The hip-hop innovator sits at the helm of Justin Timberlake’s second album this year, ‘The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2,’ but this one-man band man’s résumé runs long. Dive in.
DJ Timmy Tim. Timbo the King. Mr. Mosley. No matter the name, Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley has been hip-hop’s timekeeper for the past few decades, a self-contained creature of reinvention whose sounds have consistently shockwaved the world of music. If it’s been a blockbuster album, then chances are high that Timbaland put his fingerprints on it.
Since his early days as DJ Timmy Tim, growing up in Norfolk, VA, he’s redefined the sound of urban music and, by proxy, pop. In fact, pop owes a few hat-tips to Timbaland, who ushered non-conventions (the burning zip-synths of Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” the baby whine of Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?”) into top 40. His largely non-sample-based approach established a blueprint for producers leaning on the music that came before it. Tim is, and has always been, a hit of oxygen in a culture fogged by carbon copies.
This year, the master chef got to cooking after two years of relative inactivity, by Timbaland standards. He sat behind the boards for Justin Timberlake’s comeback album The 20/20 Experience and heavily contributed to Jay Z’s Magna Carta… Holy Grail, a pair of projects that put him back on the top of the charts. With JT’s second LP The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2 landing in stores on September 30, here’s an exhaustive look back at every song that Timbaland has ever touched. Jump in.
1990
At 18 years old, Timbaland was then known as DJ Timmy Tim, or simply DJ Tim. His catalog was thin at the time, but as a teenager based in Virginia, he experimented with beat-making, flipping samples and creating instrumentals for local artists. His creativity was limited mostly to loops culled from classic tracks, and he parceled his creations out to artists in the Virginia Beach area. Most recently, Larry Live, a childhood friend of Timbaland and owner of Livehouse Entertainment, released a handful of instrumentals that Tim crafted in his late teens.
Song: “OOOh Beat”
Artist: DJ Timmy Tim
Contribution: Producer
Release: (Unreleased)
DJ Timmy Tim
(Producer)
(Unreleased)
“K Quick Beat” was made for a rapper named K Quick, who was in a rap group with Clipse’s Malice back in the day and named Timbaland’s group with Pharrell and Magoo, Surrounded By Idiots.
DJ Timmy Tim
(Producer)
(Unreleased)
DJ Timmy Tim
(Producer)
(Unreleased)
Tim also gave beats to Malice at the time, and made “Runnin’ Away Beat” for the rapper’s duo Def Dual Productions, or DDP. Malice, Pusha T, Pharrell and Timbaland all attended the same high school in the late ’80s. A version of the song with Malice’s vocals exist, but the only released version is this mostly instrumental rendition featuring some of Timbo’s first known rhymes laid to tape.
1991
In the early ’90s, Timbaland joined forces with Pharrell (then known as Magnum) and his partner-in-rhyme Magoo to record a handful of tracks as Surrounded By Idiots, or S.B.I. Tim and Pharrell’s paths have crossed throughout the years but their collaborations as S.B.I. never fully came to light until Larry Live released a batch of the cuts in 2011, roughly half a decade after Skateboard P unleashed the S.B.I. track “Big White Spaceship.”
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
A few years before SWV and Nas sampled Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” for “Right Here (Human Nature Mix)” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” respectively, Timbaland, Pharrell and Magoo flipped the track for “Skull Caps & Stripe Shirts.” The song has a strong Native Tongues vibe, most likely a reflection of the popular sound at the time, and sees Magoo handling hook duties in between verses.
“If Ur Freaky Baby”
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
Like with “Skull Caps & Stripe Shirts,” DJ Timmy Tim sampled another cut from Michael Jackson, this time putting a spin on “Lady in My Life.” Magnum takes first verse duties, while the chorus lyrically and melodically cites the hook from Lisa Stansfield’s “All Around the World,” famously sampled for Puff Daddy’s “Been Around the World.”
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
It’s hard to believe that this was recorded in 1991, as it’s far more sonically progressive than other S.B.I. tracks. Pharrell kicks off “Vulnerable” by singing in his signature falsetto, while Tim, who mostly maintained a role as producer on S.B.I. songs, makes a rare appearance on the chorus.
“It's Like That”
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
Surrounded By Idiots’ tracks may have been relatively straightforward, but they had the jump on the artists that would use the same samples in the years to come. On “It’s Like That,” Tim uses a slice of Patrice Rushen’s “You Remind Me,” also used on Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s “I Need You Tonight” four years later. The rhymes on this are tight, but P comes with a cringe-worthy dud: “First comes a fart, then comes a turd.” Yikes.
S.B.I. (feat. GY)
N/A
(Unreleased)
GY, originally a member of S.B.I., makes an appearance on the slinky “Fess Up” alongside Larry Live and Magoo. Timbaland would later re-arrange this beat for Sista’s“Find My Love,” which was included on the group’s shelved 1994 album 4 All the Sistas Around Da World.
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
S.B.I.
