ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: Producer Timbaland attends "Empire" season 2 viewing party at Suite Lounge on September 23, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
You never know what’s going to trend on Twitter. Today Grammy award-winning producer Timbaland was the topic for discussion after it was discovered that some of his biggest hits were sampled from Arabic music. Fans were stunned to learn that Jay Z and the late Aaliyah had embraced the culture right under their noses.
Thanks to DJ Nooriyah, she shared songs by Jay Z and Aaliyah, including the original sampled Arabic songs. She tweeted, “Everyone knows @Timbaland is a master of his craft. Did you know these three hits sampled these Arabic classics? To hear more about the Middle Eastern influence in Western mainstream music (that was once called “Belly dance music”), head to my Plus 1 Radio show on Soundcloud.”
Twitter users flooded Nooriyah’s comments. One user wrote, “Timbaland loves our Middle Eastern/Indian culture, and it’s evident especially in the work he did for Babygirl, Aaliyah. He has not stolen these sounds but sampled them, and I love the samples he has used and infused with his new sound. He is the GOAT and a big fan since I was 6.”
The three songs Nooriyah mentioned were Jay Z’s 2000s hit, “Big Pimpin,” which features UGK from his fourth album “Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter. ” The song is a sample from the 1975 song “Khosara” by Abdel Halim Hafez. Aaliyah’s 2001 hit “ More Than A Woman,” which was featured on her self-titled album, was sampled by the 1993 song “Alouli Ansa” by Mayada El Hennawy. Timbaland sampled another Arabic song, “Batwanes Beek,” which was released in 1992 by Warda Al-Jazairia for Aaliyah’s 2003 song “I Don’t Know What To Tell Ya” off the “I Care 4 U” album.
Many Roommates left comments reigniting Timbaland’s goat status. Rapper BRS Kash commented, “Man, I wish Aaliyah was still alive, but Timbaland definitely a legend in the game! Another commented, “Timbaland is one of the greatest producers in music history.”
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