let it all hang out

Wednesday, Jun 08, 2011

Gulf News

Actions speak louder than words. Something megastar Timbaland may want to remember. Or not, as the case may be.

“You want to leave a good impression. It’s about wanting to be as good as you can,” he said from his dark Abu Dhabi dressing room on Sunday night. “In my case, I can’t let anyone down but myself.”

Having waited for more than three hours for the American songwriter and producer to even agree to an interview, let alone execute it, I was ushered into a room where Timbaland sprawled on a low sofa and made no attempt to get up.

I wasn’t expecting an apology. After all this is the man who produced hits for music giants including Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and 50 Cent, to name a few. I wouldn’t have minded an explanation as to why a small girl in a pink dress slept on the sofa next to him, an introduction to an older lady seated awkwardly opposite me and a reason that the TV carried only a fuzzy snow screen. Instead, I counted my blessings I’d been allowed in this far.

That’s as far as it went.

Questions were side-stepped in that very Hollywood way. At first I put it down to diplomacy and clever marketing. It soon became apparent other things might have been on his mind.

sports fan

“I’m missing the final right now. My city, Miami Heat against Dallas,” he said when asked whether he’s a sports man. “So yeah, we do follow sports. But it’s also great to be here to learn about other sports around the world.”

“I know football is the biggest sport in Europe so I was surprised to see the impact here too. What’s the other one? With the paddle?” his brow heavily furrowed. “I don’t know what it is, it’s not polo or anything like that.”

The music. The great names he’s worked with. A glamorous life in the US music business, I reminded myself and changed the line of questioning.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, I can’t single anyone out because every single one of those people I worked with were great,” he said, my heart sinking.

“Because guess what, it all worked out for us to work together, so, it’s all great. My life is simple, like sitting in this room. It’s just me in the studio a lot.”

In the Middle East for a second time having first visited and performed at 2009’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, I found a way in.

“I love coming to the Middle East because I love Arabic, Persian and Moroccan music,” he said finally mustering some much-needed enthusiasm. “So I love it. It sounds different. I just think it’s more universal than American music.  I love it.”

“Very rich. It’s almost island-like,” he said in Abu Dhabi, as I saw the whites of his eyes for the first time. “The city was very clean. Everybody seems to be peaceful, you know. Everyone helps everyone find something to be happy about. I like that,” he added.

It had taken a while but I felt myself starting to warm up to him. Was he uninterested or just a man who doesn’t care what people think? Credit where credit’s due, there were no scripted answers, no PR talk and no superfluous fluff.

“I don’t really have any advice for anyone,” he said proving the case in point. “It’s all in your calling. If it’s in your calling it will happen for you. I can tell you ‘do this and do that’ but you could come back and say I did this and it didn’t work. So just pray about it. I have no advice. If you’re good it will happen.

“Sometimes you can’t hide everything. And you shouldn’t. You need to let it all hang out.” That he did.

By Kelly Crane ?Senior Reporter