Timbaland is Dead

Dec 18, 2006

Timbaland is Dead · by Sach O

Wherein we alert our reader to the demise of both Timberland boots and producer Timbaland.

Timbaland ain’t hip-hop and he certainly ain’t hood. While latte sipping music critics can ululate all they want about how he merges synth-pop to oompa rhythms for the club, anyone with an ounce of gulliness in them knows that the man is one limp wrist away from producing Lance Bass’ next record. Now in the past, Timbaland actually had a decent stable of artists to collaborate with who steered him in the right direction: Aaliyah was smokin’ on his grooves and Ginuwine was more interesting than D’Angelo, in retrospect. But A) That was 10 years ago and B) those were R&B singers. I ain’t trying to hear about how some washed up bodybuilding Max Martin-ass muhfucka is the best rap producer of all time when his catalogue is entirely devoid of actual bangers.

While Timbaland gets the estrogen crowd in a tizzy (which says a lot for his fans), where’s his Grindin? Or his Made You Look? Or even his Bia Bia for that matter? He just doesn’t have any material for the hardcore cats, which was a cardinal sin against rap back when heads weren’t involved in all-male snap dancing ciphers. Hell if Timbaland came out in 91 he’d be busy dropping Hip-House beats for PM Dawn! It’s not just the wild-out joints that he’s too prissy for either – when’s the last time you heard Timbo produce a record that meant something? Answer: you didn’t you big dummy! That’s because Mr. Shuffling Drums doesn’t do meaningful work and anytime he collaborates with a thinking man’s emcee, he forces them to go euro-dance. Remember Nas’ You Owe Me? Or maybe Jadakiss and Beanie Sigel’s awful club attempts will jog your memory. And Lord have mercy (no Flipmode) on anyone who tries to listen to LL Cool J’s DEFinition album. Let’s face it, this guy is a hip-hop producer in name only anyway and the only rappers he’s consistently made dope shit with are Jay-Z and Ludacris. And it’s still their frothiest pop material.

Besides, Timbaland says he doesn’t want to work with hip-hop artists anymore so why should the rap community give him love? After all, he’s too busy working with hippie Canadian folk singers turned club-sluts and the Judas-of-Janet Justin Timberlake to deliver real beats.

Hell, the only time he ever TRIED to release a serious album was with Bubba Sparxxx! You’d think Petey Pablo or Xzibit could have used that intensity but he was too busy using them to fulfill his disco fantasies.

While he occasionally drops heat (that Game record), the amount of undeniably softbatch euro-dance garbage that Timbaland regularly puts out is impossible to ignore. Add to that his snobby attitude towards rap, his inability to create any music that moves the mind instead of the ass and his over all bitch-made nature and we at Ohword have no choice but to revoke his ghetto pass and send him off with William Orbit and the rest of the club kids to work on Madonna’s new album. If you want a track for the ladies call Pharell or Cool n Dre cuz Timbaland is outta here.

Comments for "Timbaland is Dead"

Timbo gave Jeezy not only a banger but a grimy banger at that.

The Bubba Sparxxx albums are both great and both criminally slept on. I don’t see why you just scoff at him.

You might not like the timberlake album, but the beat switch up on the 3 6 track is great.

Out of all the shit coming out in hip hop right now, why did you choose to single out one of the most talented cats making music right now?

— Tariq's Dilemma Dec 18, 03:10 PM
you should rename this post “petition to get dropped from cocaineblunts blog roll.”

— noz Dec 18, 03:34 PM
I get all teh ironyz (“Timbo’s euro-dance gloss is more hip-hop than his attempts at actual hip-hop shit!”) and comedy here, but I have one question that the fun-spoilers are surely going to ask:

When has DJ Premier ever crafted a “banger”?

— Renato Pagnani Dec 18, 03:56 PM
Dayum!

— Combat Jack Dec 18, 04:36 PM
Okay, I disagree with Sach’s post (OhWord internecine warfare), but asking when DJ Premier has ever crafted a banger is ridiculous. The most obvious and best known songs he’s done are almost all “bangers” – NY State of Mind, Come Clean, Militia…

— David Dec 18, 05:03 PM
I read RHS’ hilarious companion piece, but I honestly can’t tell if this is supposed to be tongue in cheek.

