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Timbaland

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Timothy Z. Mosley (born March 10, 1971), better known as Timbaland, is an American musical composer and R&B record producer and rapper whose style influenced both genres even helping to blur the distinction between R&B and hip-hop, as well as pop and dance music. With partner Magoo, he is a member of hip-hop group Timbaland & Magoo.

Timbaland is similar to producers such as Phil Spector, Brian Eno, or Norman Whitfield in that he helped to redefine the sound of an entire genre of music with an immediately recognizable production style. [1] The songs he produces feature unusual arrangements, sounds, and instrumentation, tied together by a trademark sense of space and rhythm. Like Spector and Whitfield, Timbaland's production sometimes overshadows the credited performer and becomes the actual "star" of the song. With songwriters Steve "Static" Garrett and childhood friend Missy Elliott, Timbaland has helped to create some of the most successful songs in modern pop music and urban music, including singles for Elliott, Aaliyah, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris, Nelly Furtado and The Pussycat Dolls.

Biography

Early years: 1993 - 1995

Mosley was born and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where he became acquainted with Missy Elliott and Melvin Barcliff, whose MC name was "Magoo." Originally a disc jockey known as "DJ Timmy Tim," Mosley began making hip-hop backing tracks on a Casio keyboard he owned. Elliott heard his material and, taken by Mosley's unique sense of rhythm, immediately began working with him. After several collaborations, the trio moved to Suffern, NY.

Elliott and her girl group Sista auditioned for DeVante Swing, producer and member of successful R&B act Jodeci. Devante signed Sista to his Swing Mob label, and Elliott brought Mosley and Barcliff along with her. Mosley began working under Devante, who renamed the young producer Timbaland, after the Timberland boot popular in hip-hop fashion.

Sista and Timbaland & Magoo became part of Devante's stable of Swing Mob signees known as "Da Bassment" crew, joining artists and groups such as male singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa, and girl group Sugah. Timbaland did production work on a number of projects with Devante, including the 1995 Jodeci LP The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel, and Sista's debut LP, which was shelved and never saw release.

Timbaland was also friends with Pharrell Williams, and had dabbled in projects with him as S.B.I., or Surrounded By Idiots. Williams recalls in an interview: "In seventh grade I met Chad [Hugo, the other half of The Neptunes]. That’s twenty years ago by now. Like I said earlier, we started producing beats together. But then again, I also played with this famous group which consisted of Timbaland, Magoo, myself and some other guy. Chad wasn’t a part of the group, so I was in "The Neptunes" and "Surrounded By Idiots" at the same time."

After Swing Mob: 1995 - 1996

In 1995, most of Devante's acts broke their ties with the producer and went their own ways. Elliott, Timbaland, Magoo, Playa, and Ginuwine continued to collaborate, and began working on individual projects. Elliott began receiving recognition as a songwriter and guest artist for artists such as 702 and MC Lyte, and Timbaland was sometimes assigned to produce remixes of Elliott-penned songs. One of these, the remix to 702's "Steelo" in 1996, became Timbaland's first important production credit.

The "Timbaland sound": 1996 - 2000

Also in 1996, Ginuwine released his debut album, Ginuwine...the Bachelor, which was produced entirely by Timbaland. The album was both a commercial and critical success, and its first single, "Pony," was the first example of what would later become the signature Timbaland sound.

The track for "Pony," which Timbaland had created two years prior during the Swing Mob days, was characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music, which used snare and kick hits on typically non-accented beats in the measure. Stuttering high-hats typical of southern bass music accompanied the basic drum sounds, which were, unusual for hip-hop and R&B of this period, severely gated to create short, strong sounds. This use of the "short snare" is in marked contrast to the "long snare" sound in New Wave music in the 1980s, which featured a heavily amplified, almost white noise snare drum put through reverberation. Accompanying the unusual rhythm were melody lines created by playing odd sound effects (vocal effects and cartoon slide whistles) through a sampling keyboard. The other tracks on Ginuwine...the Bachelor also featured similar production and arrangements. On many of the tracks, Timbaland can be heard either rapping or providing ad-libs, similar to what both Elliott and Puff Daddy were doing at the time; Timbaland's deep voice was usually vocoded to give it an electronic sound.

