100 Best Albums
- 15 JUL 1997
- 17 Songs
- Goodies · 2004
- Miss E... So Addictive · 2001
- Under Construction · 2002
- Larger Than Life · 2023
- Da Real World · 1999
- The Cookbook · 2005
- Fly Girl (feat. Missy Elliott) - Single · 2023
- Miss E... So Addictive · 2001
- Release Some Tension · 1997
- Just Like You (Bonus Track Version) · 2007
Essential Albums
- Missy Elliott had already given the world a preview of the 21st century with 1999’s <I>Da Real World</I>—though her high-gloss futurism, including alien-sounding beats and music-video theatrics, proved to be far cooler than reality. And so, two years later, having established herself and her right-hand man Timbaland as two of hip-hop’s most distinctive new talents, the Virginia innovator unleashed an all-out sensory assault with <I>Miss E…So Addictive</I>, Elliott’s third album, and the one that established the rapper as a seriously formidable hitmaker. “I know some of y’all sick of songs y’all be hearing on the radio,” Elliott purrs gently on the album’s unassuming intro, “so me and Timbaland gonna give you some s**t you never heard before.” With that, <I>Miss E…</I> explodes into a run of funky, filthy bangers that trace the ecstatic arc of a wild night of debauchery, through which Elliott sings just as often as she raps. “One Minute Man” is hypnotic in its minimalism, Elliott’s breathy melodies floating over Timbo’s swaggering bassline; by the time the drunken bhangra loop of “Get Ur Freak On” hits, the intro’s promise has officially been upheld before the album is even a third of the way through. But there’s more to <I>Miss E…</I> than freaky club smashes (though they’re pretty easily the high point): see the high-stepping disco of “Old School Joint” and the slinky soul of Ginuwine collaboration “Take Away”. “Yo, I’m on fiiiire!” Elliott hollers over Timbaland’s pounding club beat on “4 My People”, and it’s impossible to disagree—this is Missy at the peak of her dynamism.
- 100 Best Albums “I don’t make music or videos for 1997,” said Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott. “I do it for the year 2000.” The Virginia rapper and producer Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley beamed down in ’97 with the future-funk blueprint Supa Dupa Fly, providing an entirely new way for us to get our collective freak on. The pair were already some of the most forward-thinking hitmakers of the era, writing boundary-pushing, electronica-blipping avant-R&B tracks for Aaliyah, SWV and more. But nothing could prepare the world for Elliott’s star turn—a rap-sung tangle that played like a strut through a malfunctioning robot factory, delivered by a crazysexycool funkateer dressed in inflatable garbage bags and Mega Man gear. She was already making a name with appearances on tracks by 702 and Gina Thompson, but Elliott’s debut single, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”, thrust her into instant stardom. Her style on the deeply syncopated track was a throwback to the level-headed slow-flows of EPMD. Her offbeat coughs, melodic tangents, pauses and onomatopoeias served as gateways to pop ecstasy. Supa Dupa Fly as a whole was full of similar bouts of radical expression. The chorus of the incredibly funky “Izzy Izzy Ahh” (“Izzy-izzy-ahh-zizah-zizah-zah”) paints the line between the Afrika Bambaataa throwdowns of the past and the delirious mumble rap of the future. “Beep Me 911” flows like an R&B heartbreak song trapped in a pachinko machine. Funny, sexually aggressive, careening between sultry singing and cartoonish sound effects and laughs, hip-hop had a new avant-garde hero. For his part, Timbaland turned hip-hop production on its ear, making tracks full of chirping birds and giggles, laced with hi-hats and snares that stutter and trip in unexpected places. The mix of Timbo’s spark-spraying funk and Missy’s art-bubblegum brilliance would have a lasting influence across hip-hop, R&B and electronic music: There’s no small number of careers built on a Timbaland production or a tweak of Missy’s ineffable style. Beenie Man’s dancehall crossover smash “Who Am I (Sim Simma)” tweaked a line in “The Rain” to wild success. Drake’s So Far Gone, the mixtape that launched him into supa dupa stardom, samples liberally from the Supa Dupa Fly ballad “Friendly Skies”. She made the album for 2000, but its effects are still being felt.
Albums
- 2005
Artist Playlists
- Hip-hop jams that sound beamed in from the future.
- Missy changed the way we thought about hip-hop music videos.
- The trailblazing rapper is also an accomplished R&B and pop producer.
- Listen to the hits performed on the blockbuster tour.
- The bold MC doesn't just flip the script, she reverses it.
- Edgy beats, brash hooks and wise lines from innovative artists.
- David Guetta, AFROJACK & Cedric Gervais
More To Hear
- The artist celebrates her album Supa Dupa Fly.
- How an album from out of this world disrupted hip-hop.
- Celebrating the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
- Let’s “Lose Control” and celebrate the first female rapper inducted.
- “Work It” flipped male-dominated hip-hop on its head.
- Mad Skillz is in the mix celebrating the iconic Missy Elliot.
- Estelle explores Missy Elliott’s album as it turns 20.
About Missy Elliott
With her endlessly riveting sound and persona, Missy Elliott has actively, thoroughly reshaped the genres of R&B, hip-hop and pop, becoming a beacon for mainstream-minded outsiders in the process. Born in Virginia in 1971, Melissa Arnette Elliott grew up heavily involved in music in church, while at school balancing impressive smarts with class-clown charisma. She’d eventually parlay all that into a career, starting with a spot in early-’90s all-woman R&B group Sista. The outfit dissolved, but in its wake a legendary pairing formed: Elliott linked with visionary beatsmith Timbaland in time to share songwriting and production duties on Aaliyah’s aptly named 1996 album, One in a Million. The following year, Elliott properly debuted with Supa Dupa Fly and its trippy lead single “The Rain”, which found her kicking wildly styled lyrics and rhymes about her general dopeness. When not releasing her own revered albums—like 1999’s Da Real World, with the subversively flirtatious “Hot Boyz”—Elliott continued to lend her behind-the-scenes skills to others. She’s produced or written for Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Trina and Tweet, to name a few. And after blasting hip-hop into the 23rd century with immortal, mind-bending party-starters like 2001’s “Get Ur Freak On” and 2002’s “Work It”, she opened the door for Crunk&B Princess Ciara with an iconic feature on 2004’s electrifying “One, Two Step”. More than a decade later, she laid down a frisky verse for Ariana Grande on 2018’s chic, Pharrell-produced “borderline”, and a high-energy cameo on Lizzo’s defiant 2019 body-positivity anthem, “Tempo”. Missy Elliott knows talent when she hears it, and she’s determined to continue moulding the future—through her own fascinating, peerless music and by supporting the creations of those fortunate enough to work alongside her.
- HOMETOWN
- Portsmouth, VA, United States
- BORN
- 1 juillet 1971
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap