Between the Lines: Timbaland ''The Emperor of Sound''
Watch an afternoon conversation with renown music producer, Timbaland, as he provides an inside look at his memoir 'The Emperor of Sound'. A book signing will follow the conversation.
Timbaland spoke of his appreciation for producers like Pete Rock. But even before Rock, Timbland recalled discovering Mantronix, one of his early influences:
"Mantronix to me was the first. He had this song called 'King of Beats' and that song, I was like, 'How did he do this?' because it's like what computers do now, he kind of was starting the element back then. I didn't know how he did. I thought it was unique how he'd take Peter Piper beat and slow it down and do certain things and trick it out a little bit. I'm like, 'This dude is ill.'"
One of the most prolific artists and producers making music today, Timbaland views evolution as the key to longterm success. He subscribes to a four-year artistic cycle:
"I think every major career has like a four-year term, just like the presidency. You know, the president can be president and if you make another term it's eight years. That's it. So, you beat all the odds. It's the same thing in music. It's like you have to constantly reinvent, and as you reinvent you have to reinvent everything: your finances, everything about you. You've got to think smart, and sometimes after a while, you don't need to go back to being down eighty-thousand chains."
Just as Timbaland believes in the need for personal reinvention, he also believes in a creative reinvigoration of education. He hopes to see more creativity in the classroom:
"People need to pay attention to the kids around us. I feel like people get to thirty-five, thirty-six, they kind of get complacent, and I feel like our kids are the future. In school they need to come up with something more creative for our children instead of letting the outside create stuff for our children... That's my next calling: to do music and to teach at the same time."
10 Things We Learned From Timbaland's New Book "The Emperor of Sound"
Any conversation about the greatest producers of all time must include Timbaland. Timothy Mosley emerged in the Nineties with a series of beguiling records that changed the course of hip-hop and R&B; in short order, he launched a career in pop, helping to create unforgettable hits for Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and Jay Z. The open-minded, genre-hybrid approach that dominates contemporary production would be hard to imagine without Timbaland's example.
1. Timbaland loves Rod Stewart.The famous beatmaker's memoir, modestly titled The Emperor of Sound, arrives tomorrow. Somewhat like a Timbaland beat, the volume takes a lot of strange jumps — ignoring, for example, the recording of the classic first Missy Elliott album — but the book still contains a wealth of interesting details. Here are 10 key revelations.
The producer showed his genre-defying impulses early on: While Rick James, Queen and Prince all played an important role in his musical education, no one receives more praise than Rod Stewart. "The genius of the instrumentation is unparalleled," writes Timbaland of "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" "Like every truly great pop song, it's got all the elements you've heard before, lined up in a way that you've never quite heard before. ... That song picks you up and doesn't let you go until the very last guitar lick." He adds later that "trying to chart my influences is like trying to pinpoint the origin of a cell-phone signal in those movies when the bad guy is using a scrambler."
2. In high school, he was in a group with Pharrell.In his teens, Timbaland put together the wonderfully named band Surrounded by Idiots. Timbaland was the DJ and Pharrell served as one of several rappers. (Pharrell also had his own group, Dead Poets Society, at the time.) Magoo, who would eventually release several albums with Mosley, was also a member. Mosley believes Surrounded by Idiots were ahead of their time: "We even had a few songs that I think would still be up to the standards of today."
3. He has a bullet lodged in his arm.While working at Red Lobster in high school, Mosley was accidentally shot — someone was attempting to deliver a gun to another kitchen employee, but it went off and hit Timbaland, causing him to lose the use of his left arm for seven months. He DJ'd anyway, using his shoulder to scratch despite the pain.
4. Timbaland spent several torturous years as a producer for DeVante Swing of Jodeci. Initially, Timbaland and Missy Elliott thought that earning the attention of Jodeci — an R&B group at the peak of its commercial powers — would be their big break. According to Timbaland's description, working under DeVante Swing was more like being under house arrest. "We would go for days without eating," he remembers. "We would be woken up in the middle of the night to run crazy errands. We were knocked around, kicked around, and beat down." In addition, Timbaland suggests that he was barely paid royalties for work he did on various songs during this time period.
5. Mosley's unique approach to sound was partially inspired by physically distorted records.Around the time Timbaland was making the beat that would ultimately become Ginuwine's "Pony" — a modern R&B classic — he developed an interest in degraded records. "If you leave a a record out in the sun, it will warp," he notes. "[I]t's going to have a strange, distorted sound. I love that sound and I started making beats with that vibe. I was thinking, Warp it a little, when I added belching synthesizers to the beat I was working on."
6. After Aaliyah's death, Timbaland went through a serious bout of depression.Timbaland and his partner in rhyme, Missy Elliott, played a crucial role on Aaliyah's second and third albums — Timbo produced roughly half of 1996's One in a Million, which went triple platinum, and three songs from 2001's Aaliyah, which won a Grammy for Best R&B Album. He was very close to the singer, and when she died in a plane crash in 2001, he went into a downward spiral. "I drank, as early as seemed social acceptable," he recalls. "Then I drank until the finish, to pass out. ... I kept the shades drawn and banned all guests. I gave up on grooming myself."
