Tag: timbaland

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Do We Need Another AI Rapper? We Had One – It Failed Miserably

Timbaland recently announced his launch of his own Artificial Intelligence company called Stage Zero and his flagship virtual singer named TaTa.

Timbaland recently announced his launch of his own Artificial Intelligence company called Stage Zero and his flagship virtual singer named TaTa. While Timbo’s artist isn’t a rapper, his influence in the music culture could inspire the next AI hip-hop artist. But had an AI rapper before, and it failed miserably.

Source: XXLMag

Timbaland Reveals His New AI Artist TaTa

Timbaland had the internet in shambles when he announced that he was creating his own AI music company called Stage Zero and introduced his first signee, a singer named TaTa. To be clear, TaTa is not a real person but a virtual creation developed through artificial intelligence.

According to a Billboard article, published last Wednesday (June 5), the Grammy Award-winning will produce the music and TaTa will be performing under a new genre he dubbed “A-Pop.”

“I’m not just producing tracks anymore,” Timbo said in a statement. “I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch. [TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music artist built with AI TaTa is the start of something bigger. She’s the first artist of a new generation. A-Pop is the next cultural evolution, and TaTa is its first icon.”

News of Timbaland’s AI venture drew harsh backlash from fans who believed that Timbaland is out of touch with reality and is attempting to substitute genuine, skilled singers with AI artists created from a computer.

“Timbaland has joined the pantheon of goated legends that lost touch and apparently surrounded themselves with people that don’t know how to say ‘this ain’t it…,'” opined Paimon Alipour, a DJ and producer, on X, formerly Twitter.

“I think Timbo was using all those artist that submitted him music over the past 2 years to train his AI model. Holy s**t man. Wow,” another fan wrote.

In response to fans’ accusing him of abandoning real talent and exploiting submissions from unsigned artists to develop his AI singer, Timbaland posted a message on Threads addressing the backlash.

“I know I’m trolling but let’s have real conversation. I love my independent artists. This doesn’t mean I’m not working with real artists anymore, Timbo wrote in his missive, which can be video below this post.

“And nah I don’t train ai off y’all music. This just means more creativity for creators,” he added, along with a clip of music executive Ray Daniels supporting his A.I. endeavor.

Although Timbaland’s artist is not a rapper, the veteran hitmaker’s cultural influence in music could prompt another AI company to develop a virtual rapper. But we had an A.I. rapper, and it didn’t work out so well.

Capitol Records’ AI Rapper FN Meka Sparks Fan Outrage

In August of 2022, Capitol Records announced that it signed their first virtual rapper named FN Meka. The AI-generated artist resembled a whacked-out version of 6ix9ine with its braided green-colored hairstyle, matching green eyes and wearing high-end apparel.

Read More: Do We Need Another AI Rapper? We Had One – It Failed Miserably | https://www.xxlmag.com/ai-rapper-fail/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

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Missy Elliott Pays Tribute To Aaliyah On Death Anniversary: ‘You Will Never Be Forgotten’

Missy Elliott Pays Tribute To Aaliyah On Death Anniversary: 'You Will Never Be Forgotten'

Missy Elliott had some kind words for the late Aaliyah on the anniversary of the singer’s passing.

Source: HipHopDX

Sunday (August 25) marked 23 years since she died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001. Taking to X, Missy reflected on her friend and collaborator’s legacy.

“Your IMPACT on music is still being felt & studied by the generations behind you!” she said. “They LOVE seeing your STYLE & MUSIC was different over 20 years ago & til this day you r still that TRENDSETTER.

“Prayers for your family & the families of those other talented lives who left with you on this day. You will NEVER be Forgotten.”

Last year, Ginuwine shed some light on his falling out with Aaliyah before her death in an interview with Drink Champs.

The R&B crooner explained there was no real beef — it was more a misunderstanding when it came to his relationship with the late singer.

“We were all a family — Missy, Timbaland, her [Aaliyah], myself, Magoo, Playa, Tweet — all of us,” Ginuwine said, touching on the closeness with his former label mates.

“Her and I weren’t seeing eye-to-eye. I think it had to do a lot more with her loyalty to her uncle, Barry Hankerson — he was the record [company] head and [his] company was my manager — I just decided to leave because whatever reason. Of course, her loyalty was to her family. So, that’s where that stemmed from.”

Read more: https://hiphopdx.com/news/missy-elliott-tribute-aaliyah-death-anniversary

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Missy Elliott Brings Ciara, Busta Rhymes & Her Dog On Nationwide Tour

Missy Elliott Brings Ciara, Busta Rhymes & Her Dog On Nationwide Tour

Missy Elliott brings her heart and soul – and her dog- to the stage in her first-ever headlining tour.

Source: AllHipHop

Missy Elliott is finally setting out on her first-ever headlining tour, Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience. The tour kicked off Thursday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The rap star’s trek on the road comes after she delayed touring multiple times to care for her cherished dog Hoodie, who passed away last November.

“I stayed home a lot because I didn’t want to go out on the road, and something happened,” Elliott told PEOPLE. “He was 17 and lived a long, happy life.”

Hoodie’s passing left a void, but Elliott’s close friend and fellow musician Ciara spurred her into reconsidering her decision.

“So I said, ‘Okay, now I can leave the house without having to worry about anything,’” Elliott recalled. “So Ciara and my dog played a big influence in me making the decision to go out.”

The Grammy Award-winning rapper will be bringing along her other dog, Miss Fendi Dior, for the 24-city tour.

“She’s six years old,” Elliott said. “So she’s got her clothes ready to go out on the road with us. It’ll be fun, fun.”

Throughout the tour, cities such as Las Vegas, Boston, New York City and Los Angeles will witness Elliott’s electrifying performances. Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland will join her on stage.

 

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Timbaland Details Missy Elliott’s New Album: ‘Some Of It Has A Latin Feel’

Timbaland Details Missy Elliott’s New Album: ‘Some Of It Has A Latin Feel’

Timbaland has shared some details about Missy Elliott’s forthcoming album, and apparently, a few songs have a “latin feel” to them.

Source: HipHopDX

The super producer made the comments in an interview with Variety, shortly after being announced as the inaugural recipient of the publication’s Pioneer Award, which recognizes his massive impact on music.

Timbo confirmed that Missy is hard at work on her long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s The Cookbook, which could be out as soon as this summer.

“We’ve got a lot of songs we’re gonna start recording soon, and my dream is to have it out around her birthday in July,” he said. “I want it to sound how she looks — she looks incredible right now. We both look like we 19 again. I know how Missy works: It’s got to be new and fun — or maybe not so much new as kind of underground, and everything is upbeat.”

He continued: “Some of it has a kind of Latin feel to it, almost a Bad Bunny effect, some of it’s kinda like underground Brazilian funk. People gonna eat it up — and it might reach just a different demographic of people. It’s like it’s her doing… not reggaeton but Missy-ton.”

Timbaland went on to say that Missy’s influence is “global,” and that he hopes this new project can include some features from Bad Bunny and Latin artist Young Miko.

This isn’t the first time Timbaland has spoken about having new music in the works with Missy Elliott. The duo teased new tunes back in February, with Missy writing on her Instagram Story at the time: “@timbaland it’s go time.”

The Virginia natives made for one of the most dynamic and prolific duos in Hip Hop at the turn of the century. They worked closely together on Missy’s first five albums, spanning Supa Dupa Fly in 1997 to This Is Not a Test! in 2003.

Missy reflected on her boundary-pushing partnership with Timbo in a series of tweets last year, revealing that as their success grew, so did the pressure on their shoulders to deliver.

Read more: https://hiphopdx.com/news/missy-elliott-new-album-latin-timbaland

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These 25 Rappers Have the Most Jay-Z Guest Verses

These 25 Rappers Have the Most Jay-Z Guest Verses

Source: XXLMag

Rappers who have received a guest verse from Jay-Z should consider themselves blessed. Hov is inarguably one of hip-hop’s G.O.A.T.s, has spent the last three decades giving hip-hop some of the greatest bars the genre has seen in a career that includes 14 No. 1 albums, dozens of hit songs and countless hip-hop quoteables. While the 53-year-old rapper-billionaire has hopped on dozens of records in his career, he’s never spread himself too thin. There are some major rap stars who have never gotten a verse from Jigga and even more who have only been able to get one 16 from the god-level Brooklyn bar layer including Eminem and Nas.

There have long-been rumors that a Jay-Z verse could cost a rapper their entire budget. Another number that has been floating out there is $250,000. In July of 2022, Jigga claimed he no longer charges artists to appear on their tracks.

“It’s mostly relationships,” Jay-Z told Kevin Hart on the comedian’s Hart to Heart show on Peacock. “It’s actually always been mostly relationships. Sometimes it’s talent and sometimes someone asks me to be on something. Pretty much every song that I’m on I’m asked to be on. I don’t ask people to be on their songs. I never charge.”

“Way more nos than yeses,” Jay confirmed about the ratio of requests he actually obliges.
Over the years, some rappers have been more highly favored than others when it comes to being able to obtain a coveted guest verse from Jay-Z, with the number slimming down even more as of recent—Jay only appeared on three songs in 2022.

XXL highlights the rappers (and one DJ) who have tapped into the Jay-Z cheat code on a minimum of two occasions to find out which MC has been able get the most guest appearances from Mr. Carter over the years. Take a look at these 25 artists along with DJ Khaled to see who comes out on top below.

Mic Geronimo – 2
“Time to Build” (1995)
“Single Life” (1997)

Foxy Brown – 2
“I’ll Be” (1997)
“Bonnie & Clyde Pt. 2” (1999)

Diddy – 2
“Young G’s (1997)
“Do You Like It…Do You Want It…” (1999)

diddy-jay-z-enjoythebeatz

The Notorious B.I.G. – 2
“I Love the Dough” (1997)
“Whatchu Want” (2005)

DMX – 2
“Blackout” (1998)
“Bath Salts” (2021)

Ja Rule – 2
“Kill Em All” (1999)
“It’s Murda” (1999)

Sauce Money – 2
“Faceoff 2000” (2000)
“Pre-Game” (2000)

Scarface – 2
“Get Out” (2000)
“Guess Who’s Back” (2002)

Freeway – 2
“What We Do” (2003)
“Roc-a-Fella Billionaires” (2007)

T.I. – 2
“Watch What You Say to Me” (2007)
“Swagga Like Us” (2008)

jay-z-ti-enjoythebeatz

For the Full List: Rappers With the Most Jay-Z Guest Verses – XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/rappers-most-jay-z-guest-verses/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral