Undeniably one of the music industry’s most successful producers, Timbaland (born Timothy Zachery Mosley) turns 50 today!
Timbaland has had an immense influence on the hip hop and RnB industry having produced countless hits for Missy Elliott, Beyoncé, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado and many more. As a songwriter, he has written 85 UK hits and 99 US hits.
In 1996, he made his mainstream breakthrough by producing the majority of both Aaliyah’s second album One in a Million and Ginuwine’s debut album Ginuwine…the Bachelor.
Though he began his career producing for R&B artists, Timberland’s trademark sound is distinctly rooted in hip-hop. It heavily defied the industry’s bias at the time against incorporating R&B and pop-style singing into songs. In this way, his sound was instrumental in blurring the distinction between hip-hop and R&B production that is evident today.
In 1997, Timbaland produced Supa Dupa Fly, the debut album of hip-hop artist Missy Elliott (who happens to be a childhood friend of his). The same year, he released his first album, Welcome to Our World, with his partner Magoo.
His signature “stuttering” kick-drum production style continued to influence the culture in a big way during the late 90s and early 200s as he went on to produce for many high-profile hip-hop artists including Jay-Z, Nas and Ludacris.
Timbaland’s impact cannot be understated — it extended beyond the U.S and even crossed international waters. The UK garage and rave culture, for example, was strongly guided by his rhythmic style.
In 2020 – during the early days of the pandemic – he created the popular webcast series Verzuz on Instagram with Swizz Beatz. The series invites two artists (usually hip-hop or R&B) to “verse” one another in a battle where they pit their respective discography’s up against each other.
Take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of his most iconic songs below — we can’t help but feel a little nostalgic.
15 of Timbaland’s biggest hits:
- “Pony” – Ginuwine (1996)
- “One in a Million” – Aaliyah (1996)
- “Are You That Somebody?” – Aaliyah (1998)
- “Big Pimpin’ (feat. UGK)” – Jay-Z (1999)
- “Get Ur Freak On” – Missy Elliott (2001)
- “One Minute Man” – Missy Elliott (2001)
- “Hola Hovito” – Jay Z (2001)
- “Work It” – Missy Elliott (2002)
- “Cry Me a River” – Justin Timberlake (2002)
- “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” – Jay-Z (2003)
- “Put You On The Game” – The Game (2005)
- “SexyBack (feat. Timbaland)” – Justin Timberlake (2006)
- “Promiscuous (feat. Timbaland)” – Nelly Furtado (2006)
- “The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.)” – Timbaland (2007)
- “Give It To Me (feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake)” — Timbaland (2007)
No image copyright intended for removal or credit please email us
