The music industry hasn’t seen a distinguished rapper come out of Marin City since the great Tupac Shakur. Recently, many have complained that the rap game in the Bay Area has been lacking lyrical skill. However,  Marin City rapper Timbalias might be able to change all that with his increasingly popular music. The songs “Cheezy Mc’Greedy” and “The One You Need” are played all over Marin. If you are invested in Bay Area rap music, you have heard of Timbalias. His style and sound are unique and easy to distinguish from other rappers. “I started hearing his music and liked it a lot. It was tight to hear music from someone in a town you knew well of,” said junior Matt Davis. I was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with Timbalias in Marin City. Standing in the hallway of the community center, I listened to the ambitions of the young and promising local sensation share his experiences.

Tam News: When did you first start rapping?
Timbalias: I think I was about 13. It was a hobby at first. I got mentored by a guy that was at a summer program I went to, and he just started off with the basics, and I just got enthusiastic about it. Then he taught me most of the stuff that I knew, so I just took it from there. I just got better over time.
TN: Who was your inspiration for rapping?
T: Mac Dre, that’s the first on the list. A couple people didn’t really listen to him when he first came out, you know, around the area, but as he got closer to his death, a lot of people started picking up on him. I kind of took notes before that even happened, I just like his lyrical skill. So I’d have to say [after] him, a rapper by the name of Tech N9ne, the icon of the bay, E-40. Then on the other side of that, which is more hip-hop, I could say Living Legends, Zion I, Hieroglyphics.
TN: What sets you apart from the other rappers out right now?
T: I’m very versatile. There’s a lot of people that just rap about the same thing, and some of ‘em don’t do what they say, and then some of ‘em are scared to jump outside the box and try something different, so if they’re doing gangsta rap; that’s all they’re gonna’ do, Hip-Hop; that’s all they’re gonna’ do. I can do any genre of music I think, if it’s put in front of me. If I’m put to the task I can complete that.
TN: How would you describe your sound and style?
T: I say hip-hop, with an R&B twist with a little alternative, just because I’m so interested in other types of music that when I get a better opportunity, that’s gonna come. So I started off with the rap music, like gangsta rap music, and I transferred over to hip-hop music. I’m starting to do more R&B now, more for the females. As time goes on, I’m very interested in all types of instruments so I’ll probably pick up a guitar or start playing the keyboard, you know, something like that. So I’m not even started yet, I don’t even know where I’m at, I’m trying to get to where I want to go.
TN: What music do you listen to?
T: I listen to all types… you can catch oldies in me, know what I’m sayin’? But on the other side, if I’m doing something like just going to the store, I’ll probably just pop in [music] more for just walking purposes, but if I’m at a party, it’ll be different. Everybody likes D-Lo and stuff like that. I’ll be listening to a conscious rapper, Talib Kweli, stuff like that, so I listen to everything, just to be up on music. If you listen to one type of music, you’ll be one type of person, so I’m everywhere.
TN: Are there any musicians that you aspire to work with?
T: J-Cole, I like his lyrical skill. Lil Wayne, just because he’s come such a long way. He’s kind of overrated to me, but his lyrical skills are up to par, and that’s what I look for in a lyricist, I just look for what they’re saying. A lot of people rap and rhyme but they don’t talk about anything. They don’t talk about what’s going on in the world right now. The wars going on, kids are dying in other counties, and stuff. Make music be positive, and not just about hood stuff and ghetto with people getting shot everyday and stuff like drugs. So as far as working with people… Drake too, I like Drake’s lyrical skills, Common, Linkin Park, I like Linkin Park… and Maroon 5, you know, just to try something different.
TN: What are you currently working on?
T: I’m working on a mix tape called The Ingredients with Cheezy Mc’Greedy in the Ingredients, just to give people a different type of feel of me, ‘cause my fans like my old music which is more rap and kind of gangsta. And now I’m switching over to R & B so I want to just, bring the character, instead of just saying, ‘Hey, I’m Timbalias, and this is the way I rap. I want to say ‘I’m another guy that you’ve never heard of, and this is the character I can bring to this type of music. And then I can switch genres, and go over here and present another character and keep moving on to different genres and different types of music. Like I said, I’m versatile, I’m all around. As you can see, I got the suit on right now, but you might catch me another day with some hip-hop gear, so it just happens.
TN: Where do you see yourself in the near future?
T: Well I started off with the music being my basic thing, and that’s what I wanted to do, but as I started going on, I slipped out of it a little bit. Right now I’m going to barber school, so I’m cutting hair. In the next four years I plan to have my own barbershop, a couple clients of mine, probably a studio in the barber shop, if not my own studio elsewhere, and I guess five or six years from now, I should be a rapping barber.

Written by Aaron Vad. This article originally appeared in the February 2011 issue.