7. He disagrees with Jay Z about "Big Pimpin'."In his own memoir, Decoded, Jay Z disavowed "Big Pimpin'" due to its lyrical content. "Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing," the MC explained. "Not 'Big Pimpin'.'" It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing?" Timbo does not share his regrets. "Making records is all about the moment," he counters. "You capture that moment in time and it's a letter in a bottle. Sometimes, years later, you go back and you play a track and it's like reading the diary of a you that you can barely remember. Doesn't mean that the old you was bad or something to be ashamed of."
8. Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around ... Comes Around" came out of a "Cry Me a River"–inspired jam.When Timberlake headed back into the studio with Timbaland to craft the follow-up to his breakout album, Justified, the singer was creatively frustrated, crippled by the pressure of matching his solo debut's impressive commercial performance. In an attempt to break out of the gridlock, Timbaland and his partner Nate "Danja" Hill started "fooling around and freestyling with some of the sounds from 'Cry Me a River,'" the Timbaland-crafted hit from Justified. The result became "What Goes Around ... Comes Around," yet another Number One smash for Timberlake. Another interesting tidbit: The singer was apparently bumping INXS and Bowie constantly during theFutureSex recording process, though you wouldn't be able to tell that from listening to the finished product.
9. Timbaland actively reads his own press.At least the good press. He gleefully quotes The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh on two separate occasions, touting his bold production on Aaliyah's "Try Me" single and the success of Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds album.
10. He's just getting started.
Timbaland isn't interested in resting on his laurels. "Do I feel like I've hit my ceiling yet?" he asks. "By no means." He holds himself to a high standard: "My goal is to achieve a body of work that can sit in comparison with the work of the one and only Quincy Jones."
Jay Z & Timbaland Attends Start of Trial Over ''Big Pimpin''
As you may know, Jay Z and producer Timbaland are accused of violating the rights of famed Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi to create their 1999 hit ‘Big Pimpin‘.
The trial for the same commenced at a Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday, October which was personally attended by both the rapper and producer (watch video below).
Attorney for heirs of the Egyptian composer, Pete Ross accused the rapper of misusing music from a popular 1950s love ballad by Hamdi called ‘Khosara Khosara’. He argued that Jay Z rapped vulgar lyrics over Hamdi’s beautiful melody without receiving the proper permission to do so. He said it also violated Hamdi’s “moral rights,” a legal concept he said is well-established in Egypt that would have required them to get permission to use elements of the song celebrating a promiscuous lifestyle.
However, Timbaland’s attorney, Christine Lepera, told jurors that the producer initially used elements of Hamdi’s work thinking it was royalty-free, but he later secured the appropriate rights. According to AP, The trail will continue on Wednesday with testimony from an expert on Egyptian music who began testifying Tuesday about Hamdi’s life and influence.
Posted by Timbaland on Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Rick Ross Feat Jay Z - Movin’ Bass (Produced By Timbaland)
Rick Ross continues to build the hype for his forthcoming "Hood Billionaire" album by dropping off his Jay Z-assisted single “Movin Bass,” produced by Timbaland.
Five years ago, he was at the top of his game. The biggest names in the music business were clamoring for his production skills. Everything he touched turned to platinum. But Then, the clouds rolled in. The industry changed, tastes changed...
(Photo: Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos/New York Magazine)
sitting in the recording studio in Miami’s Setai hotel surrounded by equipment Tim Mosley Says :
“ Every year changes, every generation, I feel like I was getting whacked, The music of today, it’s not like the music I’m making ” For a while, he disappeared. There were rumors of drugs, financial insolvency, and depression. Then, this year, he was back, doing his thing on Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail and Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience(Parts 1 and 2), like his same old self. But not quite. “This is New Tim, I done some changing, I am much more in touch with me.” the beginning of this new era, Mosley changed the name of his upcoming solo album so that it was no longer a continuation of his "Shock Value" series but the stand-alone "Textbook Timbo" Like his previous albums, it features appearances from usual suspects like Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell, and some newer talent like Drake, and—well, that’s sort of it, really.
New Tim might be more humble, but he also knows how good he is. “A lot of people have great sounds, but they don’t have great music, Have you seen that movie "Now You See Me?”, That mentalist guy, the way he can hypnotize you, that’s me with my music. Like ‘'Suit & Tie'’ is a great masterpiece.” Should he win a Grammy this year, New Tim knows exactly what he will say: “ I’m twelve years a slave. In the music business. I’m the underdog. How many underdogs out there? Fight for what you believe in. Shit will happen. I’m standing up on this podium, as a living witness, to witness that God is always on time. Not on your time. But he knows when you deserve something. ” Mosley still makes most of his beats the old-fashioned way. People talk about the time when Mosley picked up a chair during the recording of Rihanna’s “Sell Me Candy” and started bashing the window, just to get the sound he wanted. “ I do everything from my mouth, Horn sounds, everything. The other night, I was watching Oblivion, and I fell asleep, but I woke up when I heard something dope and I’m like, ‘Aww, I got to sample this."
(Photo: Marc Serota/LoveHomeProduction/Entertainment Magazine)
Leaning against a royal palm, clad in a nautically themed sweatshirt, a massive gold chain featuring the head of Jesus dangling from his neck, he continues lip-synching the chorus of “Been It,” which will appear on his next album, the song, an upbeat, heavily Auto-Tuned It it was written with Pharrell Williams “For your information, baby, I’m-a make sure and tell you ’bout these hoes ”
There’s only one that holds his interest. Which is why Tim Mosley he’ll always come back To Rule The Radio Once Again This Year TIMBALAND
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