I was a staunch Timbaland hater when he and Missy first dropped. Too glossy, not enough dusty samples. But then I matured and my tastes expanded.

You can’t front on the man. Too much of his stuff is kinda formulaic or boring, but you can say that of every top notch prolific producer except probably Primo and RZA at their peaks. Much like Jaydee (before he died), Timbaland has drawn the ire of a certain segment of regressive, narrow-minded rap fan who believes that all great rap production has to sound lke their favorite traditional rap production.

I’m not that familiar with his albums, because honestly, I can’t stand the rapping, but “Roll Out” is a banger. Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” is a banger. “Ugly” is a banger. “Big Pimpin,” “Hola Hovito,” “Straight Outta VA,” “Indian Carpet” (I know, the sample has been used before, but still)—all bangers to me. His bangers may be unconventional, but they’re bangers nonetheless. But beyond that, he has never really been a “banger” producer anyway, and good rap production is not all about “bangers.” How many “bangers” are there on Blowout Comb or 93Til Infinity? Maybe 5 or 6 combined?

He’s not my pick for best of all time, but the criticism isn’t even legitimate. You’re punishing him for the suckiness of a number of his fans. Hipsters and other people who know nothing about rap love him for the same reason they love The Neptunes and post-Aquemeni Outkast: they don’t make “traditional” sounding rap production and they tend toward electro-bounce. And because these losers heap so much uninformed praise on them, there’s a backlash from “real heads,” who front on these artists.

Oh, and the fact that Nas chose “You Owe Me” only means that he has a horrendous ear for beats and that Timbaland got away with selling him a dud.

Noz’s XXL post on this a while back was pretty damn good: http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=5087

— eauhellzgnaw Dec 18, 05:21 PM
David, I wasn’t personally asking that question, merely pre-emptively pointing out all those who don’t “get” this piece will ask it (or a similar variant). Also, what I meant by bringing Premier up was that there’s no one, concrete definition of what a “banger” is… lots of Timbaland’s (and Premo’s) work are “bangers” in non-traditional ways (“Chop Me Up”, “The Format”, that song Premo did for Cee-Lo a few years back).

I don’t see anything wrong with Timbo’s euro-dance and world-sounding productions, those are just as hip-hop as some real dusty soul loops that RZA might have dug up in the early 90s.

— Renato Pagnani Dec 18, 07:05 PM
Why did I have the feeling taking a dump on a beloved musical figure wasn’t going to win me any popularity contests?

— Sach Dec 18, 07:50 PM
this piece fucking sucks

— funk docta bombay Dec 18, 11:10 PM
Tim’s HOLLYWOODer than Jermaine Dupri right now & he’s been looking very metrosexual since dropping the 40 lbs. or whatever but the dude’s skills are sick when he chooses to put out real rap music (Put you on the game… radio yeah but it’s a good track and your saviors of gangsta rap the Clippers took it on Cheap. pt 2 and the shit came out great). Not gonna say alot more because those above already done did it.

I think probably 10/10 rap producers if given the chance to do tracks with Nelly Furtado and get in EVERY Timbalake video thus becoming World Sex Symbols by association, would probably go the same route he did, it’s understandable.

“My love” isn’t gutter gangsta or gully (Neither is TI) but the actual track is beautiful music. I copped the instro and just bump that.

— Skylar Dec 19, 03:00 AM
I think the problem with Tim, and Noz pointed this out in his post a few months back, is that with most major label hip hop artists, they really can’t get into his beats asses like that—with the exception of Jay, Luda, Missy and Bubba Sparxx.

