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Timothy Z. Mosley (born March 10, 1971)
better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American musical
composer, record producer, singer, and rapper. With partner Magoo, he is
a member of hip-hop duo Timbaland & Magoo.
Timbaland has been considered similar to
producers such as Brian Eno, Phil Spector, Norman Whitfield and Dr. Dre
in that he helped to redefine the sound of an entire genre of music[1]
with an immediately recognizable production style.[2] The songs he
produces feature unorthodox 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 Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Björk,
Brandy, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Lil' Kim, Utada Hikaru, Ludacris, 50
Cent, The Game, Nelly Furtado, Ginuwine, OneRepublic, Dima Bilan and The
Pussycat Dolls.
****
Background information
Birth name Timothy Z. Mosley
Also known as Timbaland
Born March 10, 1971 (1971-03-10) (age 36)
Origin Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Genre(s) Hip Hop
R&B
Pop rap
Dance-pop
Occupation(s) Rapper, songwriter, record
producer
Instrument(s) Rapping, vocals, sampler,
keyboards, beatboxing, vocoder, bass guitar
Years active 1993–present
Label(s) Blackground, Mosley Music Group,
Interscope
Website TimbalandMusic.com
****
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. Timbaland
had a relationship with Aaliyah in the year 1994. They were together for
about a year. Timbaland still had a strong friendship with Aaliyah after
their relationship.
Timbaland was also friends with classmate
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."
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 to Suffern, NY. 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.
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 11 million copies worldwide, 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". This would eventually lead to a fallout between
the two producers, as Storch would claim that he was not given proper
production credit for "Cry Me a River". While Storch is credited as a
co-writer and pianist on the song, production is credited solely to
Timbaland.
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. The
Timbaland-produced song "I'm So Fly" on Lloyd Banks’s 2004 debut album
The Hunger for More is significant in that it was the first official
Timbaland production bearing a co-production credit from Danja, who
would go on to become a requisite collaborator with Timbaland in the
future. Timbaland also lent a hand to three tracks off bilingual
Japanese Pop star Utada Hikaru’s debut English album, Exodus. 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.
2006–present
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 the U.S.
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.../...Comes Around Interlude", (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 climbed 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,[3] 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.
On April 3, 2007, Timbaland released a
collaboration album featuring artists such as Dr. Dre, Elton John, Fall
Out Boy, Nelly Furtado, Missy Elliott, and others called Timbaland
Presents Shock Value. The first single, "Give It to Me" featuring Nelly
Furtado and Justin Timberlake, topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The
album’s second single, titled "The Way I Are", features Mosley
labelmates Keri Hilson and D.O.E. and features a beat resembling the
recent Justin Timberlake single "Sexyback".
In an interview published in August, he
declared that he had worked on seven songs for Björk’s new album (three
of which, "Earth Intruders", "Hope" and "Innocence" will appear on the
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 and
Curtis. 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.
Timbaland and Madonna are working together
on her new album due in early 2008. 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 2009.
In April 2007, he appeared on WWE
programming in segments with several WWE Divas. In late April, he filmed
a music video for the song "Throw It On Me", starring Ashley Massaro,
Kelly Kelly, Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Layla El, and Maryse. [4]
He produced "Come Around" by British
experimental electronica and rap artist M.I.A., which features himself.
It appears on her second album Kala and was also included as an
international bonus track on Timbaland Presents Shock Value.
Timbaland made several guest appearances at
concert's over the summer of 2007. Including, Justin Timberlake’s
concert at The O2 in London and Live Earth.
He has produced more than six tracks for
Ashlee Simpson's third album which will be released in the first quarter
of 2008. He has also worked on Mary J. Blige's upcoming album titled
Growing Pains,[5] as well as Missy Elliott (new album due spring 2008),
and Jennifer Hudson. According to an interview with Scratch Magazine in
the Nov/Dec issue, Timbaland has been signed to produce the majority of
Beyonce's new album and also work with Usher and Stevie Wonder. He also
has interest in working on former Destiny's Child member, Letoya
Luckett's second album.
Timbaland has been hard at work on his
third studio album, Shock Value II, slated for a 2008 release.[6]
Personal life
In November 2007, it was confirmed that
Timbaland has become a father for the first time. Timbaland issued a
statement that he would take responsibility and have an active role in
his child's life. He and the mother, publicist Monique Idlett (who works
at Timbaland's Mosely record company), have been dating for two years
and will marry in 2008. Timbaland proposed to 33-year-old Idlett at
their baby shower in October. [7]
Controversies
In 2006, Timbaland began to work frequently
with his protege Nate "Danjahandz" Hills, which began his new
rejuvenation in music. With Danja by his side co-producing several
tracks for many artists, "The Timbaland Sound" started to come to a
sudden change. Songs like "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado, and "SexyBack"
by Justin Timberlake featured more synth lines along with more
percussion added to the flavor of this new sound. Even Furtado's Loose
had a little rock flavor to it with tracks like "Afraid", featuring an
Electric guitar riff, and with Justin Timberlake's interlude to
LoveStoned, "I Think that She Knows", with an electric guitar riff.
Timbaland and Danja together and apart would be responsible for some of
the biggest hits in 2006 and 2007.
