Very few producers possess the intuitive ability of Timbaland to discover great artists and make them even greater by giving them extraordinary exposure through his signature sound. And even fewer artists trust a producer so much as to repeatedly agree on being featured on his releases. The answer is very simple: Timbaland is one of the greatest producers, rappers and singers in the American hip-hop industry and he certainly knows his business.
The Early Steps of A Giant
Starting as a DJ in high-school under the name “DJ Timmy Tim” and collaborating with rapper Melvin Barcliff, known as Magoo, Timbaland was soon discovered by Missy Elliot in the early 1990s. Being a member of the group Sista, Elliot asked Timbaland to create a demo. Under the guidance of DeVante Swing of Jodeci, Timbaland took his first steps in professional studio recording and honed his beatboxing and production skills. Besides teaching him the secrets of hip-hop production, Swing named Timbaland under Timberland boots that were pretty popular in the Hip-Hop industry at that time.
Sista, Timbaland, and Magoo became part of Da Bassment crew, joining R&B singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa and the girl group Sugah. Timbaland did a number of production projects with Swing with the most successful ones being Sista’s (unreleased) début LP “4 All the Sistas Around the World” in 1994 and the Jodeci LP “The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel” in 1995.
In 1996, Timbaland produced Aaliyah's hit ballad “One in a Million” demonstrating his signature rhythmic grooves including funky drum patterns and jumpy beats that basically introduced a new kind of dancing.
In 1997, Timbaland worked with Missy Elliot on “Supa Dupa Fly” that went #1 on U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Janet Jackson on “Go Deep” that topped #1 on U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Playand Usher on “You Make me Wanna” that peaked #1 on the Rhythmic Top 40.
That was the beginning of one great career that was meant to follow.
The Follow Up
In the late 1990s Timbaland was one of the most prominent rap producers featuring Snoop Dogg in “Snoop Dogg (What's My Name, Pt. 2)”, Nas in “You Won't See Me Tonight”, Jay-Z in “Big Pimpin'” and Ludacris in “Rollout (My Business)”. For all those artists Timbaland had the Midas touch confirmed in his extraordinary ability to produce commercially successful music featured on double-platinum releases.
Following his outstanding success as a producer, Timbaland earned a huge reputation and signed a deal with Interscope records to establish Beat Club Records and introduce his own artists including Bubba Sparxxx and Ms. Jade.
In 2000, Timbaland received the Billboard’s Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Producer Award closing the year with 9 singles on the charts.
Timbaland’s Uniqueness
Timbaland build his career crafting a string of multi-platinum hits for superstar artists. His music is tremendously powerful, complex, and unique, encompassing a wide variety of instrumentation and styles. He can cooperate with R&B and Pop superstars like Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Petey Pablo, LL Cool J, Nelly Furtado, and Madonna to name a few, but he can equally produce great hits for Rock groups and singers like Limp Bizkit, Björk, One Republic, The Fray, Daughtry, and Chad Kroeger of Nickelback.
Timbaland is also unique in creating music from innovative beats, rather than depending on samples of fellow DJs. His distinctive Southern hip-hop music anchored with snares, kicks, hats, claps and percussion sounds infuses individual and complex rhythmic elements, so uniquely distinctive, to become known as the Timbaland sound. Timbo often uses his deep voice rapping faintly behind tracks, and injects fanciful sounds, like a cooing baby or whinnying horses.
Timbo’s style influenced greatly a whole new generation of producers, who imitate his trademark sound. His pervasive way to manipulate rhythm and his impressive ability to balance in-demand hits with eccentric production style have made Timbaland one of the most successful rap producers with an endless list of commercial hits. “People need me more than I need them” Timbaland bragged in Rolling Stone in 2001. And that statement has proved so true over the years.
