User:Tomica/Sandbox:Murder (Justin Timberlake song)

"Murder" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his fourth studio album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). Featuring a rap verse by American hip-hop artist Jay-Z, the song was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy and Jay-Z. It marks the third collaboration between the artists, the first two being the 2013 singles, "Suit & Tie" and "Holy Grail".

Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Murder" is a "snappy" hip hop, pop and R&B song with a length of five minutes and eight seconds. It is a bhangra-influenced song that features similar compositional structure to Timbaland's "groundbreaking" work on Missy Elliott's 2001 single "Get Ur Freak On".

Melinda Newman of HitFix wrote that lyrically the song is about "a woman who has so much going on below the waist that it can only lead to murder." HipHopDX's Arasia Graham noted that the song is about a beautiful woman that has a lethal sex and compares her to a "stone-cold" killer. The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman stated that it is a "ecstatic, fidgety ode to the killer charms of a fierce femme fatale." Jason King of Spin wrote that "Murder" features a reference to Jackson 5's 1973 single "Dancin' Machine".

The song's chorus features Timberlake singing the lines, "Ooh, that girl is murder". Jay-Z's rap verse features reference about Japanese artist Yoko Ono, famous for her relationship with Beatles' frontman John Lennon. He raps the lines, "Yoko Ono, she got that Yoko Ono. You know that shit that made John Lennon go solo. Know that shit gotta be lethal. If that shit broke up The Beatles." Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork wrote that during the lines Jay-Z "hypothesizes on the efficacy of Yoko Ono's vagina".

Critical reception
Critics were divided on the song. Amy Gravelle of Entertainmentwise wrote that "Murder" is a slick rendition of everything Jay-Z and Timberlake offer as a duo, "confidence, swagger and style". Lanre Bakare of The Guardian wrote that "Murder" together with "Take Back the Night" and "TKO" are the strongest efforts on The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. Graham of HipHopDX noted that the song would be better if Jay-Z was the main artist on the song because of its rhythmic structure; additionally he called his verse "semi-decent". Dave Hanratty of Drowned in Sound stated that Jay-Z's appearance on the song is a step up from the previous collaborations between the artists, "Suit & Tie" and "Holy Grail". Vibe's Stacy-Ann Ellise praised Jay-Z's rap on the song and wrote that is better than Drake's verse on the third track from the album, "Cabaret". Al Horner of NME noted that Jay-Z raps with more energy on the song than on "Suit & Tie".

Craig Manning of AbsolutePunk called the song a "kinetic should-be chart-topper" that has an infectious nature. However, he criticized Jay-Z's verse calling it worse than the one on "Suit & Tie", "a radio edit with Jay Z excised entirely would be much appreciated". Irish Independent's John Meagher labeled Jay-Z's appearance in the song as "dissapointing". On the other side, T'cha Dunlevy of Montreal Gazette stated that they are trying too hard on the song. Newman of HitFix wrote that the song is a "mess" that has too much going on in it. Brice Ezell of PopMatters wrote that the song "grounds itself around a clunky metaphor about a woman being 'murder', which not even Timberlake’s suave delivery can save from its patent awkwardness.

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2.
 * Locations
 * Vocals recorded and mixed at Jungle City Studios, New York City
 * Personnel


 * Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley – production
 * Justin Timberlake – vocals, mixing, production, vocal production, vocal arrangement
 * Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon – keyboards, production
 * Jay-Z – vocals
 * Chris Godbey – engineering, mixing
 * Jimmy Douglass – mixing
 * Elliot Ives – recording, guitar