Premier has said in plenty of interviews that he keeps his beats simple and rugged so that the MC is the star of the track, and he provides the head nod factor and chorus cuts. Timbaland has changed the sound of mainstream radio music 2-3 times in his career and it’s not because the MCs/singers were the stars of the tracks. Tim is a star and he knows it—I listen to “Put You On the Game” instrumental all the time and have heard Game’s version maybe twice. Tim isn’t there to serve the artist and make them shine—they are the background to his beats. This goes against the traditional definition of a record producer, but hip hop shifted its focus from the DJ to the b-boy to the MC and now to the producer.

The only person who really does their thing consistently on his beats is Missy cause that crazy bitch will do ANYTHING on any given track. Whereas you put a nice lyricist on a Primo/Alchemist/RZA/Pete Rock track, it’s gonna come off right because their sound compliments the MC while still shining musically with chopped samples, filters, low end, cuts, etc. Termanology on a Primo track = certified banger. Termanology on a Timbaland track = shifty, unbalanced mess.

Really it all comes down to what you want from your MC and the landscape they are given to rhyme on. Super lyrics and lightning flows are not for Tim. Crazy, wild party booty shaking shit is alright with Mr. Moseley.

— Rap Jack Bauer Dec 19, 09:34 AM
what’s hip hop? what’s ‘hood? what’s wrong with sipping lattes?

— jb Dec 19, 09:49 AM
Wow. This entire post is hilarious to me because Timbaland was never primarily a hip-hop producer to begin with. LOL.

Tim works best with those artists he has the most synergy with, hip-hop, R&B or otherwise. Missy, Nelly Furtado, Luda, Jay-Z, Aaliyah.

“Loose” and “FutureSex” were some of the best albums to be released this year and I gotta give it up to Tim for being a part of those as opposed to the dire hip-hop scene of 2006.

Lemme guess, you’re gonna do one of these on Pharrell next?

— nOva Dec 19, 11:20 AM
LOL.

— blastmaster Dec 20, 01:19 AM
This post hurts your credibility.

— R Dec 20, 02:08 AM
Timbaland Is Dead! Yeah right! Are you serious. Timbaland is not just a Hip Hop producer. He is a producer with alot of talent that caters to more than one music genre. If you have an ear for music you would love what he’s doing right now. He’s not pigeonholeing himself. If anyone dealing with the type of talent that he’s dealing with puts themselves under one umbrella then their a fool. Which Timbaland isn’t. What producer wouldn’t want to receive international recognition for their work. Stop trippin’ and open your ears. His music is beautiful, not only in Hip Hop, but R&B and pop culture too. He should continue what he’s doing because anything good is worth listening too. And the production that I’ve heard from Timbaland in the past few months is undeniably good.

— uniquesvszn Dec 20, 02:43 AM
“What producer wouldn’t want to receive international recognition for their work. Stop trippin’ and open your ears. His music is beautiful, not only in Hip Hop, but R&B and pop culture too.”

Wow, Tim’s former partner in “rhyme” Magoo comments at Oh Word now?

— Robbie Dec 20, 04:21 AM
Wow…..I have to take a minute to breath.

That was so off point it is rediculous!

Timbaland is an INCREDIBLY talented producer.

You obviously have never produced a record or even remotely touched a keyboard or drum machine.

Compared to some (most) of the garbage that is out now, Timbaland is a virtuoso.

I’m still going to read your blog because I feel for the most part you make excellent point and you have a lot a good and relevant information for the masses but this time you were WAY off the mark.

I’ll just chalk it up as you having woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

— EroCentrique Dec 20, 12:09 PM
It’s fair to be disappointed when a producer you admire spends all his free time making beats for Nelly Fritata and Justin Timbalake. If like J-Zone or Dilla (just examples) started producing joints for Fergie or Madonna and shit and wasn’t making rap beats a whole lot, I’d kinda fall back from feeling they steez for awhile I’d think.

