Timbaland Thursdays: Tawanna - "See you Again"

For this week's installment of Timbaland Thursdays, Timbo shared a very heart-felt record from his vault called "See you Again" by Tawanna. Peep the track:



The song and this week's edition of Timbaland Thursdays are dedicated to Aaliyah who, as well all know, passed away almost 10 years ago (I still can't believe it). For hardcore Timstans, the link between Tawanna and Aaliyah isn't that odd because, as Timbaland shared in this interview we posted a while back, Tawanna reminded Tim a lot of Aaliyah. Here's what Tim had to say about Tawanna back in 2002:

"And you know, working with another female...I think that I can do it. I have this other female I'm about to sign, I think. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna sign her. Her name's Twanna from Atlanta, but she's not like Aaliyah. But she's makes me feel good like Aaliyah so that's kinda inspiring to have somebody like that, but it's still kinda hard. I doubt if I'll ever have that magic that I had with her, so like, I'm good with R&B because she was magic, as far as female vocalists."

Thanks Tim for sharing this record with us and keeping us smiling with sweet memories of Aaliyah. Rest In Peace Baby Girl!

Is That You Kiley?

Check out the performance by Matthew Morrison on Good Morning America of his new single with background vocals by none other than Kiley Dean.



Still waiting for that Timbo collabo, come on Kiley!

Timbaland Thursdays: Sincere - "90" aka "DRUGS"

Yes, you read that right. With Timbo going into the vault for this week's Timbaland Thursdays, and dropping Sincere's "Drugs" (which was relabeled "90"), we can finally scratch off yet another unreleased/rare Timbo. As we told you here, Sin's album was slated to be the first album released off of Timbaland's first record label, Zman Records back in 2000 (yep, Timbo had his own record label before starting Beat Club), but Zman never took off and Sin's album was never released, leaving most Timstans wondering if we would ever hear Sin's "Sick" or "Drugs." Well, we finally got one of our wishes. Let's hope that Timbo goes back into the vault and drops "Sick." At any rate, checkout "Drugs":



Y'all feeling this long awaited track?

Rare Reel: Missy Elliott's "E! True Hollywood Story"

While clips of Missy's E! True Hollywood Story episode have been floating around the internet for years, our friends over at This is a Missy Exclusive Suckaz! just shared the full episode for Missy fans everywhere. The episode reveals Missy's childhood in Virgina, domestic abuse, forming Fayze/Sista, meeting Timbaland, hooking up with Devante and Da Basement Crew, her first big break, weight loss, Aaliyah's passing, and many other moments in her life. The episode features interviews with Timbo, Ginuwine, Madonna, Tweet, Kevin Powell, LeShawn Shellman of Sista, and her mother (Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!!!). Peep the episode here:



Thanks again to This is a Missy Exclusive Suckaz!

Czar's Sample Post of the Week: "Big Pimpin'"

As I mentioned in my "Put you on the game" lawsuit post HERE, someone recently reopened a copyright infringement lawsuit against Jay-Z, Timbo, and a slew of others, over the "Big Pimpin'" sample. Well, a federal judge in California ruled this week that the plaintiff, Osama Ahmed Fahmy, has standing to pursue the lawsuit. If my memory is right, this is the third lawsuit filed against Jay, Tim, et al, over "Big Pimpin'." While the other two cases were dismissed, this lawsuit might have some merit. Essentially, Fahmy is claiming that while Timbaland and Jay-Z did not violate the "economic rights" through sampling "Koshara" for "Big Pimpin'", he's using Egyptian copyright law to say that they violated the "moral rights" of the original composer of the track. You can read about the past lawsuits HERE (shout out to Big-A) and HERE (shout out to Wayne), a short and simple break down of the case HERE, and the full court documents HERE. I haven't read the documents, but when I do, I will give an update of my thoughts on the lawsuit. Only time will tell if Timbaland will beat this case again, or if his luck will run out.

What do y'all think about this? Let us know!

Timbaland Thursdays: Eve ft. Timbaland - "Nothing to Say"

Instead of a new track, Timbo goes back into the vault and releases a track by Eve called "Nothing to Say." No info on when the song was recorded, but Timbaland calls this a freestyle record, as Eve is rapping over the "Make your Better" beat. I've always loved Eve on Timbo beats, so I hope that this is a sign that we'll get another Eve/Tim collaboration soon. Here's the track:



Thoughts?

Timbaland Thursdays: "Magoo Verse"

Instead of a full track, Timbo gives us a snippet of a brand new untitled track (SVIII?!?). While the full song features Timbo, Missy (Block Party?!?!), and Magoo (new Timbo and Magoo album?!?), Timbo decided to share Magoo's verse with us. Check it:



Y'all feeling the track? Feeling Magoo's verse? Let us know!

50 Cent - "Keep It Movin/Coming"

Despite reports by MTV that 50 Cent would release the first single from his upcoming album Black Magic, a previously unreleased track entitled "Keep It Movin" (or "Keep it Comin") surfaced. The song is thought to be produced by Timbaland during the making of 50's 2007 album Curtis. Peep the track:



Thoughts? We'll definitely update everyone when we get more info.

Timbaland Thursdays: "Slow Down" (Full)

After last week's teaser, we finally have the full version of "Slow Down." In an interesting twist, Blind Fury is not only rapping as himself, but also rapping as if he were Timbo. He's imitating the classic Tim's Bio/Welcome to Our World flow. Pretty dope, right?!?! Check the track:

Thoughts on the full?

P.S. Tim Stans will remember that this is not the first time that Timbo's name has been linked to a blind rapper. Back in 2001 West Coast rapper Supervision released a song entitled "Superstar" that was first thought to be produced by Timbaland. Well in 2008, J-boogie put that theory to rest, finding out that producer Spunk actually produced the track for Timbaland Music. Check the post here.

Timbo Exclusive: Timbaland and Blind Fury - "Slow Down" (Snippet)

For those of you following Timbo on Twitter, you know that Timbo recently hooked up with 106 and Park contestant Blind Furry. Well, we just got a snippet of what they've cooked up in the lab. The track is tentatively called "Slow Down." Peep:

Czar's Sample Post of the Week: "Put you On the Game"

No, this isn't a sample of the week; just commentary on some recent news involving a Timbo sample.

Over the past couple of weeks, people have flooded my inbox asking me feelings on the recent news of an appellate court dismissing a lawsuit filed against Timbaland (along with The Game, Interscope, Aftermath, and G-Unit) for sampling "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai" for The Game's "Put you on the Game" without getting permission from major Indian production company, Saregama India LTD (a case we told you about here and a sample featured on my sample mix Vol. 7). I told them that I wouldn't have any thoughts on it until I read the court documents. Well, I've finally read the court's decision, and thought I'd share my feelings with the Chronicles fam.

For those who don't know, in order to win a copyright infringement lawsuit (here, it's sampling without permission), you have to do two things: 1) Prove that you are the rightful copyright holder; and 2) Show that someone or a group of people violated the copyright. So, in order to prove #1, Saregama pointed to an agreement they had with Shakti Films, where Shakti transferred copyright to Saregama for all recorded music. Now, since "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai" came from a Bollywood film produced by Shakti, Saregama told the court that, due to their agreement, Saregama holds the copyright. But, as the court documents reveal, this agreement was to only last between January 1967 to January 1969. Since "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai" came out in September of 1969, this was after the agreement. Consequently, Saregama isn't the rightful copyright holder of "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai," and cannot file a lawsuit against Timbaland. Check the summary of the court's decision here:






The funny part to me is that because Saregama couldn't prove #1, the court didn't even have to rule on #2, which is whether Tim actually sampled the "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai."

So what does all this mean? Well, I asked a good friend of mine, Wayne Marshall, who's also a DJ, music scholar, and constantly gets called to court as an expert on music and copyright (check out his blog, http://wayneandwax.com/). Here's what he said:

Funny to see Saregama overreach like this. That may mean we see a lot less litigation of this sort, since they're the major major, though it depends on how commonplace a limited agreement like this was. Was it really "unique"? If so, I wonder why.

