Timbaland has spoken out for the first time since learning of the death of his former music tag-team partner, Magoo.
The veteran hitmaker paid tribute to his Timbaland & Magoo running mate on Monday (August 14), hours after news of his death began to circulate.
“This one hits different long live Melvin aka magoo !!! Tim and Magoo forever rest easy my king,” he wrote on Instagram while sharing a throwback video of them performing together.
Timbo followed up with another post featuring more recent footage of them performing their 1997 hit “Up Jumps da Boogie,” which featured Missy Elliott and the late Aaliyah. “So many memories,” he captioned the clip along with several dove, broken heart and crying face emojis.
Tons of love from the music community poured into Timbaland’s comments section, with the likes of Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Swizz Beatz, Hit-Boy, Keri Hilson and more offering their support.
“Sending my condolences to you and his family King,” Swizz wrote, while Hilson added: “Sending love Tim. You guys were a force together. Long live his legacy.”
Reports of Magoo’s death began to circulate on Sunday (August 13). Digital Black, of the group Playa, was the first to post a tribute to the late rapper (born Melvin Barcliff), who was just 50 years old.
“Man can’t believe this RIP Magoo damn big bro wasnt ready for this at all #superfriends,” he wrote on Instagram.
Fellow DMV native and Timbaland collaborator Ginuwine added in his own IG tribute: “Times get rough but we keep on pushing just heard some news I hope it ain’t true …I just want everyone to know that time is short love who you love and make sure they know it.”
“Times get rough but we keep on pushing just heard some news I hope it ain’t true …I just want everyone to know that time is short love who you love and make sure they know it,” Ginuwine wrote on Instagram.
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Originally formed in 1989, Timbaland & Magoo initially met when they were teenagers while growing up in Virginia, and decided to form a rap group soon after.
The pair are best known for their aforementioned hit “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” which topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart and also peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100.
The VA duo went on to release three albums together between 1997 to 2003, including the platinum-certified Welcome to Our World, Indecent Proposal and Under Construction, Part II.
In 2021, Blackground Records and Empire Distribution teamed up to re-release the whole Timbaland & Magoo catalog, which also included Timbo’s Tim’s Bio: Life from the Basement LP that initially dropped in 1998.
This distribution deal made it possible for the duo’s discography to be released to streaming platforms, making it available to larger audiences for the first time since the group’s inception.