Timbaland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Timbaland
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Timbaland in 2019
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Timothy Zachery Mosley
March 10, 1972 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
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| Years active | 1994–present |
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Monique Idlett
(m. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Pharrell Williams (cousin) |
| Awards | Full list |
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Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known as Timbaland, is an American record producer and songwriter. He was born and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. He is famous for his unique music style. Entertainment Weekly said in 2007 that many pop music trends came from him. He has won four Grammy Awards.
Timbaland first became well-known for producing the album Ginuwine...the Bachelor (1996) for R&B singer Ginuwine. He then had more success with Aaliyah's album One in a Million (1996) and Missy Elliott's album Supa Dupa Fly (1997). This made him a very popular producer for R&B and hip-hop artists.
He also released music as an artist himself. He put out three albums with the hip-hop group Timbaland & Magoo. His first solo album, Tim's Bio, came out in 1998. He produced Justin Timberlake's song "Cry Me a River" in 2002. After that, he produced most of Timberlake's later albums, like FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006) and The 20/20 Experience (2013).
Timbaland's 2007 song "Give It To Me" (with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake) was a number one hit. It was on his second album, Shock Value (2007). Other popular songs from this album included "The Way I Are" (with Keri Hilson) and "Apologize" (with OneRepublic). His third album, Shock Value II (2009), had hit songs like "Carry Out" (with Justin Timberlake) and "Say Something" (with Drake).
During this time, Timbaland also produced songs for many other famous artists. These included Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Madonna, Kanye West, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, and Björk.
Timbaland started his own record labels. He founded Beat Club in 2001 and Mosley Music Group in 2006. Through these labels, he signed artists like Nelly Furtado, OneRepublic, Keri Hilson, Bubba Sparxxx, and Chris Cornell. In 2020, he launched a service called Beat Club to help new music producers. He also co-created the online music battle series Verzuz in 2020 with fellow producer Swizz Beatz.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Timothy Zachery Mosley was born on March 10, 1972. His mother, Latrice, ran a homeless shelter. His father, Garland Mosley, worked for Amtrak. He went to Salem High School in Virginia Beach.
When he was a DJ, people called him "DJ Tim" or "DJ Timmy Tim". He has a younger brother named Sebastian. His sister, Courtney Rashon, is a makeup artist and author. In high school, Timbaland started working with rapper Melvin (Magoo) Barcliff. ..... His cousin, Pharrell Williams, was also in this group.
When Timbaland was 14, he had an accident at a restaurant. He was shot and partly paralyzed for nine months. During this time, he learned to DJ using his left hand.
Music Career Highlights
Early Success (1992–2005)
Rapper Missy Elliott heard Timbaland's music through Magoo. She and her group, Sista, met with producer DeVante Swing. DeVante signed Sista to his Swing Mob record label. Missy brought Timbaland and Magoo with her to New York. DeVante gave Timbaland his new name, inspired by Timberland boots.
Timbaland and Magoo joined DeVante Swing's label, Swing Mob. This label had other artists like Ginuwine and Playa. Timbaland produced music for DeVante's projects, including a Jodeci album. Missy Elliott became known as a songwriter. Because of her, Timbaland often got asked to make remixes of songs.
Timbaland started by producing for R&B artists. In the mid-1990s, he produced songs for Jodeci and Sista. In 1996, he became very famous. He produced most of Aaliyah's album One in a Million and Ginuwine's album Ginuwine...the Bachelor. These albums had big hits like "If Your Girl Only Knew" by Aaliyah and "Pony" by Ginuwine.
Timbaland's music style was very hip-hop, with fast beats and clear drum sounds. He used this hip-hop sound in R&B music. This helped mix hip-hop and R&B styles. In 1997, he produced all of Supa Dupa Fly, the first album for his childhood friend Missy Elliott. This album was hip-hop. Also in 1997, he released his first album with Magoo, Welcome to Our World.
