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: "โIn seventh grade I met Chad. Thatโs 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 wasnโt a part of the group, so I was in The Neptunes and in Surrounded By Idiots at the same time.โ 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.
Smoke In Da
Timbaland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How you feel?
Can we chill?
Or do we have to pop that steel?
Cause it's a hot day around our way
We got the pistols around our waist
Hate to kill a nigga, why?
Cause my nigga style he's got that killa, what?
I mean that bee
Those ganja trees
Those cut up leaves
Please... can I get a puff? What?
Please... can I get a puff? What?
With my wiatch
Pretend that I am riach
Please, please, can I, can I lick that cliat
You can go down
You can go down, go down
You can go down, girl I was just playing around
Now
Back to my focus
Y'all gonna be my soldiers
And I'm gonna be the bank broker
What?
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but thefools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but the fools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
Say what?
Ha ha, say what? Say what?
Like dat
Like dat
Like dat nigga
Say what?
Say what? Say what? Say what?
Magoo what?
You know we got plenty of smokin'
Open for pussy pokin'
Clown but we ain't jokin'
2 pound of weed token
Beep me at 12 noon
After my cartoons
Later a peach moves cause you gonna be high soon
Now you got your bowl shorty
Nursin' a cheap forty
Lordy was shootin' dice
Point and you winn forty
Six be a damn point
Roll and you hit the joint
Lookin for blazing dude
Your head was a juke joint
So you get two dimes
Cause you got two highs
Two niggas want to smoke
So you got two lies
Think you see two hoes
Cause hoes got to smoke too
Hope you got ten yards
Cause this blunt will never due
See I remain true
Only toke two lies
Just to the two guys
No shake with my damn fries
Open your freakin' eyes
Cause blunt my grand prize
Smokin was no surprise
I'm out with my true lies
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but thefools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but the fools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
Say what?
Say what? Say what?
Say what? Say what?
Say what? Say what?
Playa's knockin, rockin
Hoes clockin, jockin
Yeah sweatin, gettin
Thugs threatin, beatin
Dice shootin, smokin
Hootie hootin, loukin
Gun, I got your token
Lick, I got hoes open
No chumpin, bumpin
Timb's speakers thumpin
Making your moves somethin
Rode, it would be jumpin
Hoe humpin, freakin
Hoes silly, leakin
Hook it up, weekend
All night freakin
Which trick I'm dickin
Hope she lickin
My Kentucky chicken
Damn this enough pickin
Just groupin, chillin
Ready able, willin
If they blunts, they fillin
Party people you dealin with another level
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but thefools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but the fools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
Say what?
Say what? Say what?
Say what? Say what?
Ride it
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but thefools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Nuthin' but the fools downstairs (drag stairs)
Yeah
Ride it bitch
Ride it
Ride it bitch
Say what?
Yo babe, come her
Now let me get that (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Can you hear me? (Oooooh)
Can you feel me? (Oooooh)
Can you hear me? (Ooooh)
Can you feel me? (Ooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Say what? (Oooooh)
Get off baby (Ooooh)
(Oooooh)
Check this switch out baby (Ooooh)
Let me talk to you for a minute (Ooooh)
(Change beat to "Can We" by SWV)
Can we get kinky tonight
I got so many things on my mind
I never seen a girl so fly
I want you to do me, do me
The lyrics to Timbaland's song "Smoke In Da' Air" have several interpretations. On one hand, the lyrics discuss the presence of guns in the neighborhood and the potential for violence if people aren't able to chill out. On the other hand, there is a sense of camaraderie among the group with a shared love of smoking marijuana. The lyrics explore the dissonance between these two elements: the need for peace and the desire to engage in a pleasurable, but illegal, activity. The chorus reflects this push and pull: "All I smell is smoke in da' air / Nuthin' but the fools downstairs."
The verses touch on many different topics, such as the need for soldiers and bank brokers, the desire for a puff of weed, and the excitement of partying with friends. The final verses heavily emphasize sexuality and the desire for physical intimacy. Throughout the song, Timbaland emphasizes the sounds of the neighborhood and people, including "dice shootin'" and "clown but we ain't jokin'." In this way, the lyrics come together to create a snapshot of Timbaland's world and the various forces at play within it.
Line by Line Meaning
To my niggas
Addressing the song to his friends
How you feel?
Asking how his friends are doing
Can we chill?
Asking if they can hang out together
Or do we have to pop that steel?
Asking if they need to carry guns for protection
Cause it's a hot day around our way
Commenting on the weather
We got the pistols around our waist
Saying that they are carrying guns
Hate to kill a nigga, why?
Not wanting to kill someone
Cause my nigga style he's got that killa, what?
Talking about a friend's personality that could lead to violence
What do you mean killa?
Asking for clarification
I mean that bee
Referring to marijuana
Those ganja trees
Referring to marijuana plants
Those cut up leaves
Referring to marijuana in its ready-to-smoke form
Please... can I get a puff? What?
Asking for a hit of marijuana
With my wiatch
With his watch
Pretend that I am riach
Pretending to be rich
Please, please, can I, can I lick that cliat
Asking to perform oral sex
You can go down
Agreeing to perform oral sex
You can go down, go down
Repeating agreement to perform oral sex
Girl I was just playing around
Apologizing for the crude comment
Now
Moving on to a new topic
Back to my focus
Returning to the main point of the song
Y'all gonna be my soldiers
Referring to his friends as soldiers
And I'm gonna be the bank broker
Saying that he will be the one funding their activities
All I smell is smoke in da' air
Noticing the scent of marijuana
Nuthin' but thefools downstairs (drag stairs)
Making fun of people downstairs
Yeah
Adding agreement to the previous statement
Say what?
