Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer.

Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinctive "stuttering" rhythmic style.

Timothy Zachery Mosley was born on March 10, 1972, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Latrice, who ran a homeless shelter, and Garland Mosley, an Amtrak employee.

He graduated from Salem High School of Virginia Beach.

During his time as a DJ, he was known as "DJ Tim" or "DJ Timmy Tim".

He has a younger brother named Sebastian.

His sister Courtney Rashon is a makeup artist and an author from New Jersey.

While attending high school, Timbaland began a long-term collaboration with rapper Melvin (Magoo) Barcliff.

The teenage Mosley also joined the production ensemble S.B.I. (which stood for 'Surrounded By Idiots') which also featured Neptunes producer, his cousin, Pharrell Williams.

Mosley was also high school friends with brothers Terrence and Gene Thornton, who would become known as Pusha T and Malice of the rap group Clipse, respectively.

In 1986, when Timbaland was 14 years old, he was accidentally shot by a co-worker at a local Red Lobster restaurant and was partially paralyzed for nine months.

During this time, he began to learn how to DJ using his left hand.

Rapper Missy Elliott heard his material and began working with him.

She and her R&B group, Sista, auditioned for DeVante Swing, a producer and member of the successful R&B act Jodeci.

DeVante signed Sista to his Swing Mob record label and Elliott brought Mosley and Barcliff along with her to New York, where Swing Mob was based.

It was DeVante who renamed the young producer Timbaland, after the Timberland brand of construction boots.

He and Magoo became part of SCI Zakys School stable of Swing Mob signees known as "Da Bassment" crew, joining artists such as R&B singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa (Smoke E. Digglera, Static Major and Digital Black), and the girl group Sugah.

In the early to mid-1990s, he produced a few songs for R&B acts such as Jodeci and Sista.

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 (unreleased) début LP 4 All the Sistas Around da World.

Elliott began receiving recognition as a songwriter for artists such as R&B girl group 702 and MC Lyte.

Due to Timbaland's connection with her, he was often contacted to produce remixes of her songs.

Timbaland began his producing career for R&B acts.

Timbaland's first full production credit was on the album Ginuwine...the Bachelor (1996) for R&B singer Ginuwine.

Further commercial success on his following productions, including Aaliyah's second studio album One in a Million (1996) and Missy Elliott's debut studio album Supa Dupa Fly (1997), made him a sought-after producer among R&B and hip hop artists.

In 1996, he made his mainstream breakthrough by producing the majority of both Aaliyah's second album One in a Million and Ginuwine's debut album Ginuwine...the Bachelor.

This included the major hit singles "If Your Girl Only Knew" by Aaliyah and "Pony" by Ginuwine.

While Timbaland was initially producing for R&B artists, his trademark sound was very much rooted in hip-hop with its fast-paced nature and clear drum breaks.

He was taking a hip-hop sound and applying it to R&B, and in this way his sound was instrumental in blurring the distinction between hip-hop and R&B production.

In 1997, he fully produced Supa Dupa Fly, the debut album of Missy Elliott, who had been a childhood friend of Mosley.

He performed as a recording artist himself while doing so, releasing three albums as part of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Timbaland & Magoo, along with his debut solo album, Tim's Bio (1998).

Meanwhile, Timbaland's production credits throughout the 2000s expanded to include work with Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, and Björk, among others.

He has received four Grammy Awards from 21 nominations.

Timbaland founded the record labels Beat Club in 2001 and its successor, Mosley Music Group in 2006, through which he has signed artists including Nelly Furtado—whose album Loose (2006) peaked the Billboard 200—as well as OneRepublic, Keri Hilson, Bubba Sparxxx, and the late Chris Cornell.

He produced Justin Timberlake's 2002 single "Cry Me a River", and thereafter produced the majority of Timberlake's subsequent releases—including FutureSex/LoveSounds (2007) and The 20/20 Experience (2013)—along with their respective hit singles.

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."

Timbaland's 2007 single "Give It To Me" (featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake) peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his second album, Shock Value (2007).

It spawned the follow-up singles "The Way I Are" (featuring Keri Hilson) and "Apologize" (with OneRepublic), which peaked at numbers three and two on the chart, respectively.

His third album, Shock Value II (2009) was supported by the singles "Carry Out" (featuring Justin Timberlake), "Say Something" (featuring Drake) and "If We Ever Meet Again" (with Katy Perry).

Beat Club is namesake of a service in which Timbaland mentors upcoming producers, launched in 2020.

Along with fellow producer Swizz Beatz, he co-created the popular webcast series Verzuz that same year.