Justin Timberlake and SZA have released a new song from the Trolls World Tour soundtrack, and while that might not inspire much hope, the song is very good. It’s called “The Other Side,” and is a funky, upbeat single that, like much of the soundtrack, was written by Timberlake alongside producer Ludwig Göransson.
JT and SZA both star in the music video for “The Other Side,” released on Wednesday, which pays homage to classic Hype Williams hip-hop videos from the Nineties. The fisheye lens, the silver bodysuits, the sci-fi industrial rooms that don’t seem to belong to a particular time or place — it’s all here, and it’s done wonderfully.
“I was so thrilled to be invited to participate in this project with Justin,” SZA said in a statement. “The creative process of working with him and the team was filled with such excitement. It’s an energy you can feel in both the song and music video. I can’t wait for people to check it out.”
Timberlake added: “It has been such a fun process writing and executive producing for this project. Being able to bring together different creatives from various disciplines and genres has been the most rewarding part. Creating something that serves the movie while still being able to exist apart from it has been a fun challenge that was made even more exciting by working with the other amazing artists that helped us put this together.”
Aside from the Trolls soundtrack, Timberlake most recently collaborated with Meek Mill on the single “Believe.”
SZA appeared on the cover of the March Women’s Issue of Rolling Stone, alongside Normani and Megan Thee Stallion.