Timothy Zachary Mosley (born March 10, 1972),
[2] known professionally as
Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ.
[3]
Timbaland's first full credit production work was in 1996 on
Ginuwine...the Bachelor for
R&B singer
Ginuwine. After further work on
Aaliyah's second studio album
One in a Million (1996) and
Missy Elliott's debut studio album
Supa Dupa Fly (1997), Timbaland became a prominent producer for R&B and
hip hop artists. As a rapper he initially released several albums with fellow rapper
Magoo, followed by his debut solo album
Tim's Bio in 1998. In 2002, Timbaland produced the hit single "
Cry Me a River" for
Justin Timberlake, going on to produce most of Timberlake's subsequent LPs such as
FutureSex/LoveSounds and
The 20/20 Experience and their respective hit singles. A Timbaland-owned imprint label,
Mosley Music Group, featured artists such as
Nelly Furtado, whose Timbaland-produced album
Loose (2006) was a commercial and critical success. In 2007, Timbaland released a solo album,
Shock Value, which was followed by
Shock Value II in 2009.
Aside from the aforementioned artists, Timbaland's production credits from the 2000s forward include work with
Jay-Z,
Nas,
Ludacris,
Bubba Sparxxx,
Madonna,
Rihanna,
OneRepublic,
Brandy,
Drake,
Rick Ross and others. As a songwriter he has written as of 2014, 85 UK hits and 99 hits Stateside.
[4] Timbaland has received widespread acclaim for his production style. In 2007,
Entertainment Weekly stated that "just about every current pop trend can be traced back to him — from sultry, urban-edged R&B songstresses ... to the art of incorporating
avant-garde sounds into No. 1 hits."
