Has all that beat-boxing shredded Justin Timberlake’s pipes?

The “Rock Your Body” singer has undergone surgery in Los Angeles to remove throat nodules from his vocal cords, People magazine reports.

Timberlake, 24, had the procedure May 5 at an undisclosed facility in Los Angeles. The growths were benign, but it will be at least three months before Timberlake can croon again.

The singer’s rep, Ken Sunshine, would not confirm the report Thursday, saying he “never comments on [Timberlake’s] personal life.”

The throat surgery is not uncommon for professional singers and is not expected to permanetly affect Timberlake’s famed falsetto.

Rod Stewart underwent a similar operation in 2000, with no consequence to his singing voice. Joss Stone also had a similar procedure to no ill effect–witness her tour-de-force tribute to Janis Joplin at the Grammys and her sexy warbling in the new Gap commercial.

But the operation has its risks: Julie Andrews never regained her crystalline singing voice after going under the knife in 1997. The Sound of Music star sued her surgeon and eventually reached a monetary settlement.

No immediate word from Jive Records on whether Timberlake’s recovery will delay production on his follow-up to his multiplatinum, Grammy-winning Justified, but the erstwhile Mouseketeer will have to produce something better than a whisper for his upcoming part in Shrek 3.

The budding thesp landed will voice a teenage King Arthur opposite gal-pal Cameron Diaz in the next installment of the blockbuster-animated franchise.

The film isn’t due until 2007, but early recording is expected to get underway this summer.

Credit: E! Online