— Skylar Dec 20, 11:15 PM
Timbo is pop now. But theres plenty of boom muthafuckin bap at myspace.com/polohiphop

— Earth resident Dec 21, 05:49 PM
Shame on him for stealing others music !!!
just check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loose_%28album%29

It is currently claimed by various sources [18] [19] [20] that part of the song “Do It” is based on uncredited material, namely demoscene musician Janne “Tempest/Damage” Suni’s song entitled “Acid Jazzed Evening”, winner of the Assembly 2000 oldskool music competition.

download and compare yourself!
what a sucker

— nelson Jan 13, 12:51 PM
So if you like Timbaland’s beats you sure be considered a limp-wristed Euro-trash wannabe too? It’s exactly that kind of elitism that kills creativity in hip-hop and creates a hundred generic knockoffs of bling bling thugs.

— DJ Flash Jan 14, 02:47 AM
I don’t have much to add to the Timbaland argument that hasn’t already been said, but it’s worth noting that Sach is becoming the Stuart Scott of hip hop writers—stretching for those phrases detracts from otherwise decent writing and obvious knowledge of hip hop. Booyah, Sach.

— DC Jan 14, 09:22 PM
RIP – when you are out of creative energy and resorts to stealing music you are dead as a composer. Check out the links for info.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4KX7SkDe4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV2fTEeP6GM

— Shrimp Jan 18, 11:11 PM
Too good for y’all. Too rich an all!

— timbo Mar 4, 05:00 PM
MANNN.... WHO EVER WROTE THIS article AND TO THOSE WHO AGREE WITH IT…..
Imma tell yall like this…. STOP HATIN’ its nothin’ wrong with how Tim is producing. HE IS THE BEST “HANDS DOWN”.... you could put Tim in any musical category, he is able to produce anything for any body. THAT GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW HOTTT HE IS. give me one of the producers in the game that you consider the best… can they produce a track for any type of artist whether its rock, disco, country, and that foreign shit… and it will be a hit?? I DON’T THINK SO. And besides all of that I agree with TIMBALAND, most of the stuff in the hip hop game is WACK/GARBAGE. like nas said “hip hop is dead” and don’t get me wrong there are a few artist out there that I love listenin’ to but its alot that I don’t. most of them is not even talkin’ about shit and along with the lyrics the beat is not ear catchin’(not to name)..TIMBALAND IS HOT in ALL different ways. get off his D*cK>:o. —Boss Lady;)

— tim's girl.... Apr 8, 11:21 PM
Just to let you know I’m not gonna rip in due to the article that’s your opinion your entitled to it but don’t refer to Nelly as a “club slut” she’s a single mother with more wisdom and experience than your ass also if Timbo didn’t own the radio this year would you have even wrote the article be honest it was only because justin and nelly rule the charts no one was shitting on Timbo when he was catching bricks with Ms. Jade and Bubba, I do agree I’d love to hear Tim bust out something for Budden or Kweli but he is a business man he goes where the money is and unfortunately artists like Justin & Jeezy are where the money is now I think they’re both good but we’re not gonna hear anything revolutionary from them i mean really if Eminem and 50’s albums drop with Dre cutting some lead singles motherfuckers are gonna try and chew him out too also I didn’t see any mention of Premo’s work with Christina or his upcoming work with Whitney if you wanna criticize why not run after someone like Storch or Swizz since alot of what those guys are cranking out these days seems to be the same tired rehash over and over at least when you hear a Timbo beat it doesn’t sound exactly like one he’s done before so turthfully also look at Polow Da Don he’s cranked out beats for PCD and Fergie and mainstream press thinks he’s a fuckin genius (albeit his insturmentals are dope but not the artists he gives them to) so consider a bit more that the artists and media are at fault the producers just makes the sound track everyone else takes it from there
Peace!

— Dames Apr 9, 06:04 PM
Funniest thing I’ve ever read. 10 #1 singles worldwide in 2006.

Hit me up if you a real fan….

— J Boogie Apr 9, 07:13 PM
Ahh man, Are you serious? lmao Timbaland is a BEAST! I dont even wanna make a follow-up statement.. I aint sayin hes the greatest, I give that to DRE.. but Timbo is definitely the 2nd best… YES!

— Jah Apr 10, 04:14 AM
is this a part of Scott Storch’s black propaganda against Timbo?
Why you doin this bee-atch??

