It’s official. International music star and Virginia Beach native Timbaland will have a roadway named in his honor.
Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved giving Bridle Creek Boulevard the new honoree title of Timbaland Way.
Bridle Creek Boulevard, the Salem-area roadway off which Timbaland grew up, will not lose its official name. But, “Timbaland Way” will be added to its street signs.
A three-day “Timbaland Way Weekend” celebration Oct. 17-19 will include an Oct. 18 ceremony at Salem High School where a newly designed street sign will be unveiled and the artist and music producer will receive a key to the city.
Born Timothy Mosley, Timbaland started DJing while a student at Salem High and was also part of a performance collective called S.B.I. (Surrounded By Idiots) with fellow Virginia Beach native, artist and producer Pharrell Williams. Both men’s careers later exploded into international fame. Mosley is famous for collaborating with Hampton Roads native Missy Elliott on hit songs such as “Work It” and “Get Ur Freak On.”
City Councilman Cal “Cash” Jackson-Green, who helped spearhead the effort to honor Timbaland, hopes the renamed boulevard will serve as a reminder to current students that they, too, can achieve success in the arts.
“This is a big boost in the arm for the kids who are talented, who are creatives,” Tamiya Davis said of the new road signs at the Tuesday council meeting.
Davis and Michelle Dumas-Cutno, the executive producers of the Timbaland weekend events, were invited to address the council, and Davis explained they decided two years ago that Mosley should be honored in some way by his hometown. They were on a work trip when they attended an event where Timbaland was playing music and were awed by the response the musician was receiving from the crowd.
“The people were having such a great time, and I told her, I said, ‘Yo. We got to bring this back to Virginia Beach. Like, we have to do this,’” Davis recounted to the council. “We have the Missys and Clipse and Pharrell and, you know, just everybody who’s from this area who has done so well.
“We have to do it for Timbaland.”
The superstar producer told The Virginian-Pilot this week that he is excited to be coming home to reconnect with his hometown.
“I think it’s a blessing that they’re honoring me, but I’m just more honored by coming home,” he said. “I think the most beautiful thing is connecting with people.”
The Oct. 17-19 weekend festivities include a concert scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at The NorVa in Norfolk. For the full slate of events, visit thetimbalandway.com.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com
