Timbaland is similar to producers such as Norman Whitfield in that he helped to redefine the sound of an entire genre of music with an immediately recognizable production style. The songs he produces feature unusual arrangements, sounds, and instrumentation, tied together by a trademark sense of rhythm. Like Spector and Whitfield, Timbaland's production sometimes overshadows the credited performer and becomes the actual "star" of the song. With songwriters Steve "Static" Garrett and childhood friend Missy Elliott, Timbaland has helped to create some of the most successful songs in modern pop music and urban music, including singles for Aaliyah, Ginuwine, SWV, Total, and 702.
Mosley grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where he became acquainted with Missy Elliott and Melvin Barcliff, whose MC name was "Magoo." Originally a disc jockey known as "DJ Timmy Tim," Mosely began making hip-hop backing tracks on a Casio keyboard he owned. In 1993 Elliott heard his material and, taken by Mosley's unique sense of rhythm, immediately began working with him.
Elliott and her girl group Sista auditioned for DeVante Swing, producer and member of successful R&B act Jodeci. Devante signed Sista to his Swing Mob label, and Elliott brought Mosely and Barcliff along with her. Mosely began working under Devante, who renamed the young producer Timbaland, after the Timberland boot popular in hip-hop fashion.
Sista and Timbaland & Magoo became part of Devante's stable of Swing Mob signees known as "Da Bassment" crew, joining artists and groups such as male singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa, and girl group Sugah. Timbaland did production work on a number of projects with Devante, including the 1995 Jodeci LP The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel, and Sista's debut LP, which was shevled and never saw release.
Timbaland was also friends with Pharrell Williams, and had dabbled in projects with him as S.B.I., or Surrounded By Idiots. Pharrell recalls in an interview: "“In seventh grade I met Chad. That’s twenty years ago by now. Like I said earlier, we started producing beats together. But then again, I also played with this famous group which consisted of Timbaland, Magoo, myself and some other guy. Chad wasn’t a part of the group, so I was in The Neptunes and in Surrounded By Idiots at the same time.” A few tracks produced by the group float around on the internet, the most distributed being "Big White Spaceship".
In 1995, most of Devante's acts broke their ties with the producer and went their own ways. Elliott, Timbaland, Magoo, Playa, and Ginuwine continued to collaborate, and began working on individual projects of their own. Elliott began receiving recognition as a songwriter and guest artist for artists such as 702 and MC Lyte, and Timbaland was sometimes assigned to produce remixes of Elliott-penned songs. One of these, the remix to 702's "Steelo" in 1996, became Timbaland's first important production credit.
Also in 1996, Ginuwine released his debut album, Ginuwine...the Bachelor, which was produced entirely by Timbaland. The album was both a commercial and critical success, and its first single, "Pony," was the first example of what would later become the signature Timbaland sound.
The track for "Pony," which Timbaland had created two years prior during the Swing Mob days, was characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music, which used snare and kick hits on typically non-accented beats in the measure. Stuttering high-hats typical of southern bass music accompanied the basic drum sounds, which were, unusual for hip-hop and R&B of this period, severely gated to create short, strong sounds. This use of the "short snare" is in marked contrast to the "long snare" sound in New Wave music in the 1980s, which featured a heavily amplified, almost white noise snare drum put through reverb. Accompanying the unusual rhythm were melody lines created by playing odd sound effects (vocal effects and cartoon slide whistles) through a sampling keyboard. The other tracks on Ginuwine...the Bachelor also featured similar production and arrangements. On many of the tracks, Timbaland can be heard either rapping or providing ad-libs, similar to what both Elliott and Puff Daddy where doing at the time; Timbaland's deep voice was usually vocoded to give it an electronic sound.
While work was being completed on Ginuwine...the Bachelor, R&B artist Aaliyah contracted Timbaland and Missy Elliott to write and produce most of her second album, One In A Million. The tracks that were crafted for Aaliyah featured innovative arrangements similar to those on Ginuwine...the Bachelor. One In A Million went on to sell over two million copies, and made superstars out of not only Aaliyah, but Elliott and Timbaland as well.
Elliott and Timbaland became one of the most successful and prolific songwriting/production teams of the late-1990s. By the end of the decade, Timbaland's sound had been heard in records from artists such as SWV, Destiny's Child, Nicole Wray, Jay-Z, Nas. Most of his production work during this period was reserved for his original stable of collaborators: two Missy Elliott albums (Supa Dupa Fly and Da Real World), a second effort by Ginuwine (100% Ginuwine), and Playa's debut album (Cheers 2 U). Timbaland produced much (if not all) of the material on many of their albums during this period, and also made two albums of his own: one with Magoo, and one solo album. Timbaland's own raps, which were usually ghostwritten by Elliott, Magoo, or his younger brother Garland Mosley (AKA Sebastian), were almost always accompanied by other MCs, including his main collaborators and numerous guest artists.
Timbaland spawned a plethora of imitators, some of which went as far as to sample sections of his work to create similar-sounding tracks. The popularity of the "Timbaland sound" marked a shift in hip-hop music from rougher, sample-based tracks to simpler, more synthetic musical accompainiment (unlike many hip-hop producers, Timbaland rarely sampled older records; most of his tracks were crafted by him and his in-house band). Since Timbaland worked in both hip-hop and R&B and often combined elements of one in tracks for the other, his work aided the blending together of the two genres, which became less and less distinct during the first half of the 2000s.
Foreign, especially Asian, instrumentation is present through much of his early work (Xscape's "My Secret" remix, especially, with a rollicking sitar outro and Timbaland ad-libbing "Let's take a little trip...to India"), but was most successful and prevalent with Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" (1999), which borrowed directly from the song "Khosara" by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi. Missy Elliott's 2001 hit single, "Get Ur Freak On" from her third album, Miss E...So Addictive, was also likewise a smash, using a speedy dhol drumline typical of Bhangra. His borrowing from these cultures has resulted in mixed reactions, with many critics embracing his musical adventurousness and eclecticism and more esoteric, purist factions reacting catiously, and sometimes negatively. In an interview with Missy Elliott in RayGun Magazine, he mentioned a diverse base of influences, from UK Drum 'N Bass to Garage.
Timbaland-produced songs such as Ludacris' "Roll Out (My Business)," Jay-Z's "Hola' Hovito," Petey Pablo's "Raise Up," and Beck's "Diamond Dogs" were recorded and released during this period, and he contributed to Limp Bizkit's 2001 remix album, New Old Songs. He also contributed three songs--all eventually released as singles--to Aaliyah's self-titled third album.
Timbaland & Magoo's second album together, Indecent Proposal, had been scheduled for release in November 2000, and was to feature appearances by Beck, Aaliyah, and new Timbaland proteges--some of whom were signed to his new Beat Club Records imprint--Ms. Jade, Sebastian, Petey Pablo, and Tweet (who was a member of Sugah during the Swing Mob days). The album was delayed until for an entire year, finally being released the following November, and was a commercial disappointment. Beck's vocals for the track "I Am Music" were not included on the final released version, which instead featured Timbaland singing alongside Static (Steven Garrett) of Playa and Aaliyah, who had been killed in a plane crash three months before the release of the album. The loss of Aaliyah deeply affected Timbaland, whose work was less omnipresent after 2001.
The first release on Beat Club was the debut album by Caucasian MC Bubba Sparxxx in October 2002, Dark Days, Bright Nights. Timbaland contributed three tracks to Tweet's debut album, Southern Hummingbird, and produced most of Missy Elliott's fourth and fifth LPs, Under Construction and This Is Not A Test! He also produced hit singles and album tracks for artists such as Li'l Kim ("The Jump Off") and Pastor Troy during this period. Collaborating with Scott Storch, Timbaland also produced a number of tracks on former *NSYNC lead singer Justin Timberlake's solo debut, Justified, including the hit single "Cry Me a River".
Late in 2003, Timbaland delivered the second Bubba Sparxxx album, Deliverance, and the third Timbaland & Magoo album, Under Construction, Part II. Both albums were released to little fanfare or acclaim even though Deliverance was praised by reviews and embraced by the internet community.
Timbaland continues to produce hit singles and albums for artists; in 2004 Timbaland-produced singles by LL Cool J, Xzibit, and Jay-Z became staples on urban radio, and he produced the bulk of Brandy's fourth album, Afrodisiac. New songs from artists such as Tweet and The Game are set for release in 2005.
2005 saw Timbaland producing a song on Tweet and The Game's albums ("Steer" and "Put You on The Game" respectively). He also produced 2 songs on Missy Elliott's 6th album (The Cookbook), "Joy" featuring Mike Jones and "Partytime."
Timbaland started his new label, Mosely Music Group, once again under Interscope. On the label are singers Nelly Furtado and Keri Hilson, and rapper D.O.E. Timbaland's parternship and mentorship of upcoming producer Nate "Danjahandz" Hills is evident in Timbaland's rejuvination in music.
Furtado looks to have her third album, Loose, released under MMG with in the first half of 2006 with Hilson's debut following shortly after. Timbaland is also slated to work with Justin Timberlake, Hilary Duff as well as albums by Jamie Foxx, JC Chasez, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Ludacris, Chingy, Chilli of TLC, Tweet, and a lot more.
In 2006, Timbaland produced songs "Promiscuous" "My love" and "Sexyback" topped the charts for over fourteen weeks. In 2007, the tracks "Say It Right" and "What Goes Around" also topped the charts. The year 2007 also saw the release of his album "Timbaland presents Shock Value" which featured Fall Out Boy, The Hives, Elton John, Nicole Scherzinger, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Missy Elliot, Sebastian (his brother), Keri Hilson, Money, Attitude, and Jim Beanz.
Cop that Shit
Timbaland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Intro: Missy Elliott]
We are the VA players
Love to the Neptunes and the Clipse
To ya bootleggers we breaking off both of ya legs
The underrated Maganoo, comin' with the unexpected
The run away slave I, Mistameanor
Escaping from all ya fraudulent players
[Verse 1: Timbaland]
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without some little nieces and nephews
To cover all the beats, and the rhymes I been through
Time's up, sorry I left you
Thinking of this, I keep repeating them hits
Like that Aaliyah, Timberlake, or Missy Elliott shit (Shit)
As you sit by the radio, hands on the dial tone
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Jump when you hear them speakers left it off (Off)
Mr. VA 'bout to set it off
Well I don't know what you heard, and I don't know what ya know
Well my folks don' told me, (YOU GOT IT! Oh)
So, "Up Jumps the Boogie", let the record work (Uh huh)
And put me on like you red alert
'Cause it's the big bad Timmy, Maganoo, and Missy
Like THREE THE HARD WAY!, comin' straight out of Virginia
[Chorus: Missy Elliott]
DJ's in the mix shows you better go to the record store and
COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
And to the bootleggers giving em bootlegs
We breaking off both of ya legs, COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
Stop burnin' CD's for ya friend and I'ma say it again, nucca
COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
'Cause this the hot shit, out on the streets
So when you hear this CD go and COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
[Verse 2: Missy Elliott]
When you say you love me, it doesn't matter
It goes into my head as just chit-chatter
You may think I'm egotistical or just very free
Won'tcha say I go tell it to, TIMOTHY!
People say I'm whack, but they don't tell me so
Let them pretend to be me, then they know
I hate when one, pretend to fantasize
Fact I despise, those who even try
Sweat between my thighs {*sniff*} never stinking
Yo dream is over, career sinking
I told all of you, like I told all of them
Whatcha say to me be, DICK TO YA CHIN!
