Grammy-winning producer Timbaland has explained distancing himself from the rap game as of late and discussed why hip-hop may have lost its touch.

According to Tim, the change in rap's sound forced him to venture into pop.

"I was done with hip-hop a long time ago," he said in an interview. "Once my generation left, I left. I do it, but there's nobody from my generation besides Jay-Z who's doing it. I look at Lil Wayne as being from my generation. Some people are still acceptable. Kanye [West] is acceptable from my generation. It's just not the same. By it not being the same, I kind of fade to black. I did musicthat fits where I was going to in my age bracket. 'What does Tim listen to in his car all the time?' I love '80s music. So how do I infuse '80s with modern-day music? You Timbo the King, you gotta figure it out. I figured it out a couple of years ago with Nelly [Furtado] and Justin [Timberlake] and myself. We had a tremendous run. I think it was good for me to do it that, because some people would say 'Tim is cold.' The same people who smile in my face would be the same ones to talk behind my back. But I got this run, I'm not gonna stop until I wanna stop." (MTV)

He's a smart dude.

yeah... Smart move, but still... It could have been one of those who had the ability to sahe Hip Hop music, especially, in the early 2000s, when the 'dirty south' sound starting taking over... Why did he turn his back on artists like Ginuwine? Ms Jade? No. I don't have issues with him producing "pop" artists, but turning his back on hip hop and coming back to bitch on how it got lame, I just find that... hypocritical.
Come on Tim, give us a better reason...

I think what he's tryin' to say is those Justin Timberlake and Madonna checks are a lot bigger than MC Such & Such.

wow were in trouble

It's not like hip hop is gonna be hurting. Hip hop fans wanted him to leave a long time

Hip Hop lost its touch when he was part of the game, alot of it had to do with "beats" and everyone using the same producer all the time, taking the same sounds not pushing the envelope with anything.

Paris9748430 said:

I like all his beats, hip hop, r&b and rap. And I agree he listens to a lot of 80's music, I completely hear the influence in his current works.

alphastreet said:

It was apparent back when he was lacing Missy's schitt too.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...BM#t=3m45s

I hear more 80's in his 00's work than his 90's work though.

Paris9748430 said:

Pre Cise Lee

he only produced mainstream pop-rap singles anyways.

i like some of his beats but i dont really care for him that much.

bboy87 said:

Why did he leave Ginuwine behind?

minneapolisFunq said:

his first few albums with Magoo were decent

but he was never more creative than that and that same sound is found in almost everything he does

dude could probably retire now and never have to work another day

phunkdaddy said:

Don't know. How do we know that Timbo even left Ginuwine behind? How do we know that it was probably Ginuwine who left Tim behind? I believe it was the latter. Some artists and producers don't have the same vision. Maybe Ginuwhiny felt that he should still stick with the times instead of being "different" like in how Tim's 80-ish, pop, sound has been progressing. I know that Ginuwine's current singles off his new cd aren't really sounding like much these days. And the way he absolutely toutured the Gap Band's song on the Soul Train Music Awards says that Ginuwine's career is over. As far as Tim goes, he's still got more checks to cash.

SoulAlive said:

You got that from reading his rambling incoherent gibberish?

fuck timbaland

lastdecember said:

No but I admit that he moved on to artists that were more willing to take a chance...r&b artists more so want to stick in the same lane.

Cinnie said:

One Way....

I have always dug Tim, when Prince lost his touch in the 90's, someone took one of the meaty aspects of his sound and made a run for it.
During the last 15 years there has been nobody in urban music that has had any real "sound" just lame kiddie rap bullshit, that seemed generic as hell.
At least he is someone that made a dent of his own, like it or not.

violetblues said:

Thats for sure, we cant forget about people like The Neptunes, even Mark Ronson...who definitley have stood above ground.

paisleypark4 said:

I've always thought that the Neptunes followed Tim's footsteps, sound wise.

Don't get me wrong, they got their own sound but they seem to be highly influenced by him as well.

I don't believe he produced beats for Missy anymore and she's been absent on the scene as of late

Harlepolis said:

They used to be in a group together called "Surrounded By Idiots" before they even got big.

Check out "Vulnerable" on youtube if you can find it. There is also another unreleased track called "Big White Spaceship".
They probably feed from eachother


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.[4]
-wiki

paisleypark4 said:

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Virginia connection as well

The earliest production work I'm fimiliar with from them is in...

Harlepolis said:

me too, that's when I noticed them because they produced my favorite cuts on the album.

Cinnie said:

Yeah I was late finding out about Neptunes...I didnt know who they were until I bought the single for "Caught Out There" by Kelis. ...what a ugly color they chose for that single...aquamarine blue or some mess like that

paisleypark4 said:

Certainly you caught on in 1998 when Noreaga had "SuperThug"?