While work was being completed on Ginuwine...the Bachelor, R&B artist Aaliyah contacted Timbaland and Missy Elliott to write and produce most of her second album, One In A Million. The tracks that were crafted for Aaliyah featured innovative arrangements similar to those on Ginuwine...the Bachelor. One In A Million went on to sell over two million copies, and made superstars out of not only Aaliyah, but Elliott and Timbaland as well.

Elliott and Timbaland became one of the most successful and prolific songwriting/production teams of the late-1990s. By the end of the decade, Timbaland's sound had been heard in records from artists such as SWV, Destiny's Child, Nicole Wray, Total, Jay-Z, and Nas. Most of his production work during this period was reserved for his original stable of collaborators: two Missy Elliott albums (Supa Dupa Fly and Da Real World), a second effort by Ginuwine (100% Ginuwine), and Playa's debut album (Cheers 2 U). Timbaland produced much (if not all) of the material on many of their albums during this period, and also made two albums of his own: one with Magoo, and one solo album. Timbaland's own raps, which were usually ghostwritten by Elliott, Magoo, or his younger brother Garland Mosley (AKA Sebastian), were almost always accompanied by other MCs, including his main collaborators and numerous guest artists.

Timbaland spawned a plethora of imitators, some of whom went as far as to sample sections of his work to create similar-sounding tracks. The popularity of the "Timbaland sound" marked a shift in hip-hop music from rougher, sample-based tracks to simpler, more synthetic musical accompaniment. Since Timbaland worked in both hip-hop and R&B and often combined elements of one in tracks for the other, his work aided the blending together of the two genres, which became less and less distinct during the first half of the 2000s.

Foreign, especially Asian, instrumentation is present through much of his early work (Xscape's "My Secret" remix, especially, with a rollicking sitar outro and Timbaland ad-libbing "Let's take a little trip...to India"), but was most successful and prevalent with Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" (1999), which borrowed directly from the song "Khosara" by Egyptian composer Abdel Halim Hafez. Missy Elliott's 2001 hit single, "Get Ur Freak On" from her third album, Miss E...So Addictive, was also likewise a smash, using a speedy Tabla drumline typical of Hindustani classical music. In his second album, on the track "Party People," Tim sampled a track from Zimbabwe's Oliver Mtukudzi, skillfully imitating the illustrious strumming of Mtukudzi's guitar. His borrowing from these cultures has resulted in mixed reactions, with many critics embracing his musical adventurousness and eclecticism and more esoteric, purist factions reacting cautiously, and sometimes negatively. In an interview with Missy Elliott in RayGun Magazine, he mentioned a diverse base of influences, from UK Drum and Bass to Garage.

2000 - 2002

Timbaland-produced songs such as Ludacris' "Roll Out (My Business)," Jay-Z's "Hola' Hovito," Petey Pablo's "Raise Up," and Beck's cover of David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" that were recorded and released during this period, and he contributed to Limp Bizkit's 2001 remix album, New Old Songs. He also contributed three songs--all eventually released as singles--to Aaliyah's self-titled third album, "We Need a Resolution" featuring himself, "More Than a Woman," and the ballad "I Care 4 U".

Timbaland & Magoo's second album together, Indecent Proposal, had been scheduled for release in November 2000, and was to feature appearances by Beck, Aaliyah, and new Timbaland protégés -- some of whom were signed to his new Beat Club Records imprint--Ms. Jade, Kiley Dean, Sebastian, Petey Pablo, and Tweet (who was a member of Sugah during the Swing Mob days). The album was delayed for an entire year, finally being released the following November. It was a commercial disappointment. Beck's vocals for the track "I Am Music" were not included on the final released version, which instead featured Timbaland singing alongside Static (Steven Garrett) of Playa and Aaliyah, who had been killed in a plane crash three months before the release of the album. The loss of Aaliyah deeply affected Timbaland, whose work was less omnipresent after 2001.

