Timbaland — The Beat That Changed R&B

Timbaland's production on Aaliyah's One in a Million (1996) and Missy Elliott's Supa Dupa Fly (1997) rewrote the rules of R&B and hip-hop production — incorporating Indian tabla, pitched-down vocals, and stuttering drum patterns that nobody had heard before. He produced Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds ("SexyBack") and Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." His beats have generated over $2 billion in combined album sales. The Virginia Beach kid who made beats with a Casio keyboard became the architect of 2000s pop music. Every producer on this list under 40 owes Timbaland something.