Justin Timberlake reflects on his early 2000s Beatboxing Phase with a lighthearted response.
Regarding his affinity for beatboxing, Justin Timberlake is reflecting on himself. Hannah Young, a content creator, humorously questioned why Timberlake's use of vocal percussion faced little criticism early in his career, the Grammy winner apologized for the technique he favors.
In the video posted to Instagram on October 6, Young mentioned how “we don’t talk about Justin Timberlake beatboxing enough,” adding that “there was a moment in time where that man would be in the middle of a song and just boots and cats and boots and cats.”
“Nobody questioned it,” she added. “Nobody said, ‘Justin, you know? We have drums. This is a professional recording studio. There are instruments available to you.’ And we liked it. That’s what I need us to sit with.”
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Timberlake said that he was unable to control the emotion at the moment.
“I often look back on that time as well,” in the comments, he remarked. “I still haven’t come up with any answers. I don’t know how to apologize enough for whatever those ambitions were. Too many boots. Too many cats. I hope you can forgive me.”
He can't, however, promise that he won't resume beatboxing, saying, “Also, I can’t promise I won’t do it again. God help us all.”
The 45-year-old father of six-year-old Phineas and eleven-year-old Silas, with wife Jessica Biel, has shown his beatboxing skills on songs including NSYNC's 2001 hit "Pop." He once explained how the skill helped shape one of his biggest songs, "Cry Me a River."
In fact, he disclosed that Timbaland, the song's co-creator, beatboxed the song's core before it became a certified smash in 2002.
“The crazy thing about ‘Cry Me a River’ was he beat-boxed it first,” in a 2020 Hot Ones episode, Timberlake informed Sean Evans. “I came into the studio, and I was like less than thrilled and I think he saw my mood, and he just started, like, [beatboxing].”
"Cry Me a River," which was included on Timberlake's 2002 solo debut album Justified, became one of his early hallmark songs and won him a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance in 2004. He remembered creating the music. “I kind of blacked out.”
“I was just off to the races writing the song,” he continued. “Four hours later, it was written and recorded and then we started working on post-production.”
The singer of "SexyBack" revealed in 2025 that he had Lyme Disease, which causes him "a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness." Despite this, he says he will continue to be committed to music till the end of time.
“I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling,” at the moment, he posted on Instagram. “I’m so glad I kept going."
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