Them Drums is straight SMK. I would say Timbo lifted SMK's drums because once Da Bassment started using that Memphis drum style it became obvious Devante was producing less and less.
Did Timbaland Ghost Produce Jodeci Diary of a Mad Band?
- Thread starter Dre Space Age
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Them Drums is straight SMK. I would say Timbo lifted SMK's drums because once Da Bassment started using that Memphis drum style it became obvious Devante was producing less and less.
Guvnor
Da Speculative Spectacle®
That makes sense.
Who is SMK?
Possibly. It seems like they were all bouncing ideas off of each other and then Devante would put the finishing touches on it.
The Thomas Crown Chronicles: February 2010
NJS4E: I'd have loved to be sitting in the studio at that time to witness that! You mentioned creative sounds- DeVante & Da Bassment as a collective developed an incredibly unique and special sound- not just melodically or beats-wise or even in terms of the style of singing- it was a combined result of all three and one that's unique to each and all of you and has helped launch a number of careers which are still going strong to this day. Do you think that 'sound' which we have seen with Timbaland, Missy etc. was born from the days with Da Bassment & DeVante?
Definitely. Let me tell you- that musical sound that you heard back then that creatively moved mountains in the music industry- that musical sound was mostly DeVante. It developed in Da Bassment and was managed between him & Timbaland but it was mainly DeVante in terms of the development, because he really was the only one who had the skills to do that. Timbaland at that point was a very talented young man but he was learning and being schooled by DeVante. The actual bass drums, and the way Timbaland would pattern his drumbeats, that was actually a combination of my mouth and a producer called SMK that DeVante liked and brought in from Rochester. What would happen is, like I'd already described- a typical day in the life of Da Bassment consisted of what we called vibin'. So we'd be vibin' in a cypher and we'd all be just impromptu singin', rhymin' freestylin' and somebody would have to bust a beat out. So the way I used to beatbox with my mouth- I don't know if you're going to hear this clearly over the phone properly, but I'd do this (Accion beatboxes for 15 seconds and it sounds uncannily like what we classed as a Timbaland drum beat between 1997-1999). So I'd beatbox like that, but I wasn't producing music, so what would happen is DeVante & Tim would go into the studio and duplicate my pattern with the drum machine and develop it. SMK's music was very bass heavy so he brought in the bass pattern to match with my beatboxing & DeVante's drum pattern, and it sounded like this (Accion beatboxes for another 15 seconds). So basically DeVante & Tim took those two ideals and then developed it further and made that sound you're referring to.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
Yeah Pre 96 I''d say Timbo was a student and contributed to stuff, but cats are talking like he made all the beats and Devante took credit. Dudes are really downplaying Devante's genius.
So what I learned from this thread is that Timbaland's style in the 90s was an amalgamation of Devante+SMK+Accion and his own. Which created that unique 90s Timbo sound.
It sounds more like Devante was more like Dr. Dre, getting others to help him make beats but having the final say and fine tuning it.
Pretty much. Listen to that 'Sista' album from back in the day and it doesnt sound like the signature Timbo sound we know that came around 97. I`d argue Timbo learned his melodies from Devante which may be how there came a time where Devante would let Timbo lay the foundation and then he would put his finishing touches.
I have actually gained more respect for Devante from this thread after seeing he is like a maestro in the Dr. Dre sense. Before I thought he was a lazy coked out version of Prince that couldn't sing worth a damn. Probably still is.
At least Suge Knight fed people. Did you not read the part about Devante starving his crew for days earlier in the thread?
Nah Devante may be crazy (now) but breh is talented as hell.
Devante pretty much gave us Missy, Timbo, and Static Major who are 3 of the greatest minds in Music imo.
At one point Devante was in the same position as Timbo, being seen as a "ghost" producer and contributing to other peoples stuff.
I remember Stevie J saying Devante would be punching chicks in the mouth