Asking for a response or reaction
Ha ha, say what? Say
Laughing and asking for a response
Like dat
Reaffirming his point earlier
Like dat
Repeating confirmation
Like dat nigga
Using slang to emphasize his point
Say what? Say what? Say what?
Repeating the earlier request
Magoo what?
Asking a friend for his input
You know we got plenty of smokin'
Having lots of marijuana to smoke
Open for pussy pokin'
Looking for sex with women
Clown but we ain't jokin'
Enjoying themselves but still being serious
2 pound of weed
Having a large amount of marijuana
Beep me at 12 noon
Asking for a phone call at noon
After my cartoons
Watching cartoons before then
Later a peach moves cause you gonna be high soon
Preparing for a sexual encounter later in the day when they are high
Now you got your bowl shorty
Referring to a bowl for smoking marijuana
Nursin' a cheap forty
Drinking inexpensive beer
Lordy was shootin' dice
Playing a dice gambling game
Point and you winn forty
Winning $40 by rolling a certain combination in the dice game
Six be a damn point
Referring to the number six in the dice game
Roll and you hit the joint
Referring to smoking marijuana
Lookin for blazing dude
Looking for someone to smoke with
Your head was a juke joint
Your head is swaying to the music
So you get two dimes
Receiving $20
Cause you got two highs
Being high from both the dice game and the marijuana
Two niggas want to smoke
Two friends want to smoke marijuana
So you got two lies
Telling two lies in order to smoke
Think you see two hoes
Thinking there are two women nearby
Cause hoes got to smoke too
Implying that women like to smoke marijuana as well
Hope you got ten yards
Having enough marijuana to roll a big joint
Cause this blunt will never due
This joint is not going to be enough
See I remain true
Promising to keep being honest and real
Only toke two lies
Telling only two lies
Just to the two guys
Telling those lies only to his two friends
No shake with my damn fries
Not wanting any extra stuff besides the marijuana
Open your freakin' eyes
Telling someone to pay attention
Cause blunt my grand prize
A prize joint is very important to him
Smokin was no surprise
Smoking marijuana was expected
I'm out with my true lies
Leaving with telling only honest lies
Say what? Say what?
Asking for a reaction
Playa's knockin, rockin
Men are trying to impress women
Hoes clockin, jockin
Women are watching and admiring the men
Yeah sweatin, gettin
Everyone is getting into the music
Thugs threatin, beatin
Scary men are making threats and fighting
Dice shootin, smokin
Playing dice and smoking marijuana
Hootie hootin, loukin
Making noise and partying
Gun, I got your token
Offering to give someone a gun
Lick, I got hoes open
Implying that women are interested in him and want to have sex
No chumpin, bumpin
Not messing around, everything is serious
Timb's speakers thumpin
The music is really loud
Making your moves somethin
Dancing and partying with friends is exciting
Rode, it would be jumpin
A certain nightclub would be very busy
Hoe humpin, freakin
Having sex and partying with women
Hoes silly, leakin
Women are dancing and sweating
Hook it up, weekend
Planning to have a good weekend with friends
All night freakin
Having sex all night
Which trick I'm dickin
Asking which woman he will have sex with
Hope she lickin
Hoping she is willing to give him oral sex
My Kentucky chicken
Referring to his penis
Damn this enough pickin
Being satisfied with his choices for the night
Just groupin, chillin
Relaxing with friends
Ready able, willin
Willingness to party and have a good time
If they blunts, they fillin
Rolling more joints
Party people you dealin with another level
Saying that they are partying on a different level
Ride it
Asking someone to ride him sexually
Ride it bitch
Asking someone to ride him and being disrespectful
Ride it
Repeating the request
Yo babe, come her
Asking a woman to come over
Now let me get that (Oooooh)
Asking for sexual favors
Say what? (Oooooh)
Asking for a reaction
Can you hear me? (Oooooh)
Asking if the woman can hear him
Can you feel me? (Oooooh)
Asking if the woman can feel him
Can you hear me? (Ooooh)
Asking again if the woman can hear him
Can you feel me? (Ooooh)
Asking again if the woman can feel him
Get off baby (Ooooh)
Saying that the request is inappropriate
(Oooooh)
Adding emphasis
Check this switch out baby (Ooooh)
Suggesting something new and exciting
Let me talk to you for a minute (Ooooh)
Asking for a moment to talk to someone
(Change beat to "Can We" by SWV)
Changing the song that is being played
Can we get kinky tonight
Asking for permission to get experimental tonight
I got so many things on my mind
Feeling overwhelmed with thoughts and desires
I never seen a girl so fly
Complimenting a woman's appearance
I want you to do me, do me
Requesting sexual activity
Lyrics ยฉ Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MELVIN LEE BARCLIFF, STEPHEN ELLIS GARRETT, TIMOTHY Z MOSLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
YuSavvy
Folks slept on dis album mane...dat Playa harmony go HARD too
M Sweatte
I used to cut grass in the summer with this album
Rayvelynn Lee
Maaannn this was my jam. ๐๐๐I had this on repeat in the 90s. Good times๐
TheNsaneOne
static killed it
Brando Chicago
๐ง๐ฅ๐ง๐ฅStatic Major๐๐พ ....
The Best
Gina Payne
This song has been stuck in my head for 3 hours now...๐คฆ๐พโโ๏ธ... classic ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
YuSavvy
Every Magoo verse sound like it's off tha dome
J Sun
Talent.
Mana Vai
i wanna go to a 90s party where they play tim and magoo
AJ $tacks
Let's have our own party ๐ฅณ