Timbaland is "done with hip-hop," he said this weekend, explaining that his "bread and butter" is now pop music. The celebrated producer claims to have done research, finding that it's women – and particularly European, pop-loving women – who "like Timberland". And from now on, it's them – not the hip-hop heads – that he's going to cater to.
"After my last album, I know where my bread and butter is at," Timbo told MTV News. "Seventy-five per cent [of my audience] are women who love Timbaland and most are the women who watch ... Sex and the City [and] Desperate Housewives. All the real go-to-the-bar women ... and mostly European women ... So it's not a person who loves mostly hip-hop. It's a person who loves everything besides hip-hop."
Whereas Timbo's last solo album, 2007's Shock Value, had only a smattering of rap – Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Magoo – its recent sequel has even less. Pop artists such as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake, and rock acts such as Jet and Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, provide most of the cameos. "I was done with hip-hop a long time ago," Timbaland explained. "Once my generation left, I left ... It's just not the same."
Though Timbaland, 38, admitted he still likes Kanye West – and claimed Lil Wayne (27) is part of his "generation" – he said the writing has been on the wall for some time. "What does Tim listen to in his car all the time? I love 80s music." He also plans to follow that retro track for his next solo album – only it won't be available in shops. "If this album does as semi-well as the last one, I'm done," he said. "I'm not going through the stress no more. I will do it for my fans and give it away for free."