Timbaland fired off the first shot in his imminent beat battle with Swizz Beats on Saturday [July 15], when he released a "warm up" instrumental that set off a back and forth that lasted deep into the night.

In the first of three video clips he'd post, Timbo introduced a smooth mellow sound with plenty of bounce to it. Swizz would soon respond, and from that point forward the competition was on. While blasting his second beat the VA producer began feeling himself enough to issue a taunt or two, referring to his friendly rival as "Swizz cheese," at one point. Finally, Timbaland closed out the exchange with a snippet that opens up with the hashtag #withthesmoke, before the music kicks off with a Jay-Z sample.

"Look, look, look, look, look.. This is no more of the warm-up. This is the start," Timbaland said. Moments into the recording he returns to the Hov hook to slow it down and recite the words. "Goodnight," he then concludes in signing out.

Source: instagram.com