[edit] Early life
Mosley was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. Originally a disc jockey known as "DJ Timmy Tim"[1] or "DJ Tiny Tim",[2] Mosley began making hip-hop backing tracks on a Casio keyboard. Rapper Missy Elliott heard his material and, taken by Mosley’s unique sense of rhythm, began working with him .[3] 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 Timberland construction boots, which were popular in hip-hop fashion.[4]

Sista, Timbaland, and Magoo became part of Devante’s stable of Swing Mob signees known as "Da Bassment" crew, joining artists such as R&B singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa, and the girl group Sugah.[2] 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 debut LP 4 All the Sistas Around the World, which was shelved and never released. At this time Jodeci was pivotal in defining the 1990s new jack swing sound. He later joined the production ensemble S.B.I. (Surrounded By Idiots) that also featured Neptunes producer Pharrell Williams.[2]

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. One of these, the remix to 702’s "Steelo" in 1996, became Timbaland’s first major production credit.[5]


[edit] 1996–1999
In 1996, Ginuwine released his debut album, Ginuwine...the Bachelor, which was produced by Timbaland.[6] The album was both a commercial and critical success.[6] On many of the tracks, Timbaland can be heard either rapping or providing ad-libs, similar to what both Elliott and Puff Daddy were doing at the time; Timbaland’s deep voice was usually vocoded to give it an electronic sound.[6] While work was being completed on Ginuwine...the Bachelor, R&B artist Aaliyah contacted Timbaland and Elliott to write and produce songs for her second album, One in a Million.[7] The tracks that were crafted for Aaliyah featured musical arrangements similar to those on Ginuwine...the Bachelor.[7] One in a Million went on to sell over two million copies worldwide.[8]

Asian instrumentation is present through much of his early work (Xscape’s "My Secret" remix, especially, with a sitar outro and Timbaland ad-libbing "Let’s take a little trip...to India"), but was most successful and prevalent with Jay-Z’s "Big Pimpin`" in 1999, which borrowed directly from the song "Khosara" by Egyptian composer Abdel Halim Hafez. Elliott`s 2001 hit single, "Get Ur Freak On" from her third album, Miss E...So Addictive, also used a speedy Tabla drumline typical of Hindustani classical music.[9]


[edit] 2000–2002
Timbaland produced songs including Ludacris` "Roll Out (My Business)",[10] Jay-Z`s "Hola` Hovito",[11] Petey Pablo`s "Raise Up",[12] and Beck`s cover of David Bowie`s "Diamond Dogs" during this period.[13] He also contributed three songs, all eventually released as singles, to Aaliyah’s self-titled third album, the exotic lead single "We Need a Resolution" (featuring himself rapping a verse), "More Than a Woman", and the ballad "I Care 4 U".[14]

Timbaland & Magoo’

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