Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, super-producer Timbaland (real name Timothy Mosley) grew up in the main town near Missy Elliot and only an hour away from Virginia Beach, home to The Neptunes and The Clipse.
Safe to say, he was raised in a musical area and had a good shot at becoming one of the most talented hip-hop producers of all time. Rightly, Timbaland is among the greats of his generation.
Timbaland is most known for his collaborative work with Missy Elliot, Aaliyah and Justin Timberlake. However, he has made an unfathomable amount of solo material over the years. As well as solo material during the late 1990s and early noughties, Timbaland released a plethora of hip-hop records as part of the rap duo Timbaland & Magoo, comprised of himself and fellow Virginia rapper Melvin “Magoo” Barcliff.
Timbaland has a distinct sound that is very familiar in hip-hop. Upon listening, one can tell that he has produced a particular song based on sonics and sample choice alone. Timbaland uses a lot of bongos, djembes, triangles and African sounds that give his music a world feel. He also doesn’t syncopate his music which gives his music a unique sense of motion.
With such legendary status within hip-hop, it is only right that we respect the Virginia producer and look back on his phenomenal catalogue to figure out his 25-best tracks. Below we compiled an ultimate playlist.
The 25 best Timbaland-produced tracks:
- ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)’ – Missy Elliott
- ‘One Minute Man’ – Missy Elliott ft Ludacris
- ‘More Than A Woman’ – Aaliyah
- ‘Try Again’ – Aaliyah
- ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’ – Jay-Z
- ‘Cry Me A River’ – Justin Timberlake
- ‘Indian Flute’ – Timbaland ft Magoo
- ‘My Style’ – Black Eyed Peas ft Justin Timberlake
- ‘Sexy Back’ – Justin Timberlake
- ‘What’s My Name Pt 2’ – Snoop Dogg
- ‘Carry Out’ – Timbaland ft Justin Timberlake & SoShy
- ‘Morning After Dark’ – Timbaland ft SoShy
- ‘The Potion’ – Ludacris
- ‘Come As You Are’ – Brandy
- ‘The Way I Are’ – Timbaland ft D.O.E & Keri Hilson
- ‘Promiscuous’ – Nelly Furtado ft Justin Timberlake
- ‘Maneater’ – Nelly Furtado
- ‘Say It Right’ – Nelly Furtado
- ‘Give It To Me’ – Timbaland ft Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
- ‘Ayo Technology’ – 50 Cent ft Justin Timberlake
- ‘4 Minutes’ – Madonna
- ‘It’s Hot (Some Like It Hot)’ – Jay-Z
- ‘The Jump Off’ – Lil Kim
- ‘Work It’ – Missy Elliott
- ‘Pass The Dutch’ – Missy Elliott