Timbaland has confirmed that he will produce the next studio album for the US rapper Jay-Z.

The producer, whose previous collaborators include Madonna and Justin Timberlake, told MTV that he would make the record, which he has already called a “classic”, accessible to everyone.

"We wanna go to the world. The world is 'Big Pimpin'.' 'Big Pimpin' ' is an international hit, so we wanna do 10 of those. Meaning, some of the songs gonna sound like M.I.A. would rap on some of the beats,” he said.

“You gonna be like, 'Whoa!' But it's Jay on 'em. That means it reaches everywhere. I'mma have songs with bagpipes.

“The music is gonna be so worldwide, he'll be able to tour the rest of his life, maybe, off just this one album.”

At present there is no studio date set for work to begin on the album, but Timbaland is quoted as saying he would like to spend at least three months on the project.

(by Jason Gregory)