Timbaland has revealed his Hip Hop Mount Rushmore in a recent interview.
During a recent appearance on the I AM ATHLETE podcast on Sunday (April 23), the legendary producer paid homage to some of Hip Hop’s greatest lyricists who’ve made an impact on his life.
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“Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, they changed my life,” Timbaland began. “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.”
He continued: 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’. 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.”
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Timbo then said JAY-Z, Biggie, Tupac, Nas, and Eminem as representatives of the National memorial.
Check out the full interview below:
In the midst of the same conversation, Timbaland revealed that he discovered Ludacris.
“I was the one who found Ludacris,” he said. “Because Ludacris was working in the radio station and I was like, ‘Hey, ain’t nobody sign you? What’s going on here?’ [He was like], ‘Nah man.’
“Then he came down to Virginia and we did ‘Phat Rabbit,’ and from there, labels started calling. He asked me one time, ‘Would you sign to Def Jam or Elektra?’ I said, ‘Man, you better go to Def Jam.’”
He added: “And I didn’t know how the business go, I just backed them ’cause I knew he was incredible.”
DJ Khaled recently presented Timbaland with the Music Pioneer Award at Variety‘s Miami Entertainment Town.
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“He broke down doors for brothers like me to do what I’m doing today,” Khaled told the room of entertainment giants, including fellow honoree Raúl Alarcón, chairman and CEO of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), who was presented with the Legends and Groundbreakers Award.
“Because I look at Timbaland, not just as a producer, but he’s an artist. He’s a CEO, he’s an amazing father,” DJ Khaled continued. “Timbaland is what you call the definition of being timeless. His music will play forever.”
