Timbaland, wanna collab?

“If at first you don’t succeed, brush yourself off and try again.”

- Aaliyah

As an independent artist-entrepreneur, these are words I live by. I first heard them beautifully sung by a voice like no other, the late great Aaliyah in her song “Try Again” from her self-titled album Aaliyah. At that point, I was a child, so I didn’t understand the intricacies of the music industry and the role of the songwriters and producers behind the scenes. So as much as I admire and love Aaliyah, this piece is not about her, it’s about the producer and co-writer behind the song, Timbaland.

Timbaland is a multi-talented producer, songwriter, and mogul with 4 Grammy wins and 21 nominations. He has worked with a plethora of the most successful artists in the world from his production partner, Missy Elliot to Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake. He brings something to the artist’s music that only Timbaland can. His sound is so distinct — the second you hear one of his tracks, you know Timbaland produced it. How, you say? Well, he layers rhythms upon rhythms, while somehow never making the song sound crowded. He has the unique talent of being able to create space for every single sound, making the vibe so musically interesting while never having it sound too busy. Or put in his words “complex meets simplicity”. Personally, I think this is one of the main formulas of a hit song, but Timbaland says,

“There is no formula to a hit song, it’s about the energy that you put out. If you had fun doing it and it moved you - that’s a hit”.

And that is why I look up to you Timbaland — I mean what is more inspiring than that?

I can’t talk about Timbo without mentioning the hit 1998 song, “Are You That Somebody?” performed by Aaliyah. His innovation is so ahead of its time that he put a baby’s laugh into the production and not only did it work, it stood the test of time. This is definitely a huge reason why Timbaland is on the top of my list of inspiring producers, but also for me it is closer to home. He meshes Arabic music with R&B and Hip Hop. When I heard the music my parents grew up listening to mixed in with the music that I was growing up listening to, I was in love, and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my sound.

I started off as a singer/songwriter. I had no idea that over the years my title would expand to producer, rapper, engineer, editor, director, videographer, and visual designer. I kept adding skills in order to make things happen for me. After years in the industry, I realized that I had to become my own producer because I was not able to fully relay the art that I envisioned in my mind to another producer to create it. It’s also really difficult to find collaborators with the same perseverance to align with; this alignment is a similar principle of Timbaland’s, to work with those who have the same love and passion towards music as you.

I mentored with #1 hit producer Roy Hamilton III, I began to take production workshops, anything provided in the city of Toronto, where I relocated for music. The more I learned, the more I realized how underrepresented women were in this field, only 2% of producers are women. That's when I knew that I don’t only have to do this, but I have to do it really well, in order to empower myself and other women.

After all the mentoring and workshops, a songwriting partner and friend of mine asked if I saw that Timbaland was teaching a Masterclass. I freaked out and instantly took out my credit card ‘cause Lord knows I didn’t have the cash. I binged the lessons, and the fourth one in, Timbaland says,

“It’s hard for me to talk about music, I can express it more ... I can’t do the hot intellect [talk] it should move like this,” he explains to collaborators. He further elaborates that, “the musical theory doesn’t necessarily match up, it may not look right, but [the way I express it] it’s going to feel right.”

I instantly burst into tears because as much theoretical training as I received, I still wasn’t confident in those areas, which made me subconsciously not believe in myself as a producer. Timbaland’s truth about what truly matters in order to create amazing music made me realize that I have the capability, and my mind and creativity just opened up.

In his Masterclass, Timbaland is genuine and honest and takes the student step by step on how he creates a song. As a songwriter, I know it isn’t easy to write a hit song, but the humble nature of Timbaland’s teaching really empowers an artist to see things in a simplified and non-intimidating manner. This teaching method sparked a stronger belief in my production abilities. The Masterclass brought everything together for me — everything just clicked — I understood, and I got straight to work. I wrote and produced 12 demos in about 2 months. I had an album for the first time in my decade as an independent artist. I couldn’t afford a full album before because of how much I had to pay a producer. Timbaland allowed me to find my sound — the sound I have been searching for a very long time.

Timbaland is not afraid to share his knowledge because he knows that we are all unique beings and we all bring something different to our work. There are people that are scared to share knowledge because they believe it is how they stay ahead, but this is a falsehood. Helping others is how you get ahead. Timbaland isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, which shows strength and is an amazing quality of a great mentor.

Timbaland encourages us to have

“Ambition, persistence, hard work, dedication and to never giving up … If it’s good, it will manifest itself. If it’s not, hey you gave it your all.”

He states you need to persevere and strive to always be better than what you were yesterday and be able to take criticism in order to figure out what you are doing wrong. He says there’s going to be hard days that you’re going to want to give up and he admits that he still has those days but

“You can’t give up because it’s what you love.”

These are the quotes that echoed in my mind; after taking his class I felt like I went to Church.

Fast forward to the completion of my album and rebrand. It’s March 2020, and I am ready to release, reach out to music industry contacts, travel from Toronto to Los Angeles to meet with potential business partners hoping to obtain representation to invest in the marketing of my album. Then the Pandemic hit. It completely shook all of our lives, and we are still in the thick of it I know, but it shook the music industry on another level. During the Pandemic, I had the urge and need for connection, to be more vulnerable, to tell people a bit about my story. I reached out to the Associate Community Manager of Masterclass, Casie Tennin, with an email subject line of “Timbaland’s Masterclass Changed My Life”. I wasn’t sure that I would get any response, but a day later I got an amazingly compassionate response back from her becoming a fan of my work and offered her support through Masterclass in any way she could. I knew it was a long shot, but I told her it was my dream for Timbaland to hear my music one day. Understandably she couldn’t make any promises, but I did receive a feature on the Masterclass website which was amazing, and I continue to receive their support.

I end with the questions posed for this essay; where would the world be without Black entrepreneurs, inventors and creators? I ask; Where would music be? Where would I be? I thank God that I never have to find that out. The reason I am what I am, and I do what I do is because of Black creators. Just as they carved out their own path and continue to change the projection of the world, for not only the better but for the more beautiful, along with changing so many lives like mine. I take from their inspiring strength and resilience, as a woman of color myself, to continue to have the strength to pave my own path and to never give up.