Timbaland Entry

Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley was, and probably still is, one of the most sought after music producers in the industry. From his introduction with Missy Elliot and Aaliyah, to his more recent work with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, Timbaland had the pop world going crazy. This is largely due to a unique style that can translate to all genres. In a time where popular music producers either used live instruments or synthesizers, Timbaland took the unorthodox and gave it a mainstream audience. He has looked to find the unordinary for several years and by doing so he has pushed the pop music industry to try new things. For evidence, just go back to the beginning.

The Swing Mob record label picked up Timbaland in 1996, with fellow signees Missy Elliott and Ginuwine. Timbaland immediately made an impact with his stuttering drum patterns and use of weird sounds like night crickets or birds chirping. Aaliyah’s One in a Million album was a breakthrough for not only her but Timbaland and Missy Elliott, too. Once Ginuwine’s debut, Ginuwine…The Bachelor, and Missy Elliott’s Supa Dupa Fly released, Timbaland had made himself into a producing powerhouse. All of the day’s top acts took notice and yearned for hiccupping beats with weird animal noises.

Timbaland continued to change his style after the radios were saturated with knockoffs of his original style. He then began to use more of the beatboxing heard in early works such as “Tell Me Your That Somebody” by Aaliyah. Evidence of this can be found on Justin Timberlake’s huge hit “Cry Me A River” and throughout the Justified album. This period (2003-05) also saw Timbaland using more synth sounds in his production, which was only a precursor to the style that pushed pop music to where it is today.

2006 marked Timbaland’s takeover of a popular music. In June 7, 2006, Nelly Furtado released Loose, which featured the number one single “Promiscuous” featuring none other than Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley. The album was inspired by 1980s pop and incorporated dominating synths with acoustic drum kits. On September 12, 2006, Justin Timberlake released FutureSex/LoveSounds and completely changed the game. This album used techno music influences and fused it with R&B. The first single, “Sexy Back” featuring Timbaland, topped the charts only to be followed by two more number one hits, “My Love” and “What Comes Around…Goes Around”. In 2007, Timbaland released a compilation album called Timbaland Presents: Shock Value which saw more dance music influences mixed with an R&B flair. The game hasn’t been the same since.

Timbaland has had a profound effect on me. He has showed that it is ok to be different, especially when you are really good. He should be studied closely, especially this year, because he is releasing new music every Thursday in preparation for his new album. I can’t wait to see what he is going to come up with next. Only one thing is for certain, wherever he goes the industry will follow.