Timbaland is easily one of the greatest producers to ever grace the genre of hip-hop. Moreover, he has done some exceptional work in the pop and rock spaces, as well. One can just look at his work with One Republic, Nelly Furtado, and Justin Timberlake to understand what we mean. Overall, the producer will go down as a legend, and at this point, he is already considered as such. These designations are absolutely deserved, and it’s good to see the artist getting a ton of shine in interviews and other forms of media.
Additionally, Timbaland has been paying homage to the greats, whenever he can. For instance, he was on the I Am Athlete podcast, where he was asked to give his hip-hop Mount Rushmore. “Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, they changed my life,” Timbaland said. “I started getting more into it. Rakim who really set the bar high for me. I was like, ‘Oh, this bubblegum rap gotta go.’ Then Big Daddy Kane, you know what I’m saying? Then I was like, for me, like who is this? Then came LL Cool J. I’m goin’ from my DJ career. I’m naming them from that perspective.”
Timbaland Honors The Greats
From there, Timbaland continued to name the people who helped him throughout his career. Whether it be as a producer or just as a DJ, the artist got to see the history of the genre play out. “And then there was RUN-DMC. RUN-DMC might’ve been before LL Cool J because RUN-DMC had a lot of lyrics and they was poppin,’” Timbaland explained. “Now, if you want to talk about lyrics, I’m goin’ by what moved and changed lives. Then after that, then came DJ Premier and Guru. Then Wu-Tang, Method Man. Then came, I can say after that, Fat Joe and Big Pun, for me. But, then Outkast. Then Ludacris.”
While this might be a crowded Mount Rushmore, you cannot blame the super producer for including so many people. After all, hip-hop has a ton of amazing artists who have influenced the current generation. Let us know who would make your hip-hop Mount Rushmore, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news from around the hip-hop world.