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.
Come and Get Me )
timbaLand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's Tim-Unit ****, yeah
You know I like how I sound on that ****
****, your time is up, I ain't come to catch you
I knew you **** was dumb but how dumb is you
Thinkin' you could see the king when you unofficial
You don't wanna go to war 'cause I launch these missiles
I'm a "Ride or Die ****", I be tearin' **** up
We ain't like them other crews, so don't preparin' to us
All the **** love a **** that be backin' it up
But me, I love money, I be stackin' it up
From my band wagon puller, they hop on board
They hop right on mine, they hop right off yours
I get respect homie all across the board
I get to call a "Milla" track without an award
Ever wanna test a ****, then come see me
In the street, I hold my ground like on concrete
I know **** ain't sweet, so the **** get deep
I'm rich, I can pay to have you six feet deep, ****
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
****, you violate, I regulate rata tat tat
Bigger **** to fit in that **** **** ****
Run in the bulls eye, form on your back
Hard to miss with a full **** in the ****
I got ****! ****! Eye low, reload!
Caught a **** quick, yeah, my **** can't leave it
Tough guy ****, **** that's what I see through
You like a three course meal, **** I eat you
You fool and I'm in the mood
So fun I let the hammer fly
**** you could duck, run for cover or ****
Your choice, you choose, I ****, you move, evacuate shot
You been ****, ****, your blood on the street
You rough **** creek, you can hardly speak
You startin' to get weak, your eyes close your life, flash!
Your heart's slow, your heart stop your ****, then you **** it!
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
I'm like Nicolas Cage, yeah, it's the Ghost Rider
****, yeah, I like my toast lighter
Costa Rica to Brazil, I got my **** in the Lear
While your **** ball headed like Britney Spears
I'm in the projects, gettin' **** and piff money
Two more flips that's in and a cold Smith money
**** a G 4 I'm in a G 500
G 450, G 550
That's airplane talk, I'm the aviator man
Baby **** ****, your baby out your hand
Spaghetti and cold brown mixed got me ****
This whole talk about she know, **** on a empty stomach
Buy out the mall and hugged the block
A hundred "Dall" wood green and a phantom drop
Then I cruise in the club, got my **** in the club
Pay a belt and buck, now I **** in the club, yeah ****
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
I give it to whoever want it
If you want it come see me
You know where I'm at if you want it
If you want it come get me
The above lyrics are from Timbaland's song "Come and Get Me" which features 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. The song talks about how Timbaland is not to be messed with and how anyone who wants to test him will face the consequences. He talks about his love for money and how he is always hustling to stack it up. He also mentions how he gets respect in the industry and makes a lot of money without needing any awards.
50 Cent's verse is more direct and violent, talking about how he regulates anyone who violates him and how he will take them out without any hesitation. He talks about his knife game being lethal and how he is always ready to let the hammer fly. Tony Yayo's verse talks about his lavish lifestyle and how he likes to spend money. He talks about his expensive cars, guns, and how he likes to hang out in the club with his friends.
The song overall is a display of the three artists' money, power, and respect in the industry. It talks about how they are not to be messed with and how they will take anyone out who tries them. The beat and Timbaland's production skills add a lot to the song and make it an overall catchy track.
Line by Line Meaning
Nigga, your time is up; I ain't come to kid you
I'm not here to waste time, your time is up
I knew you niggas was dumb, but how dumb is you?
