He’s created monster hits for Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Missy Elliott and is considered one of the most original producers of the decade. But if you believe an obscure Finnish computer musician and his YouTube-savvy fans, Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley is a rip-off artist. Janne “Tempest” Suni claims the melody for “Do It,” a Timbaland-helmed track on Nelly Furtado’s 2006 platinum smash Loose, was filched from a chiptune he recorded in 2000. While Suni investigated legal action, his friends went public, posting a viral video of the two tracks’ seemingly identical waveforms and sparking a Web-wide call-to-arms. For now, both artists are keeping mum, but that doesn’t mean Wired has to. - Eric Steuer
Timba vs. Tempest The Timeline
August 2000 Janne “Tempest” Suni records “Acidjazzed Evening,” which sounds like an electropop version of the Pac-Man theme. It wins first prize at a Helsinki electronic arts festival.
December 2002 With Suni’s permission, Norwegian programmer-musician Glenn “GRG” Gallefoss covers the tune on his Commodore 64. GRG adds his version to the High Voltage SID Collection, a hot online spot for C64 music.
January 2005 Timbaland is hired by MTV and mobile content company Zingy to create a set of ringtones. One, called “Block Party,” is nearly identical to GRG’s cover.
June 2006 Geffen Records releases pop singer Nelly Furtado’s Loose, which includes “Do It,” a Timbaland-produced track based on his “Block Party” ringtone.
July 2006 Tempest’s friends notice the similarities between “Do It” and “Acidjazzed Evening.” Several express outrage that he’s been plagiarized by the producing icon.
November 2006 Timbaland is featured on the MTV show Diary. An in-studio scene reveals he owns an Elektron SidStation, a rare synth that plays a music file format that’s native to the Commodore 64.
January 2007 A chiptune scenester posts a video on YouTube demonstrating alleged similarities between “Acidjazzed Evening” and “Do It.” The controversy builds: “Timbaland, don’t you understand?” sings an unknown artist in another video call-out, “You stole a song from a guy in Finland.” More than a million people have watched at least one of these videos.
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