N/A
(Unreleased)
1993
A young Missy Elliott had worked with Timbaland in Virginia, and her group Sista was making some noise. Jodeci’s DeVante Swing and Teddy Riley signed Sista to Swing Mob and brought the group up to New York to record. Missy took DJ Tim and Magoo along for the ride, and DeVante soon blessed Tim with the name Timbaland. It was during this time that Tim ghost-produced some tracks for Jodeci, though he was officially credited as a guest feature and for scratches on a pair of tracks from the group’s sophomore album Diary of a Mad Band.
While in New York, Timbaland and Magoo joined a collective of Swing Mob artists named Da Bassment, consisting of more than 20 members including Ginuwine, Playa, Tweet, Missy and more. The group’s name was initially 45.4 Clique and then Swing Mob, but inevitably became Da Bassment since they recorded most tracks in the basement studios of Dajhelon Studios. The group dissolved after the release of Jodeci’s The Show, The Afterparty, The Hotel in 1995, but an (Unreleased) demo tape consisting of a treasure trove of tracks leaked to the Internet in 2011.
Da Bassment
(Producer, Writer, Performer)
(Unreleased)
This 36-track tape is for the Timbaland junkies. His thumbprint is all over the cassette, which was digitized in 2011 and uploaded to the web. Early songs and demos include Timbaland and Magoo’s “Plenty of Styles” featuring Missy Elliott, an alternative version of Sista’s “Sweat You Down” and Static Major’s “S-T-A-T-I-C.” A must-have for fans of Tim’s crackly, early ’90s aesthetic.
“In the Meanwhile”
Jodeci feat. Timbaland
(Rumored Producer, Vocalist)
Diary of a Mad Band (MCA/Uptown)
Timbaland likely produced on this joint, but his credit is restricted to a guest feature. It marks one of his first official verses, and over a New Jack Swing instrumental, he parks some rhymes between a bookended chorus. The mix hasn’t aged well, as his voice is murky and buried beneath a distortive filter.
“Sweaty”
Jodeci
(Scratches)
Diary of a Mad Band (MCA/Uptown)
Missy tosses some rhymes at the beginning of “Sweaty” before Tim scratches a record and segues into this ode to freakin’. His scratches aren’t very prominent, but can be faintly heard near the end of the body-rolling cut.
1994
“What About Us” (Swing Mob Remix)
Jodeci (feat. Magoo)
(Co-Producer with DeVante Swing)
What About Us 12” (Uptown Records)
Similar in sound to his production work on Sista’s debut album, Timbaland conveyed a knack for pairing hip-hop sensibilities with R&B melodies early on in his career. Harmonies pepper the syrupy beat, which features some West Coast synths and chunky drums.
4 All the Sistas Around Da World
Sista
(Producer, Vocalist)
(Unreleased (Elektra))
1. “Intro Talk” // 2. “Hip Hop” // 3. “Slow Down” // 4. “Wfro” // 5. “Sweat You Down” // 6. “DeVante at the Payphone” // 7. “Find My Love” // 8. “I Wanna Know” // 10. “125th Street” // 11. “Big Shann & Timbaland at the Train” (feat. Timbaland) // 12. “I Don’t Mind” // 13. “Secret Admirer” // 14. “Sista Bounce” // 15. “Swing Thing” // 16. “Brand New” // 17. “I Wanna Be with U” // 18. “Good Thang” // 19. “Feel of Your Lips” (feat. Mary J. Blige, Virginia Williams and K-Ci) // 20. “Sista Mack”
DeVante Swing took the executive production credit on Sista’s shelved 1994 debut, but Timbaland clearly had a heavy hand in the project, producing almost all of the tracks. The lead single from the LP spawned a music video where Missy and co. busted out some dance moves on the top of a rooftop in New York City, wearing matching outfits. Timbaland later re-mixed the track as “Timbaland’s Beemer Mix,” which was essentially an entirely new song—and a superior version, at that.
Originally named Fayze, Sista, consisting of Missy Elliott, La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman and Radiah Scott, released its first single “Brand New,” but failed to make a dent on the charts, prompting Elektra to shelve the project. Promo copies had been sent out, and the album later found a home on the web.
At the time, Timbaland was developing his sound as a producer, and 4 All the Sistas Around Da World carried an old school musical heft. Drums were thick and large, but his beats lacked the crisp snap and snaking bass lines of later work. He makes a single guest appearance on the project, popping up on the interlude “Big Shann & Timbaland at the Train.” The sole track for which he isn’t credited as producer is “Hit U Up,” which was produced by Mr. Dalvin.
“Brand New” (Timbaland’s Beemer Mix)
Sista
(Producer)
Brand New 12” (Elektra)
“Can U Get Wit It”
Usher
(Instrumentalist)
Usher (LaFace)
Timbaland and Usher would collaborate again in the years to come, but their first pairing came in the form of the undercooked “Can U Get Wit It,” featured on the singer’s eponymous 1994 debut. DeVante is once again credited as writer and producer on this cut, which was released when Ursh was just 15 years old, but Timbo is thrown a bone for contributing instruments to the New Jack Swing-inspired slow jam.
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