2002 - 2005

The first release on Beat Club was the debut album by Bubba Sparxxx in September 2001, Dark Days, Bright Nights. Timbaland contributed three tracks to Tweet's debut album, Southern Hummingbird, and produced most of Missy Elliott's fourth and fifth LPs, Under Construction and This Is Not A Test! He also produced hit singles and album tracks for artists such as Lil’ Kim ("The Jump Off") and Pastor Troy during this period. Collaborating with Scott Storch, Timbaland also produced a number of tracks on former *NSYNC lead singer Justin Timberlake's solo debut, Justified, including the hit single "Cry Me a River".

Late in 2003, Timbaland delivered the second Bubba Sparxxx album, Deliverance, and the third Timbaland & Magoo album, Under Construction, Part II. Both albums were released to little fanfare or acclaim even though Deliverance was praised by reviews and embraced by the internet community.

Timbaland continued to produce hit singles and albums for artists; in 2004 Timbaland-produced singles by LL Cool J, Xzibit, Fatman Scoop and Jay-Z became staples on urban radio, and he produced the bulk of Brandy's fourth album, Afrodisiac. Timbaland also lent a hand to three tracks off bilingual Japanese Pop star Utada's debut English album, Exodus. New songs from artists such as Tweet and The Game were released in 2005.

2005 - present

In 2005, Timbaland produced a song on Tweet and The Game's albums ("Steer" and "Put You on the Game" respectively). He also produced two songs on Missy Elliott's sixth album, The Cookbook: "Joy (feat. Mike Jones)" & "Partytime", as well as "He'll Be Back" on Jennifer Lopez's fifth studio album, Rebirth.

Timbaland started a new label, Mosley Music Group, once again under Interscope out of the former Beat Club Records label he had previously managed. On the label are singers Nelly Furtado and Keri Hilson, and rapper D.O.E. Timbaland's parternship and mentorship of upcoming producer Nate "Danjahandz" Hills is evident in Timbaland's rejuvenation in music. Furtado's third album, Loose, was released under MMG in June 2006, debuting at number one in U.S., and Hilson's debut will follow in early 2007. Timbaland has also worked with Whitney Houston, JC Chasez, Missy Elliott, Diddy, Young Jeezy, Chingy, The Game, Chilli of TLC, Tweet, Björk, 50 Cent, Rich Boy, UGK, Stat Quo, Snoop Dogg, rapper Eve and more.

During 2006, Timbaland had seven singles receiving massive airplay worldwide: "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "All Good Things (Come to an End)" and "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado, and Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack", "My Love" and "What Goes Around...", (Timbaland produced Timberlake's U.S. number-one album FutureSex/LoveSounds along with protege Danja and Timberlake himself,) and also appears in most of the videos for these songs. He provides vocals on the singles "Wait a Minute" by The Pussycat Dolls, Say It Right by Nelly Furtado and "Ice Box" by Omarion, all of which are currently climbing the charts in the U.S., and he appears in the videos for these three songs as well. Timbaland is rumored to have future singles put out by Tweet, Chingy, and the first single off Redman's long anticipated album Red Gone Wild. In an interview published in August 2006 in the UK,[1] Timbaland revealed he was working on a new LP by Jay-Z and that he had been working on tracks with Coldplay's Chris Martin. Timbaland has also recently worked with UK record producer "SK." Both parties have delayed plans for further collaborations due to school commitments from the latter. In January 2007, SK was mentioned in a radio interview by Timbaland who remarked he was a rising star.

Timbaland is creating a new collaboration album featuring artists such as Dr. Dre, Elton John, Madonna, Fall Out Boy, Nelly Furtado, Ludacris, Chris Martin, Björk, Missy Elliott, and others. The first single is "Give It to Me" featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. The album will be released on April 3, 2007 according to MTV News. In an interview published in August, he declared that he had worked on seven songs for Björk's new album, and in another he was later reportedly working on tracks for the next Duran Duran album, due in 2007, including one song featuring Justin Timberlake. Also in 2007, Timbaland will be producing songs for Bone Thugs upcoming new LP, Strength & Loyalty and 50 Cent's new album, Before I Self Destruct, on Interscope records, as well as Ludacris, Missy Elliott, Whitney Houston, Eve, Marcia Ambrosius of Floetry, Chili of TLC, Madonna, Chris Brown, Bobby Valentino, and 50 Cent. Surprisingly, Timbaland has invited help from outside of the US industry and called upon Quang Chou from the label chou*star to co-produce many tracks and work along side him. chou*star is a label currently based in the UK soon to venture with Timbaland. As well, Timbaland and Madonna have shown interest in working together on Madonna's new album due late in the year.

