Justin Timberlake, T.I. Team Up For "If I"

"My Love" super duo Justin Timberlake and T.I. have joined forces again, for the Y's-produced joint "If I." The pair don't attempt to duplicate the massively successful sound of "My Love," but opt to steal a page from the Prince playbook for a mellower, funkier but still radio-friendly affair. No one's really sure where this song came from, it just sort of landed on the Internet (like all great things). If it's for a future JT release, it's the singer's first new material since his FutureSex/LoveSounds.

In what may be an elaborate ruse to shift the spotlight off the recording of his next album, Timberlake said in October that he was going to concentrate on contributing to other artists' careers rather than his own. T.I. released his Paper Trail relatively recently, so the song might also be destined for an inevitable "Deluxe" reissue or maybe it's a "Something to remember me by" gift from Tip before he disappears for his looming jail sentence.

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Song Stories

“Youth Knows No Pain”

Lykke Li | 2011

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

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