. She had a dark sense of humor and you got to be witty to keep up. She didn't say anything specific but you wouldn't know if she was cracking a joke. You can't take her serious or be sensitive because she's probably kidding."

Album: Paper Trail
Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic

Danja: "I did a beat and I sent it to Tip because I wanted to capture just him in a place like, 'I'm in prison, people are slaying me right now, and I just feel like I'm all alone.' That was just my concept on the record. I don't know how he ended up it but I remember getting the vocals back and he went in. That put him in just a way bigger place than he's ever been, he had smashes on that album. He also collaborated with Justin on that album and it was a natural spin off him being on 'My Love' off FutureSex/LoveSounds. I remember when Time magazine had it as one of the top ten songs of the year. It wasn't a hit but it was a good song."

Album: Circus
Label: Jive

Danja: "I didn't see her while she was recording but I had a lot of different tracks and ideas. I wanted to go a different direction because we did so much on the dance side of things. For me, the whole dance thing and electronic music was like, 'Alright, we did that.'

"By that time, I was trying to figure out how to switch my sound and style. I remember using a different set of equipment and doing these pop/rock type records. That wasn't so obviously dance music. Electronic music was super popular by then and it still is. It's amazing the tone that we set in 2006 is just now starting to dwindle away a little bit.

"'Kill the Lights' was nuts. I thought it was crazy but they ended up going with the other record. It was between 'Kill the Lights', 'Womanizer' and 'Circus.' The thing is 'Kill the Lights' was just edgy and crazy to me and perfect for what she went through what she was going through. I guess she's back in the studio again and got to get back to it."

Album: In A Perfect World...
Label: Mosley Music/Zone 4

Danja: “Me and Kevin Cossom were in New York doing records. I played it for Polow Da Don and he loved 'Knock You Down.' He played it for Keri Hilson and she loved it. We already did a lot of records anyway, me and Keri have a great chemistry. We both come from the same school of Timbaland so it’s a natural thing. We were left to develop our own sound and style of our own.

“That’s a special record to me because of my relationship with Keri. I definitely give a lot of credit to Polow, Tim, and Interscope for pushing it through and Polo believing in the record. He knew what it was and he just made it happen for her.

“She came in maybe in 2004 or 2005 when she signed with Polow and Tim. I spent a lot of time with her and I felt like I had a great sense of who she is, who she was as an artist and who she wanted to be.

“Any time I give her music, I feel like I’m right where she wants to be. Or even if I’m not, she can tell me what she wants to do and I understand. She wrote with me on the Britney project, she wrote 'Break the Ice' and she also wrote 'Gimme More.'”