Timbaland is not backing down from the future, which some say is already here and will most certainly remain here to stay. The legendary super music producer behind some of Hip-Hop, R&B, and pop music’s most iconic records is now stepping into the digital frontier, launching a new genre he’s calling A-a, a pop short for artificial pop, through his tech-driven company, Stage Zero. However, his move has sparked intense reactions across the music world.
The spark? TaTa, his first fully AI-created artist.
We covered this, but the response has not been so glowing.
On Frida,y June 6, Timbaland took to the Gram to clear the air and directly respond to the criticism.
“I know I’m trolling, but let’s have a real conversation,” he posted. “I love my independent artists. This doesn’t mean I’m not working with real artists anymore.”
He made it clear that he isn’t using human creators as data fuel either. “And nah, I don’t train ai off y’all music,” he added. “This just means more creativity for creators.”
To reinforce his point, Tim shared a clip featuring music industry executive Ray Daniels, who passionately backed the concept of AI talent becoming a norm.
“Why the f*** wouldn’t you?” Daniels asked. “Mickey Mouse is an AI character. Donald Duck is an AI character. Bugs Bunny is an AI character.”
He argued that creating digital personas to perform and promote products is already part of entertainment culture. “You guys are looking at it wrong,” Daniels continued. “He’s gonna make a character that he can have sing songs and sell products. That’s all these cartoonists and young kid TV shows are doing anyway, so why are y’all mad at him?”
While Daniels used beloved animated icons to make his case, it’s essential to clarify. Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and Donald Duck were not created using AI. These characters originated from the minds and hands of artists and storytellers, with voices and performances brought to life by real people. That distinction is vital in this conversation.
Still, Timbaland seems unfazed by the pushback. For him, AI is another tool in the box and TaTa is just the beginning of a new way to think about music, creativity and character building in entertainment.