To me, this is the whole result of this case: it leaves more questions than answers. Sure, because Tim won against a major Indian production company, this could mean that he can go back to sampling Bollywood tracks without worrying about a lawsuit, but let's be real here. The case was dismissed only because of this limited agreement between Saregama and Shakti Films, an agreement that could have hurt Tim's bank account if "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai" came out in January of 1969 instead of September 1969. If these limited agreements were common, then Tim might have more wiggle room to sample, but if this was just a one-time thing, then it will still be difficult for Tim to freely sample Bollywood. Also, Shakti Films, if it still exists and if it doesn't whoever owns the rights to the estate, can still sue Timbaland. The court ruled in favor of Timbaland because the wrong party sued. Someone can definitely refile as the rightful copyright owner, and this wouldn't be anything new to Tim since someone claiming to own the rights to "Koshara" recently reopened the "Big Pimpin'" copyright infringement lawsuit against Timbaland. Only time will tell what happens next, but for now, Tim must be feeling pretty good.

Peace,
C.Z.A.R.
P.S. For those who are music/copyright/all things Timbo nerds, you can read the full court opinion HERE

Timbaland Thursdays: "I Won't Board This Plane"

Like last week, Timbo breaks us off with a solo track entitled "I Won't Board This Plane." Peep the track:



Thoughts?

Artist Origins: Avery Storm, Kiley Dean, and Ryan Tedder/One Republic

Ever wonder how some of your favorite artists got their start or even linked up with Timbaland? Well, check out these three (somewhat) recent interviews with Avery Storm, Kiley Dean, and Ryan Tedder of One Republic.

While most people know the R&B singer Avery Storm from his features on hit songs like Notorious B.I.G.'s "Nasty Girl" (off the Biggie Duets album) and Rick Ross' "Here I Am," hardcore Timstans will remember him as being part of the Beat Club artist roster under the name The Storm. Check out this interview Avery Storm did with YouKnowIGotSoul on how he originally meet Tim and signed with Beat Club and what he's up to now:



Hopefully one day we'll get to hear the tracks Avery and Tim worked on (Timbaland Thursdays?)

YouKnowIGotSoul also did an interview with Avery's fellow Beat Club label-mate, Kiley Dean, and she was very candid about Tim, Beat Club, the music industry, and her upcoming projects:



Wow, Kiley first met Tim back in 1999 and had a development deal with him and Missy?!? Imagine if that deal worked out and we might have had Kiley on Missy's Da Real World or Miss E...So Addictive!

Lastly, Chicago radio personality, John Williams, sat down last year with Ryan Tedder to discuss One Republic, the music market, and his future collaborations. Peep:



Hmmmm. Wonder why Ryan didn't mention working on Bubba Sparxxx's Deliverance album? But, damn! Can you believe Columbia dropped One Republic, Katy Perry, AND the Jonas Brothers from their label? And all on the same day? Wow. Goes to show you that if one door closes, another one will open.

Rare Reel

We haven't had a rare reel in quite some time and today we're bringing you some real gems from Missy performances throughout the years. Check 'em out:

"Pass The Dutch" on SNL in 2003


"Sock It To Me/The Rain" w/ Magoo and Pepsii Riley? HOT performance!!


"Gossip Folks/Work It" MTV Spring Break 2003


"Sock It 2 Me" from Martin (who is that singing??)

Timbaland Thursdays: "Not My Happiness"

Guess Timbo was feeling a little spiritual this week, and decided to give us an uplifting and introspective song for this week's installment of Timbaland Thursdays. The track is called "Not My Happiness." Check it out:



Thoughts?

Update:

As everyone has pointed out, "Not My Happiness" samples "White Blank Page" by Mumford & Sons (peep at 2:56):

Czar's Sample of the Week

What's up Timstans?

It's Friday, and you know that means another installment of Czar's Sample of the Week. Over the past two months, I've re-released each one of my Timbaland sample mixes, and this week we reach Volume 8, my last and final mix. Every once in a while, people email me asking why I don't do Timbaland mixes any more, and I usually give them two answers First, I'm just plain tired lol. While I definitely enjoy doing the mixing, the time and effort I put in to digging for samples, choosing which ones to feature, and then doing the mix takes a tole. So when I did Vol. 7, I just decided that I'd do one more and really be done with it. The second reason is a bit funny. I have a list of Timbaland samples that I'd die to find, and I told myself that if I found one of them, I'd stop doing the mixes. It so happened that as I was gathering samples for Volume 8, I found the sample to Jay-Z's "Paper Chase" and Missy's "Lick Shots," and those were two of the top samples I'd been searching for.