Timbaland will be performing at WWE's WrestleMania 23 pay-per-view in Detroit, Michigan on April 1st, 2007. He is also working with Rockstar Games to produce Beaterator, a music mixing game for the PlayStation Portable to be released in the Summer of 2007.

Plagiarism controversy

Main article: 2007 Timbaland plagiarism controversy

The beginning of 2007 brought controversy to Timbaland, allegations of plagarism surfaced concerning his work on the Nelly Furtado track "Do It". [2][3] A video comparing Janne Suni's original track to Furtado's Do It is available on YouTube. [2]

Rivalry with Scott Storch

Recently, a beef has flared up between Timbaland and famed record producer Scott Storch. The beef initially started on the single "Give It to Me", when Timbaland anonymously called out Storch, rapping, "I'm a real producer and you just the piano man". Timbaland went on to rap that "I get a half a mill my beats you get a couple grand". A couple months later, Storch responded with "Built Like That", (the first time that Storch himself actually rapped on a song) in which he criticized Timbaland's street credibility. Storch also criticized Timbaland's physical image, rapping "still aint lose that pack of frank's out the back of your neck". Storch also made claims that Danja is the real producer behind Timbaland's success. Danja is a producer who works with Timbaland and has recieved co-credits for recent hits by Justin TImberlake and Nelly Furtado. Nox, who was feature on the song attacked Timbaland's sexuality and his street credibility as well. Timbaland then responded with the song "Piano Man" which featured rapper D.O.E. and was produced by Timbaland. The story behind the title is that Scott Storch uses a piano to make his beats. In the song D.O.E. disses Storch for taking Dr. Dre's and Timbaland's style and attacks his street credibility rapping, "Why you actin like you built for this? Fuckin bitch, man you hang with Paris Hilton's click". He also attacks Storch rapping "Beyoncé straight dissed you, Dre dismissed you, heard Lil' Kim say you got little dick issues" and for calling Timbaland a nigga in the end of "Built Like That". He attacks Nox for being a reggaeton artist and doing a song with MC Hammer. Even Ms. Jade, a former Beat Club artist, took it upon herself to release a record aimed at Storch. In "Built Like That", Storch stated that "Everything signed to Beat Club was wack" and told Timbaland "You dont know how to pick talent". Her diss record, entitled "Beam U Up", discussed Storch's allegations of being "a homo", his addiction to cocaine and viagra, and how Storch bought rap star Lil' Kim a Bentley GT, which she could easily afford, and she dumped him shortly afterwards. Ms. Jade also threatened to "break his piano fingers" and she claimed she would "make it hard for him to come to Philly". Attitude, another former Beat Club artist, also released a song aimed at Storch & Nox titled "Wouldn't Get Far". Nox then replied to D.O.E. with the song "1st Degree Murder" dissing him and Timbaland.

Discography

Main article: Timbaland production discography

Selected Timbaland production credits

Swing Mob affiliated

Beat Club affiliated

  • 2001: "Ugly" by Bubba Sparxxx featuring Timbaland
  • 2001: "Lovely" by Bubba Sparxxx
  • 2003: "Deliverance" by Bubba Sparxxx
  • 2003: "Ching Ching" by Ms.Jade featuring Nelly Furtado & Timbaland
  • 2003: "Make Me a Song" by Kiley Dean

Mosley Music Group affiliated

Outside performers

Timbaland & Magoo discography

Albums

Singles

Timbaland solo discography

Albums

Year Album
1998 Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment
2007 Timbaland Presents Shock Value

Singles

References

  1. ^ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1839486,00.html
  2. ^ Did Björk producer Timbaland steal music from demoscene? More evidences showing up !
  3. ^ "Is Timbaland a Thief?".

External links

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