You wrote this coz yer a freaking loser, you aint got his talent and ye dont even own a yacht or a bugatti or big butt house down south like timbo does..izchupeed mad there fact her

— keeping it real Apr 10, 10:58 AM
timbo is up there with beats…and not everyone hates the euro-poppy sound because it’s not horrible

— h--b Apr 10, 11:59 AM
dawg, no one’s arguin’ that Timbo’s a hip-hop producer right now. he uses a hip-hop asthetic, but obviously he’s found it more rewarding to work with pop artists at this point. the dudes you mentioned probably can’t complement his beats the way he wanted ‘em to.

i’m not sure what ya mean by “meaningful.” dude’s style was revolutionary back in the day, and he’s still way more creative than most popular rap producers. at this point, probably only Kanye and Just are close to f-in’ with him ‘n Danja.

— T.R.E.Y. Apr 29, 07:56 PM
Fuckin’hater,All the way,Jews are haters…Even in music shit.

— Meelky Meelk May 11, 12:05 PM
Clearly a Zionist cabal is working against Timbaland.

— Rafi May 11, 01:20 PM
Sources later revealed that the Jewish mafia had secretly been funneling money to Don Imus under the table.

— DJ Flash May 14, 05:23 AM
me enkanta este negriito0 lo0 amo0’ muak`sssssss

— aLexa Jun 28, 04:35 PM
oh word?

— Rafi Jun 28, 05:10 PM
You fucking asshole. Timbaland is a legend so why you’re drawing attention to your stupidity is beyond me- leave the guy alone and look at your own problems mate.

— georgie Aug 8, 10:45 AM
Dont whine at Timbo, this guy is unique in all ways, he only make beatz ppl wanna hear, thats what its all about. Makin shit that everyone throwz in da dustbin is useless…
Sach…...... I understand your thinkin’, but youshoulda think like someone who love music not someone who love to criticize :O

— 2-SharR Aug 9, 03:47 PM
I wonder when it became a crime for hip-hop to have some mainstream appeal. I guess it was okay for 2Pac to crossover because he was still a thug, but Timbaland’s too SOFT to please holier-than-thou hip-hop purists. Let’s fragment the audience further – every city becomes one hip-hop enclave and the minute anybody from your city gets a record deal or blows up scream HE’S NOT REAL and start hating. Oh wait – I forgot – hip-hop already does that. Nevermind. I wonder what they say about Timbo in VA; hopefully he doesn’t listen.

— DJ Flash Aug 9, 10:08 PM
To the author of this article: If you actually sat back, relaxed and listened to music instead of being a pretentious pedant all day, maybe you could have a good time in this life. Idiot.

— Wayner Sep 14, 06:21 PM
Timbaland > DJ Premier

yep i went there. how many Premo beats’ve i heard? don’t ask me that. i’m too ign’ant to answer!

or, to use a fairer hip-hop blasphemy comparison where i actually kinda know my shit:

Timbaland > RZA

think i’ve heard enough of the RZA’s “definitive” work (classic Wu debut, classic Wu solos) to know that the whole “DUDE this is so grimy” aesthetic ain’t for me. well, unless you’re DJ Premier. but i don’t know how “grimy” he’s considered. some of my favorite Premo beats (“2nd Childhood,” Jay-Z shit, “Nas Is Like,” “Boom,” Biggie shit) are smoooooth as eggs. no Chappelle testicles.

— T.R.E.Y. Sep 14, 07:26 PM
New Genre:
Hippie Hop/Hip Pop.