Now, when you all hear Volume 8, you will notice that it's longer and that I'm playing the Timbaland songs as well the samples longer than usual. The mix is longer because I wanted to exhaust my sample vault (basically put everything in there), and the samples/track are played longer because I wanted to do it my way; I love these songs and samples so I just wanted to ride out to them during the mix.

So let's get right to it. Here's Czar's Timbaland Sample Mix Volume 8: The Final Chapter (released in 2008):



Now, I spent all week trying to figure out which sample from Volume 9 to drop today, and I thought it would make sense that because Vol. 8 was the last mix, I would feature the last sample on Volume 9. So here it is:



And for those who think I still don't have it after all these years. Let me showcase a sample from something recent out of Timbaland's Vault:



Well, that's it for this week's installment of Czar's Sample of the Week. I want to thank you all for letting me go down memory road with this (want to especially thank J-Boogie for coming up with the idea!). And I want to thank everyone who supported me, gave me feedback, and even sent samples my way during my sample mix days: Malis, Al Sween, Big A, J-Boogie, Snax, Jonboy, Rooq, Fabio (lek!!), Carlos, Jonathanp, DJ MD, Santiago, and all followers and fans of The Thomas Crown Chronicles. Now, I can't promise that I'll be back every Friday for Czar's Sample of the Week, but I'll definitely drop something when I can. And who knows, maybe one day I will even drop Volume 9 ;-)

Peace,
C.Z.A.R.

Keri Hilson Overload: Keri on *Rip the Runway,* Keri stops by 106 & Park and drops New Video

Amidst the Chris Brown/GMA controversy this week, Keri Hilson stopped by 106 & Park to release the music video for her latest single, "One Night Stand" featuring Chris Brown. Here's what Keri had to say about her performance on BET's Rip the Runway last Sunday night, and her new video:

Keri Hilson - On 106 & Park (2011)

Here's her performance of "Pretty Girl Rock" on Rip the Runway:



And here's the "One Night Stand" music video:



Definitely has that '90s feel, and some people are even saying that Keri and Chris are channeling Aaliyah and Ginuwine in this.

Thoughts?

Timbaland Thursdays: Timbo ft. Attitude and 6'2 - "F*ck You"

Timbaland Thursday's is back again this week, and Timbo blessed us with another song from the shelved and untitled Attitude/6'2/Timbo album. The song is called "F*ck You." Peep:



At this rate, we'll have all the songs from this album (we can only hope).

Thoughts?

Czar's Sample of the Week

Hey Timstans!!

Sorry I'm late with today's installment, but let's get right into it. We're nearing the close of this special edition of Czar's Sample of the Week, where each week, I re-release one of my eight Timbaland sample mixes alongside a sample from the unreleased Volume 9. This week, I'm re-releasing Volume 7, which is tied with Volume 6 for my favorite Timbo sample mix. While I released Volume 7 in 2006, a year after Volume 6, I just felt like I was in the same head space when I did Vol. 7. I just felt like I was making Vol. 6 pt. 2 Well, without further ado, here's Volume 7 (people with the original Vol. 7 will notice that I removed the sample to "When N****s Get to Poppin" b/c, as we reported here, it's produced by Brian Kidd):



Now, one of my favorite Timbo tracks is Tank's "I Love Them Girls Pt. 2," and I featured an interpolation of the song on Vol. 6 and even posted one of the samples for The Chronicles Anniversary. Check (it's the second sample):



Now, what I love to do, and you can hear it in my mixes, I try to find as many samples as possible in one Timbaland track (the drums and guitar in Fabolous' "Right now, later on" or the guitar and baby giggle in Aaliyah's "Are you that Somebody"). And so I was geeked when I peeped another sample in "I Love Them Girls Pt. 2," and I hope y'all will be as geeked as I was. Peep:



Well, that's it for this week's installment, check back next week for my final Timbaland Sample Mix, Vol. 8, and another sample on Vol. 9.

'Till next time,
C.Z.A.R.

Timbaland Thursdays: Timbo ft. Attitude and Short Dawg - "All Y'all"

Now usually I don't give my opinion on tracks, but this right here is straight FIRE to me. Peep the newest track off Timbaland Thursdays entitled "All Y'all" featuring Attitude and Young Money rapper, Short Dawg:



Thoughts?