In one ear and right out the other
"Ayyio Missy you ugly!" yeah ya mother
I don't pay attention, I don't concentrate
You ain't got the bait, that it takes to hook this, huh
[Chorus]
[Verse 3: Magoo]
I'm your idol, the highest title, numero uno
I'm not a Puerto Rican but I do look up to Vagil
And understand I got the gift of speech
And it's a blessing, being from them VA streets
I talk sense condensed in the form of a poem
If I wasn't writing rhymes I'd be breaking in homes
I'm kinda young, so my gun's my security
I'm not afraid nucca do what you gon do to me
I get paid when your record is played
To put it short, heh I got it made
I'm talented, yes I'm gifted
My uppercut boy that'll get ya lifted
You got cash? man stop frontin
Living off damn every record that you cutting
My name Magoo and I roll wit two stars
Every CD we split 48 bars
My name Magoo and I'm a supadupa star
Every other month I get a brand new car!
[Chorus]
The song “Cop That Shit” by Timbaland & Magoo, featuring Missy Elliott begins with a shoutout to fellow Virginia musicians, The Clipse and The Neptunes. Then Timbaland addresses his absence from the music scene, apologizing for leaving his fans without new hits. He goes on to list some of his most famous productions with Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake, and Missy Elliott. The chorus encourages listeners to go buy the album legally, instead of supporting bootleggers. In the second verse, Missy Elliott addresses her haters and tells them to say what they want to say about her directly to Timbaland. The last verse is rapped by Magoo, who boasts about his talent and success in the music business.
Line by Line Meaning
We are the VA players
We are the Virginia players
Love to the Neptunes and the Clipse
We show love to the music producing duo The Neptunes and The Clipse.
To ya bootleggers we breaking off both of ya legs
We are warning bootleggers that they will face consequences if they continue to sell fake copies of our music.
The underrated Maganoo, comin' with the unexpected
The often underestimated Maganoo is here with something unexpected.
The run away slave I, Mistameanor
I am Mistameanor, a runaway slave from the fraudulent music industry.
Escaping from all ya fraudulent players
I am escaping from all the dishonest people in the music industry.
Last but not least, the heavyweight champion, Mr. Mosley
Lastly, we have the heavyweight champion, Mr. Mosley.
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
It has been a long time since our last release, and we apologize for that.
Without some little nieces and nephews
Without some new tracks for our fans to listen to.
To cover all the beats, and the rhymes I been through
To cover all the beats and rhymes I have experienced and created.
Time's up, sorry I left you
Time has run out, and we apologize for leaving our fans waiting.
Thinking of this, I keep repeating them hits
As I think about my hits, I keep repeating them in my head.
Like that Aaliyah, Timberlake, or Missy Elliott shit (Shit)
Hits like 'Aaliyah,' 'Timberlake,' or 'Missy Elliott.'
As you sit by the radio, hands on the dial tone
As you sit by the radio, waiting to hear our music.
As you hear it, pump up the volume
When you hear our music, turn up the volume and enjoy.
Jump when you hear them speakers left it off (Off)
Jump and dance when you hear the music start to play.
Mr. VA 'bout to set it off
Mr. VA - Virginia - is about to start the party.
Well I don't know what you heard, and I don't know what ya know
I am not sure what you have heard or already know about us.
Well my folks don' told me, (YOU GOT IT! Oh)
But my people have told me that we are hot!
So, "Up Jumps the Boogie", let the record work (Uh huh)
Now it's time for the party to start with our hit 'Up Jumps the Boogie.'
And put me on like you red alert
Play our music like you are on high alert, ready for the beats to come pouring out.
'Cause it's the big bad Timmy, Maganoo, and Missy
Because it's the big bad Timmy, Maganoo, and Missy coming through with the music.
Like THREE THE HARD WAY!, comin' straight out of Virginia
We are like THREE THE HARD WAY, coming straight out of Virginia.
DJ's in the mix shows you better go to the record store and
The DJ is mixing our music, so you better go to the record store and buy it.
COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
Buy our music, don't steal it. Oh Lord!
And to the bootleggers giving em bootlegs
To the people creating and selling fake copies of our music.
We breaking off both of ya legs, COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
We will take serious action against bootleggers, so buy our music instead.
Stop burnin' CD's for ya friend and I'ma say it again, nucca
Stop making CD copies for your friends. I said it again, don't do it.
COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
Buy our music, don't copy it. Oh Lord!
'Cause this the hot shit, out on the streets
Our music is the hottest out there right now.
