Attitude

In the mid- to late 2000s, few Alabama rappers secured major-label contracts, yet Brighton native Attitude, born Timothy Clayton, stood among that small group. He first appeared in 1996 with Serious Times, a funky independent rap album issued on Centa Street Records, the imprint he launched partly to escape the recurring jail stints tied to his earlier lifestyle. Within Birmingham’s emerging hip-hop community, just a short distance from his hometown, Attitude quickly rose to local prominence, yet genuine career openings required travel to Atlanta. There he moved between camps, spending stretches aligned with DJ Drama’s Aphilliates Music Group and Bubba Sparxxx’s 11th Hour Entertainment. The connection to Sparxxx yielded the greatest payoff when the latter forwarded Attitude’s demo to Timbaland, the era’s leading hip-hop and R&B producer, who immediately took an interest in the Alabama rapper. Collaboration with Timbaland soon opened a parallel path as a songwriter; Attitude began ghostwriting for Timbaland and additional artists including Sean “Diddy” Combs. Although he joined Timbaland’s Beat Club Records, the label shuttered almost immediately after his signing, Timbaland continued to support him by launching Mosley Music Group and again enlisting Attitude’s pen. That work produced co-writing credits on Nelly Furtado’s Timbaland-produced “Promiscuous” and on Timbaland’s own “Give It to Me,” both of which reached number one on the pop charts in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Impressed by such adaptable songwriting skills, Warner Bros. signed the rapper in early 2007.