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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| Education | Salem High School |
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| Years active | 1994–present |
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| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Pharrell Williams (cousin) |
| Awards | Full list |
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Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known as Timbaland, is a famous American record producer, rapper, and singer. He grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. People praise him for his creative music production and his special "stuttering" rhythm style. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly magazine said that many popular music trends today started with him. This includes smooth R&B songs and adding unique sounds to hit songs.
Timbaland first became well-known for producing the album Ginuwine...the Bachelor (1996) for R&B singer Ginuwine. He had more success with Aaliyah's album One in a Million (1996) and Missy Elliott's first album Supa Dupa Fly (1997). This made him a very popular producer for R&B and hip-hop artists. He also released music as a rapper and singer. He was part of the hip-hop duo Timbaland & Magoo and released his first solo album, Tim's Bio (1998).
He produced Justin Timberlake's hit song "Cry Me a River" in 2002. After that, he produced most of Timberlake's later albums, like FutureSex/LoveSounds (2007) and The 20/20 Experience (2013). Timbaland's own song "Give It To Me" (with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake) was a number one hit in 2007. This song was from his second album, Shock Value. Other popular songs from that album included "The Way I Are" and "Apologize". His third album, Shock Value II (2009), had hits like "Carry Out" (with Justin Timberlake) and "If We Ever Meet Again" (with Katy Perry).
Over the years, Timbaland has produced songs for many huge stars. These include Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, and Alicia Keys. He has won four Grammy Awards for his work. In 2006, he started his own record label, Mosley Music Group. He signed artists like Nelly Furtado and OneRepublic to his label. In 2020, he also helped create Verzuz, a popular online music battle series, with fellow producer Swizz Beatz.
Contents
Timbaland's Early Life and Start
Timothy Zachery Mosley was born on March 10, 1972, in Norfolk, Virginia. His mother, Latrice, ran a homeless shelter, and his father, Garland, worked for Amtrak. He finished high school at Salem High School in Virginia Beach. When he was a DJ, people called him "DJ Tim" or "DJ Timmy Tim".
When he was in high school, Timbaland started working with rapper Melvin Barcliff, also known as Magoo. He also joined a music group called S.B.I. His cousin, Pharrell Williams, who later became a famous producer, was also in this group. When Timbaland was 14, he had an accident where he was shot. He was partly unable to move for nine months. During this time, he learned how to DJ using his left hand.
Timbaland's Music Journey
Becoming a Top Producer (1994–2005)
Rapper Missy Elliott heard Timbaland's music and started working with him. She and her R&B group, Sista, met with producer DeVante Swing. DeVante signed Sista to his record label, Swing Mob. Missy brought Timbaland and Magoo with her to New York. DeVante was the one who gave Timothy the name Timbaland, inspired by the Timberland brand of boots.
Timbaland and Magoo became part of a group of artists called "Da Bassment" crew. This group included singers like Ginuwine and Playa. Timbaland produced music for DeVante's projects, including the 1995 Jodeci album The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel. Missy Elliott became known for writing songs for other artists. Because of his connection to Missy, Timbaland was often asked to create remixes of her songs.
Timbaland began his career producing for R&B artists. In the mid-1990s, he produced songs for groups like Jodeci. In 1996, he became very successful by producing most of Aaliyah's album One in a Million and Ginuwine's first album Ginuwine...the Bachelor. These albums included big hits like "If Your Girl Only Knew" by Aaliyah and "Pony" by Ginuwine.
Timbaland's unique sound mixed hip-hop beats with R&B music. This helped to blend the two styles together. In 1997, he produced all of Supa Dupa Fly, the first album for his childhood friend Missy Elliott. This album was considered hip-hop because Missy rapped on it. Also in 1997, he released his first album with Magoo, Welcome to Our World. In the late 1990s, his hip-hop production style became very popular. He produced for many famous hip-hop artists like Jay-Z and Nas. He also produced Missy's second album, Da Real World, in 1999.
During this time, Timbaland continued to produce mainly for R&B artists. He kept working with Ginuwine and Aaliyah. He also helped with albums by Xscape and Total. He even 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 produced three songs for Aaliyah's third album, including "We Need a Resolution" and "More than a Woman". He also appeared in Aaliyah's music video for "Try Again", which he produced.
Timbaland and Magoo's second album was released in 2001. It featured artists like Aaliyah and new artists from Timbaland's Beat Club Records label. The first album released on Beat Club was by Bubba Sparxxx in 2001. Timbaland was very sad after Aaliyah passed away.
Timbaland produced songs for Tweet's first album, Southern Hummingbird. He also produced most of Missy Elliott's albums Under Construction and This Is Not a Test!. He worked with Scott Storch on Justin Timberlake’s first solo album, Justified. This included the popular song "Cry Me a River".
In late 2003, Timbaland released the second Bubba Sparxxx album, Deliverance, and 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 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 record label called Mosley Music Group in 2006. He brought artists like Nelly Furtado and Keri Hilson to this new label. In 2006, he produced Justin Timberlake's second album FutureSex/LoveSounds. This album was a huge success. Timbaland also worked on songs for Jay-Z and even Coldplay's Chris Martin.