Plagiarism controversy
Main article: 2007 Timbaland plagiarism
controversy
In early 2007, there was controversy
surrounding Timbaland because of allegations of plagiarism that surfaced
concerning his work on the Nelly Furtado track "Do It". He is alleged to
have plagiarized several elements (both motifs and samples) in the song
without giving credit or compensation. [8][9]
The claimed original track, entitled
"Acidjazzed Evening", is a chiptune-style 4-channel Amiga module
composed by Finnish demoscener Janne Suni (a.k.a. Tempest). The song won
first place in the Oldskool Music competition at Assembly 2000, a
demoparty held in Helsinki, Finland in the year 2000. According to
Scene.org, the song was uploaded to their servers the same year, long
before the release of the song by Furtado. The song was later remixed
(with Suni’s permission) by Norwegian Glenn Rune Gallefoss (a.k.a. GRG)
for the Commodore 64 in SID format - this is the version which was later
allegedly sampled for "Do It". It was added to the High Voltage SID
Collection on December 21, 2002.
A video which claims to show proof of the
theft was posted to YouTube on January 12, 2007. Another video was
posted to YouTube on January 14, 2007, claiming Timbaland also stole the
tune a year earlier for the ringtone Block Party, one of several that
were sold in the United States in 2005. A YouTube video comparing all
the related songs was posted in February 13.
On April 1, the track for "Do It" (without
vocals) was used as theme music for the 2007 Juno Awards broadcast,
which Furtado hosted. The track was played during the show’s opening and
before commercial breaks. The controversial samples could be clearly
heard throughout.
Rivalry with Scott Storch
In 2007 a rivalry flared up between
Timbaland and record producer Scott Storch. The tension 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".
He went on to rap that "I get a half a mill fo' my beats, you get a
couple grand". Timbaland confirmed that he was talking about Storch in
an interview with MTV personality Sway Calloway. He said that he would
go after the trash talkers on his new album Shock Value.[10]
Storch responded with the track "Built Like
That" on February 26, 2007, which features Philadelphia rapper NOX. On
the track, Storch claims to have been solely responsible for the
production of the 2002 Justin Timberlake hit "Cry Me a River", for which
he received a basket of fruit. He also claims that Timbaland’s
production partner Danja has been responsible for his recent string of
hits with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, and mocks the commercial
failure of Timbaland’s former Beat Club label.[11]
Timbaland responded with the song Piano Man
by Mosley Music Group artist D.O.E. The story behind the title is that
Scott Storch uses a piano to make his beats.
They recently ended their feud. This was
confirmed by Timbaland in the final issue of Scratch Magazine.[12]
Awards and nominations
American Music Awards
2007, Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist
(Nominated)
BET Hip-Hop Awards
2007, Best Producer (Winner)
Grammy Awards
2008, Record of the Year "What Goes
Around...Comes Around" (Producer) (Nominated)
2008, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
"Give It to Me" (with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado) (Nominated)
2008, Best Dance Recording "LoveStoned/I
Think She Knows" (Producer, Mixer) (Nominated)
2008, Best Rap Song "Ayo Technology"
(Songwriter, Producer)
2008, Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
2007, Album of the Year
FutureSex/LoveSounds (Producer) (Nominated)
2007, Best Pop Collaboration w/ Vocals
"Promiscuous" (Nominated)
2007, Best Dance Recording "Sexyback"
(Winner)
2004, Best R&B Album "Afrodisiac"
(Producer) (Nominated)
2004, Album of the Year Justified
(Producer) (Nominated)
2004, Album of the Year Under Construction
(Producer) (Nominated)
2004, Best Rap Song "Work It" (Nominated)
2000, Best R&B Song "Get Ur Freak On"
(Nominated)
Belgium TMF Award
2007, Best International Urban (Winner)
MTV Video Music Awards
2007, Most Earthshattering Collaboration
"Sexyback" (Nominated)
2007, Monster Single of the Year "The Way I
Are" (Nominated)
2007, Best Pop Video "Promiscuous"
(Nominated)
2007, Best Dance Video "Promiscuous"
(Nominated)
MTV Australia Video Music Awards
2007, Best Hook-Up "Sexyback" (Winner)
Teen Choice Awards
2007, Choice Male Artist (Nominated)
2007, Choice Rap Artist (Winner)
2007, Choice Music Single "Give It to Me"
(Nominated)
2007, Choice Rap Track "The Way I Are"
(Winner)
2006, Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Track
"Promiscuous" (Winner)
2006, Choice Summer Track "Promiscuous"
(Winner)
2003, Choice Music Collaboration "Cry Me a
River" (Nominated)
Vibe Music Awards
2007, Best Producer (Winner)
Discography
Main articles: Timbaland discography and
Timbaland's production discography
Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment (1998)
Timbaland Presents Shock Value (2007)
Shock Value II (2008)
References
1.
^ MyLyricsCentral: Give It To Me
By Timbaland Disses Scott Storch
2.
^ Pitchfork Media
3.
^ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1839486,00.html
4.
^ Kara A. Medalis (WWE.com)
(April 20, 2007). The Sexiest Women in L.A.. Retrieved on April 21,
2007.
5.
^ [1]
6.
^ Timbaland Working on 'Shock
Value II'. Rap-Up (October 28, 2007). Accessed October 31, 2007.
7.
^ TIMBALAND GETS ENGAGED,
BECOMES A DADDY: Producer confirms birth of daughter and forthcoming
wedding.
8.
^ Did Björk producer Timbaland
steal music from demoscene? More evidences showing up !
9.
^ Is Timbaland a Thief?.
10.
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mistajam/2007/02/timbaland_vs_scott_storch.shtml
11.
^ xxlmag.com
12.
^
http://www.scratchmagazine.com/online/?p=384
****
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