In the late 1990s, his hip-hop sound became very popular. He produced for many famous hip-hop artists like Jay-Z and Nas. He also produced Missy Elliott's second album, Da Real World, in 1999. He continued to produce for R&B artists like Ginuwine and Aaliyah. He also worked on albums for Xscape and Total. He remixed Usher's hit song "You Make Me Wanna".
In the early 2000s, Timbaland produced songs for Ludacris, Jay-Z, and Petey Pablo. He also worked on three songs for Aaliyah’s third album. These included "We Need a Resolution" and "More Than a Woman". He also appeared in Aaliyah's song "Try Again".
..... It did not sell very well. The first album from his new Beat Club label was by Bubba Sparxxx in September 2001. The passing of Aaliyah affected Timbaland deeply. He said she was like family and he lost part of his creativity.
Timbaland produced songs for Tweet's first album. He also produced most of Missy Elliott's albums Under Construction and This Is Not a Test!. He worked with producer Scott Storch on Justin Timberlake’s first solo album, Justified. This included the song "Cry Me a River".
In late 2003, Timbaland released the second Bubba Sparxxx album, Deliverance. He also released the third Timbaland & Magoo album, Under Construction, Part II. In 2004, Timbaland produced songs for LL Cool J and Jay-Z. He also produced most of Brandy’s fourth album, Afrodisiac. He worked on songs for Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada’s album Exodus. He continued to work with Tweet and Missy Elliott. He also produced for The Game and Jennifer Lopez.
Global Hits and New Ventures (2006–2011)
Timbaland started a new label, Mosley Music Group. He brought artists like Nelly Furtado, Keri Hilson, and D.O.E. to the label. In 2006, he produced Justin Timberlake's album FutureSex/LoveSounds. ..... He also sang on singles for The Pussycat Dolls and Nelly Furtado. In 2006, he said he was working on a new album for Jay-Z.
Timbaland worked on seven songs for Björk's 2007 album, Volta. He also worked on songs for the Duran Duran album, Red Carpet Massacre. Later in 2007, Timbaland produced songs for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and 50 Cent. He also produced most of Ashlee Simpson's third album, Bittersweet World.
On April 3, 2007, Timbaland released his album Shock Value. It featured many artists like 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Elton John, and Nelly Furtado. There was a disagreement between Timbaland and producer Scott Storch around this time.
In 2008, Timbaland produced many albums for different artists. These included Madonna's Hard Candy, Keri Hilson's In a Perfect World, and Chris Cornell's Scream. Timbaland produced the song "Believe" for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. This song won the contest.
In February 2008, Timbaland designed a T-shirt for the Fashion Against AIDS collection. This helped raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. In September 2009, Timbaland worked with Rockstar Games to create Beaterator. This was a music mixing game for PlayStation Portable and iOS.
Timbaland started working on Shock Value II in July 2008. He wanted to work with artists like Madonna, Jordin Sparks, Beyoncé, and Rihanna. Shock Value II was released on December 8, 2009. It featured artists like Justin Timberlake, JoJo, Drake, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry.
"Morning After Dark" was the first single from Shock Value II. It featured SoShy and Nelly Furtado. "Say Something" with Drake was the second single. "Carry Out" with Justin Timberlake was the third single and was very successful. "If We Ever Meet Again" with Katy Perry was the fourth single.
Timbaland produced Chris Cornell's 2009 album Scream. He was a guest host for WWE's Raw on December 28, 2009. His songs also appeared in the video game Def Jam: Underground.
In April 2010, Timbaland released a new song called "Talk That". In June 2010, he said that he inspired the dubstep music scene in the UK. In August 2010, his home was robbed. He was found safe after his family called the police.
In 2010, Timbaland left his label Blackground Records but stayed with Interscope Records. He worked on Chris Brown's album F.A.M.E.. He also worked with David Guetta and Demi Lovato. In November 2010, Timbaland announced he would release a new song every Thursday. He called this "Timbo Thursdays".
