It's easy to forget, especially since the memories of music consumers are getting increasingly short as the years continue to pass, but Timbaland was arguably the most powerful hip-hop producer in the game a little more than a decade ago. Working with high-profile names like Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliott, Timbo established himself as one of the giants of the industry. However, in a new video interview that is part of Complex's Blueprint series, the beatmaker opened up about how his struggles with addiction and mental health affected his music.
Mosley has spoken on this topic before, outlining his horrific experience with drugs and the depression that ensued to Rolling Stone magazine late last year, but what was even more shocking was to find out that his battle against his own inner demons nearly extinguished his passion for the music business as a whole.
“My fingers didn’t feel connected to the keyboard," he said. "It felt off…once me and the music disconnect, oh no, oh no. God gave me the gift of music and that’s how God speaks to me through music, through sound." The good news is that those dark times are behind him and, exciting new collaborations aside, he's finally in a stable, happy frame of mind. "Right now, I’m at a peaceful level, I’m happy with myself and changing myself every day,” he added.
He also touched on working with Justin Timberlake for the first time, on "Cry Me A River," and how transformative an experience that was. “I went in the booth and I knew that sound would move him in a different way,” he recalls. “I knew the chemistry that we both had…like yeah, musically, we on to something.” The pair have since made several other hit songs together.
What's your favorite Timbaland joint? Let us know in the comments.