So when you hear this CD go and COP THAT SHIT! (Oh Lord)
When you hear our CD, go and buy it immediately. Oh Lord!
When you say you love me, it doesn't matter
When people say they love me, I don't care.
It goes into my head as just chit-chatter
Those words just go in one ear and out the other.
You may think I'm egotistical or just very free
You might think I have a big ego or that I am simply free-spirited.
Won'tcha say I go tell it to, TIMOTHY!
If you have something to say, go tell Timothy instead.
People say I'm whack, but they don't tell me so
People talk behind my back, but they don't say it to my face.
Let them pretend to be me, then they know
Let them pretend to be me, and they will know how difficult it is.
I hate when one, pretend to fantasize
I hate it when a person pretends to fantasize about me.
Fact I despise, those who even try
In fact, I dislike those who even try to do so.
Sweat between my thighs {*sniff*} never stinking
There is never a bad odor between my thighs.
Yo dream is over, career sinking
Your dream is over, and your career is sinking.
I told all of you, like I told all of them
I have already told all of you before.
Whatcha say to me be, DICK TO YA CHIN!
What you say to me is like a dick to your chin, meaningless and unnecessary.
In one ear and right out the other
I hear what you say, but it doesn't affect me in any way.
"Ayyio Missy you ugly!" yeah ya mother
"Hey Missy, you're ugly!" Yeah, your mother.
I don't pay attention, I don't concentrate
I don't care about negative comments, I don't pay attention to them.
You ain't got the bait, that it takes to hook this, huh
You don't have what it takes to impress me or get my attention.
I'm your idol, the highest title, numero uno
I am your idol, the highest title, number one.
I'm not a Puerto Rican but I do look up to Vagil
I'm not Puerto Rican, but I admire Vagil, a famous one from Puerto Rico.
And understand I got the gift of speech
I have the gift of speech, or the ability to wrap.
And it's a blessing, being from them VA streets
It's a blessing to be from the streets of Virginia.
I talk sense condensed in the form of a poem
I talk sense, condensed in the form of poetry.
If I wasn't writing rhymes I'd be breaking in homes
If I wasn't writing rhymes, I would be breaking into people's homes.
I'm kinda young, so my gun's my security
I am still quite young, so my gun is my security.
I'm not afraid nucca do what you gon do to me
I am not afraid, so do whatever you want.
I get paid when your record is played
I get paid when your music is played.
To put it short, heh I got it made
In short, I have it made, or I have made it.
I'm talented, yes I'm gifted
I am talented, and yes, I am gifted.
My uppercut boy that'll get ya lifted
My uppercut will lift you up, or knock you down, boy.
You got cash? man stop frontin
Do you really have money? Stop pretending.
Living off damn every record that you cutting
Making a living off of every record that you create.
My name Magoo and I roll wit two stars
My name is Magoo, and I roll with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, two stars.
Every CD we split 48 bars
We each get 48 bars on every CD we make.
My name Magoo and I'm a supadupa star
My name is Magoo, and I'm a supadupa star.
Every other month I get a brand new car!
Every other month, I get a brand new car.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dennis Taylor, Edward Archer, Eric Barrier, Freddie Byrd, Howard Thompson, Jack Hill, Lael Williams, Lana Moorer, Melissa Elliott, Peter Joyner, Robert Beavers, Timothy Mosley, William Griffin, Melvin Lee Barcliff
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@earthtomani
RIP MAGOO, I loved his verse on this ❤
@StoneKvtter
The flow and first 2 lines were originated by Special Ed. It's criminal to the culture how this song even the video, isn't recognized as an ode to Hip-Hop. Magoo was teir 1 of thee most underrated/unsung MC's.
@youknowhowwedo1278
😢
@kimbilir3975
What happened to him?
@domju6546
I like Magoo cause he raps different
@DJsteelbill
Same here 💯
@beaniegee5129
Back when MTV and BET played a lot of music videos
@tyrequekachara8092
Frrr good times
@danny50117
Ya
@topofthebottom6954
106 & Park