Let’s face it, Pop is ‘popular music’ and when a hip hop song becomes commercial, it automatically becomes pop (in my opinion, hennyways)

— Q Sep 19, 05:41 AM
America gave birth to so much great music, Gospel, jazz, blues, soul, rock, rap but today popular music is in freefall and Timbaland is the ultimate symbol of this trend.
Timbaland:Music for marketing. Timbaland is well liked by the “critics” (pay by the big corporations) because they can say “Now I understand black music! That’s good black music.” What they like in Timbaland “music” it’s the Techno/Pop/synth/Gay sound played by a black man. His “music” is souless, cold, mechanical and said nothing.It’s the perfect beat for the fascist Bush years. Perfect for the white pop artists who got nothing to say but pretend to play “black music”. Perfect for black artist who want to reach the white teens/gay buyers. For 10 years it’s the same beat with a new sound stolen somewhere (Arabic, Indus or Finnish music). Boring after 8 measures, and feed by force via all the clear channel/MTV. The Financial power decided that “Timbo” was the perfect good big black (and propably gay) boy to represent their computerized/aseptized “music”. What’s so “fantastic” about him? His goofy face?? He’s changed the sound of music, sure, but for the worst.
— MP Jan 7, 06:37 AM
This is sh1t!!

— sukmydic Jan 8, 06:49 PM
i see what MP’s saying. clearly to represent legitimate “soulful” music Timbaland should start looping up old jazz samples with a boring-ass boom-bap rhythm.

— Trey Stone Jan 12, 11:37 PM
All you people who have said the things like ‘hes changed music for the worse’ obviously none have sat down and segmented every part of his songs. They are all so well thought of. And saying stuff like he’s gay. Not that theres anything wrong with it but how pathetic. He’s just a talented guy. If you had done as well as he has i’m sure you wouldn’t be calling yourself dead would you?? Get a grip, stop the jealousy, have opininions but please be in a position to comment. I doubt any of you are musical. He’s statistically done better than any other producer out there and collectively had more hits than anyone in our time. So all your arguments are clearly flawed. And as for the picture.. you must have a lot of time on your hands in your boring life. And I wouldn’t bother telling me about music because you don’t even know who i am and i guarantee ;) if you did there wouldn’t be much you could say.

— Drop Beats Not Bombs Jan 17, 01:06 PM
timbaland rocks so shut your mouth because he is awesome

— tory Apr 19, 02:44 PM
timbaland rocks so shut your mouth because he is awesome so get alife

— tory Apr 19, 02:46 PM
lol funny and old topic. i just wanna thx u timbo for that new band he’s working with- the one that sounds and looks like coldplay. i cannot seem to escape their song, and i dont even own a radio or a tv. good job!

— aods Apr 20, 02:27 AM
I love Timberland!! I listen all the time whilst I’m doing yoga or walking my dog. He’s frickin’ rad!

— Herbert Apr 20, 01:47 PM
tory rocks man

— jennie Apr 20, 09:06 PM
i agree with tory you people are just jelous
you are losers haha jk
man

— jennie Apr 20, 09:09 PM
i lke timbaland but the song sexyback is really gay

— henery Apr 25, 11:49 PM
I agree that Timbaland is a washout and has been for some time but what about that “Get Down” joint he did on Busta’s last album…that was a strong track.

— G Apr 26, 01:13 PM
this article was hilarious

— carl Apr 26, 02:53 PM
all you haters are just wannabes and timbo is awesome man. so i don’t know why your haten on him hes really cool

— tory Apr 26, 07:22 PM
yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo ffffffffffffffffffffffffffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttttt

— henery May 7, 04:36 PM
yea i think that who ever hates him they must be on crack

— tori May 18, 12:35 AM
tori u are not aft all right.

— yoyoyoyoyo Jun 2, 11:25 PM
well u really souldn’t judge me and ur really stuppid if you could’nt
spell [at] durrrrr

— tori Jun 2, 11:28 PM
to yall dat’s hatin on timbo you can stop. if he got da talent to do other kind of music, dat’s him being him. scott storch is a wack mutha you know what. i look up to timbo, he inspired me to be creative with my beats. my stlye is like his,dr.dre and pharrel put into one. i wish i could share my creative beats with him and if you reading timbo, holla back if you can.b4 i forget, i even do beats with my mouth then, build round it with all sorts of sounds i make myself on fruity loops studio 8. keep doin you and to yall haters, find something to do. you just mad you don’t have the talent. stay up timbaland, you’re number 1,2,3 and all the numbers above in my book

— rated r Jun 21, 11:57 PM
yea

— tori Jul 7, 02:09 PM

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