Timbaland
Timbaland (Timothy Zachary Mosley) was born and raised March 10, 1971, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he graduated from Salem High School. Originally a disc jockey known as “DJ Timmy Tim” or “DJ Tiny Tim”,. Mosley began making hip hop backing tracks on a Casio keyboard. While in high school, Mosley began a long term collaboration with rapper Melvin Barcliff, who performed under the name of Magoo. The teenaged Mosley also joined the production ensemble S.B.I. – “Surrounded By Idiots” – which also featured Neptunes producer Pharrell.
Singer/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 Timberland construction boots, which were popular in hip hop fashion.
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 (Smoke E. Digglera, Static Major and Digital Black), and the girl group Sugah. 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 never released).
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.
In November 2007, Timbaland and his then-fiancee Monique Idlett had their first child, a daughter named Reign. Monique was also a publicist working at Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group record company. The two later married in Aruba.