Timbaland worked on seven songs for Björk's 2007 album, Volta. He also produced songs for the Duran Duran album, Red Carpet Massacre, which included Justin Timberlake. Later in 2007, Timbaland produced songs for 50 Cent’s album Curtis. He also produced most of Ashlee Simpson's third album, Bittersweet World.
On April 3, 2007, Timbaland released his own album, Shock Value. This album featured many artists like 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Elton John, and Nelly Furtado. A small disagreement happened 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 also produced the song "Believe" for Dima Bilan from Russia. This song won the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. In 2009, Timbaland worked with Rockstar Games to create Beaterator, a music mixing game for portable devices.
In July 2008, Timbaland announced he was working on Shock Value II. He hoped to work with artists like Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus. Shock Value II was released on December 8, 2009. It featured new artists like SoShy and well-known stars like Justin Timberlake, Drake, and Katy Perry.
The first song from Shock Value II was "Morning After Dark" featuring SoShy and Nelly Furtado. It was released in October 2009. "Say Something" featuring Drake was the second song. "Carry Out" featuring Justin Timberlake became the most successful song from the album. "If We Ever Meet Again" featuring Katy Perry was the fourth song.
Timbaland produced Chris Cornell's 2009 album Scream. He also appeared on a WWE show in December 2009. In April 2010, Timbaland released a new song called "Talk That" with T-Pain. In June 2010, he said that he inspired the dubstep music scene in the UK. In 2010, Timbaland left his old label, Blackground Records, but stayed with Interscope Records. He was featured on Chris Brown's album, F.A.M.E., and David Guetta's album, Nothing But the Beat. He also worked with Demi Lovato on her song "All Night Long". In November 2010, Timbaland started releasing a new song every Thursday, calling it "Timbo Thursdays."
Recent Projects (2011–Present)
On January 13, 2011, Timbaland began his "Timbaland Thursdays" with the song "Take Ur Clothes Off" featuring Missy Elliott. The first official song from his next album, Shock Value III, was "Pass at Me" featuring Pitbull, released in September 2011. For the movie Step Up Revolution, Timbaland released a song called "Hands In the Air" with Ne-Yo.
On January 30, 2013, Timbaland joined Jay-Z's record label, Roc Nation. Later that year, Timbaland 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" and a song for Cher's 2013 album.
In August 2013, Timbaland shared that he was working on music using unreleased material by Michael Jackson. This project included a song called "Love Never Felt So Good". In September 2013, Timbaland worked with T.I. and Indonesian artist AGNEZ MO on her song "Coke Bottle". In November 2013, Timbaland released "Know Bout Me" for his album Opera Noir, featuring Drake, Jay-Z, and James Fauntleroy.
In 2015, Timbaland and his team worked on the music for the TV show Empire. They created songs for each episode based on the show's stories. In February 2016, Timbaland and Missy Elliott produced a song for Tweet's album. In December 2017, Timbaland released the song "Grab the Wheel" with 6lack. In 2019, Timbaland started teaching music production through Masterclass.
In March 2020, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz started the Verzuz online music series. For their work on Verzuz, both Timbaland and Swizz Beatz were named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2021.
In August 2021, Blackground Records was relaunched as Blackground 2.0. This allowed older music, including Aaliyah's songs, to be available on streaming services for the first time. On September 1, 2023, Timbaland released the song "Keep Going Up" with Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. He also released "My Way" with Anna Margo and "Desire" with VITA in late 2023. On April 14, 2024, a version of a song produced by Timbaland for JoJo in 2012, called "Toxic", was released by JoJo after it became popular on Tik Tok. On November 22, 2024, he released "If It Wasn't Up To Me" with Zefaan. On December 5, 2024, Timbaland released a musical meditation album called Yellow with Malte Marten.
Timbaland's Impact on Music
Timbaland is very important for creating the "stuttering kick-drums" sound in American R&B music. His influence spread beyond the U.S. and affected music around the world, especially in UK garage and rave culture. As an R&B producer, Timbaland made a special rhythmic sound using "breakbeats." These breaks create exciting moments in songs. This technique helped create "bootleg" garage tracks, which were key to the rise of UK garage music. What started as an underground style became very popular. Timbaland is also credited with helping to make Virginia a strong place for Hip Hop music, along with other artists like The Clipse, Pharrell Williams, and Missy Elliott.
Giving Credit in Music
Sometimes, artists use parts of other people's music in their own songs. This is called sampling. It's important to give credit to the original artists.
In 2007, there were claims that Timbaland's song "Do It" from Nelly Furtado's album Loose used parts of another song without giving credit.
In 2009, Timbaland and David Cortopassi reached an agreement about the song "Throw It on Me" from Timbaland's Shock Value album. This song was said to have used parts of a song called "Spazz."
In 2014, a Swiss newspaper reported that the song "Versus" by Jay-Z, which Timbaland produced, sounded very similar to "On the Way" by Swiss musician Bruno Spoerri. This issue was settled in 2015. Jay-Z and Timbaland agreed to share some of the song's earnings with Spoerri for his music.
Timbaland's Albums
Studio albums
- Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment (1998)
- Shock Value (2007)
- Shock Value II (2009)
Awards and Nominations
See also
In Spanish: Timbaland para niños