Later Projects and Recent Work (2011–Present)
On January 14, 2011, Timbaland started "Timbaland Thursdays". The first song was "Take Ur Clothes Off" with Missy Elliott. The first official single from Shock Value III was "Pass at Me" with Pitbull. The second single was "Break Ya Back" with Dev. For the movie Step Up Revolution, Timbaland released "Hands In the Air" with Ne-Yo.
On January 30, 2014, Timbaland signed with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation. Later that year, he was the main producer for Justin Timberlake's album The 20/20 Experience. This included the hit songs "Suit & Tie" and "Mirrors". Timbaland also produced Beyoncé's song "Grown Woman".
In April 2011, Timbaland and Mike Evans made a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing's Extreme Music. They planned to create 75 new urban pop songs.
In August 2013, Timbaland said he was working on music with unreleased material by Michael Jackson. This included a song called "Love Never Felt So Good".
On September 24, 2013, Timbaland worked with T.I. and Indonesian artist AGNEZ MO on her song "Coke Bottle". The song's launch was a worldwide trend on Twitter.
On November 15, 2013, Timbaland released "Know Bout Me". This was the first song for his fourth album, Opera Noir. It featured Drake, Jay-Z, and James Fauntleroy. In 2015, Timbaland worked on the music for the TV show Empire. He and his team wrote songs for each episode.
In February 2016, Timbaland and Missy Elliott produced "Somebody Else Will" for Tweet's album Charlene. Timbaland also worked on the song "Harmony" for the animated Netflix series Skylanders Academy.
In June 2016, Timbaland teamed up with SubPac. This company makes wearable sound devices. On December 15, 2017, Timbaland released "Grab the Wheel" with 6lack.
In 2019, Timbaland started teaching music production through Masterclass.
In March 2020, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz started the Verzuz Instagram webcast series. For their work on Verzuz, both Timbaland and Swizz Beatz were named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2021.
In August 2021, Blackground Records became Blackground 2.0. They re-released many old albums, including Timbaland's 1998 album Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment. They also re-released Timbaland & Magoo albums.
On September 1, 2023, Timbaland released "Keep Going Up" with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. He released "My Way" with Anna Margo on October 20, 2023. He released "Desire" with VITA on November 17, 2023.
..... It was re-recorded by JoJo Siwa as "Karma." On November 22, 2024, he released "If It Wasn't Up To Me" with Zefaan. On December 5, 2024, Timbaland released his musical meditation album, Yellow, with Malte Marten. On March 28, 2025, Timbaland released the afrobeats instrumental album, Timbo Progression.
Music Influence
Timbaland is important for creating the "stuttering kick-drums" sound in American R&B. His influence spread beyond the U.S., especially in UK garage music. As an R&B producer, Timbaland made a special rhythmic sound using "breakbeats." These break up the smooth flow of songs, creating moments of excitement. This technique helped create "bootleg" garage tracks, which were key to the rise of UK garage. What started as an underground style became very popular. Timbaland is also credited with helping Virginia become a strong area for hip-hop music.
Plagiarism Discussions
Aaliyah's 2001 album, produced by Timbaland, had a song called "More Than a Woman". It used a part of a song by Mayada El-Hennawy without giving credit.
In January 2007, some people said Timbaland copied parts of the song "Do It" from Nelly Furtado's 2006 album Loose. They said he did not give credit or pay for it.
Timbaland also had a legal issue over the song "Throw It on Me" from his Shock Value album. He reached an agreement in July 2009 with David Cortopassi. Cortopassi wrote "Spazz," a song from 1967. The details of the agreement were not shared.
In January 2014, a Swiss newspaper said that the song "Versus" by Jay-Z, produced by Timbaland, sounded very similar to "On the Way" by Swiss musician Bruno Spoerri. This issue was settled by March 2015. Jay-Z and Timbaland agreed to pay 50% of the song's earnings to Spoerri.
Discography
Studio albums
- Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment (1998)
- Shock Value (2007)
- Shock Value II (2009)
- Yellow (with Malte Marten) (2024)
- Timbo Progression (2025)