You're not very smart if you think you can challenge me
Thinkin' you can see the king when you unofficial
You can't even compare to me, don't try to challenge me
You don't wanna go to war 'cause I'll launch these missiles
You don't want to mess with me because I have powerful weapons
I'm a ride-or-die nigga; I be tearin' shit up
I'm committed to this lifestyle and will cause destruction
We ain't like them other fools who don't compare to us
We're not like others because we're unmatched
All the hos love a nigga; they be backing it up
Women are attracted to me and show it
But me - I love money; I be stacking it up
I prioritize money and accumulate it
When my bandwagon pull up, they hop on board
People want to associate with me when I'm successful
They hop right on mine and hop right off yours
They abandon others to be with me
I get respect, homey, all across the board
I receive admiration and deference from everyone
I get a quarter mill' a track without an award
I earn $250,000 for each track I produce, and I don't even need awards
Ever wanna test a nigga, then come see me
If you want to challenge me, face me directly
In the street I hold my ground like I'm concrete
I stand firm and won't be moved
I know shit ain't sweet so when shit get deep
I'm aware that things can get tough, so I'm always prepared
I'm rich, I can pay to have you six feet deep
I have enough money to eliminate anyone who threatens me
I give it to whoever want it
I'm willing to fight anyone who challenges me
If you want it, come see me
If you want to fight, face me directly
You know where I'm at
You know where to find me
If you, if you want it, come get me
If you want to fight, come after me
Nigga, you violate, I regulate, rat-tat-tat
If you cross me, I will correct your behavior with force
Bigger shells - they fit in that banana clip tech
I have a powerful weapon that can hold large bullets
Run, and a bullseye form on your back
If you try to escape, I will target you
It's hard to miss wit' a full clip in the mac
It's difficult to miss my shots with a fully loaded gun
I got ammo; ammo I unload; reload cut a nigga quick
I have plenty of bullets and can quickly reload to keep fighting
You like a three course meal, motherfucker, I eat you
You're nothing to me, I'll easily defeat you
You food, and I'm in the mood; so front, I let the hammer fly
You're easy prey for me, I'm ready to strike
Nigga, you can duck, run for cover, or die
You have few options, you can try to avoid me or you'll be killed
Your choice; you choose
It's up to you to decide
I Pop, you move, like you in shock: you been shot
I shoot, you dodge, as if you're surprised you've been hit
Nigga, your blood on the street, you up shit's creek
Your blood is spilled on the ground, you're in a bad situation
You can hardly speak, startin' to get weak, your eyes close
You're losing consciousness and on the verge of death
Your life flash, your heart slow, your heart stop
Your life flashes before your eyes, your heart slows down, then stops
Your ass dead, you fucked, kid
You're dead, it's over for you
I'm like Nicholas Cage: Yeah, it's the Ghost Rider
I'm similar to Nicholas Cage's character in Ghost Rider
P89, yeah, I let my toast slide, Costa Rica To Brazil
I have a specific gun (P89) and I've carried it across many countries
I got my hos in the lamb; why your bitch bald headed?
I have my attractive women in a luxury car, while your partner is unattractive
Like Britney Spears; I'm in the projects gettin' dope and piff money
I'm successful, but still participate in illegal activities in the projects
Two more flips; that's Anna Nicole Smith money; fuck a G4
I'll make more money with just two more transactions, like Anna Nicole Smith's inheritance, without needing a private jet
I'm in a G-500, G-450, G-550; that's airplane talk
I have various expensive car models, like the G series, which is equivalent to airplane talk
I'm the aviator man, baby; AR shoot your baby out your hands
I'm a man who flies planes, and I'll even shoot a baby out of your hands with my AR (assault rifle)
Spaghetti and corn bread; mix got me blunted
I'm high from a mix of spaghetti and corn bread
There's no talk abouts; you don't fuck on an empty stomach
I don't talk about things, and you shouldn't engage in sexual activity on an empty stomach
Buy out the mall, then hug the block; hundred-thou wood grain
I'll buy out an entire mall, then hang out on the street corner with my expensive car
In a phantom drop; then I cruise in the club
I'll drive a Rolls-Royce Phantom drophead, then relax in a club
Got my ruge in the club; pay a bouncer a buck
I'll bring my gun into a club and even bribe the bouncer to let me do it
Now my uz in the club, yeah, nigga
Now I have my Uzi (submachine gun) in the club with me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT LP, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Cloud9, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARVIN BERNARD, TIMOTHY CLAYTON, FLOYD NATHANIEL HILLS, TIMOTHY Z. MOSLEY, CURTIS JAMES JACKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind