Having just posted a mashup I made of a songs by Moby and Timbaland, I have been looking around the Internet for material on both artists. This issue surfaced back in January of this year, but I just became aware of it and had to post about it because I’m just blown away.

Apparently in the song “Do It” by Nelly Furtado (which Timbaland “wrote” and produced), Tim lifted a significant portion of a “Acidjazzed Evening,” written and produced in 2000 by a little-known Finnish musician named Janne Suni AKA “Tempest.” Timbaland didn’t ask Suni for permission, nor did he clear the sample prior to making this song. Sure, sampling happens all the time, but it is legitimate and this simply is not.  What Timbaland has done is blatantly plagiarize, taking credit for creating something that someone else created.

I’ll be fair: “Do It” is a hot track in its own right, but Timbaland’s theft is so blatant, it’s amazing. Check out a YouTube video comparing the songs, as well as a ringtone that Timbaland “wrote” in 2005, also ripping off “Acidjazzed Evening”:

Apparently both sides have lawyers and are talking, so perhaps a settlement is in the works.  Timbaland, however, has publicly scoffed at this issue, saying that this happens all the time and isn’t something anyone should be worrying about.  Still, though, the music sounds identical.

For more specific, continuously updated information, check out the wikipedia page on this controversy.

Tags: craziness, infinite evil, music, people who suck, video
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