If you’re reading this, it means hip hop plays a big part in your life. You’ve got memories from years ago that helped to cement your fandom of the genre. For me, one of those nostalgic checkpoints is making sure I’d get home from school in time to catch Missy Elliott’s music videos playing on MTV TRL and BET’s 106 & Park. Her songs were catchy as hell, but they were made even more noteworthy once the always imaginative accompanying music video dropped for the public to savor. The video and the song were true companions, preventing fans from being able to think of the song without picturing the bombastic, limit-pushing visuals Missy provided viewers.
With that said, you can imagine how excited we were here at HotNewHipHop.com when Missy Elliott’s star began flickering back to life - illuminating first at this past year’s Super Bowl and culminating to full shine with the release of her new single “WTF (Where They From).” Not only does the track bang as well as anything else you’d hear on the radio (not bad for the first single in seven-plus years), but the video holds up to other Misdemeanor classics.
There’s only one way to see how it truly holds up against the others, though. That’’s by counting down the best Missy Elliott videos of all time.
So, sit back and relax. Put your thing down and flip it. Heck, even reverse it if you want. So long as you click along and join us as we rank Missy Elliott’s Greatest Music Videos.
“Beep Me 911”
While it might not be the most eventful video in Misdemeanor lexicon, “Beep Me 911” is still a classic. Its candied color palate and outrageous costumes make it a clear precursor and founding mother to what so many artists go for in their acts nowadays (lookin’ at you Nicki).
“She’s a Bitch”
This stark, (mostly) black and white, music video is just a sleek piece of cinema to gaze upon. Any video that sees Missy and a handful of fellow leather-clad neo-futuristic dancers emerge atop an underwater platform to pop-and-lock underneath spooky storm clouds deserves a shout-out on this list.
“WTF (Where They From)”
Missy Elliott’s comeback video is special for many reasons. Firstly, it’s a proverbial flag-planting wherein Missy successfully reemerges, reminding the industry that both pop-friendly rap and their subsequent videos are her specialty and no one else's. Secondly, it’s Missy’s first foray into video direction. Here, Missy and her usual director Dave Meyers (“Work It,” “Lose Control,” “Gossip Folks”) team up and direct this one as a tandem. The result is stupendous and is just the right amounts of entertaining and weird as you remembered Elliott’s work to be. Extra kudos go to marionette Pharrell, who appears in “WTF” in lieu of the real one.
“Gossip Folks”
“Gossip Folks” is arguably the most simplistic Missy video, yet it is still overflowing with charms. It’s High School theme leaves room for a lot of fun set pieces and rivalry-infused choreography. Plus, it’s got a CGI spitball, so that’s gotta count for something right?
"Pass That Dutch”
“Pass That Dutch” is one of those singles that has a hook and subsequent imagery that burns like an effigy in the memory of all Missy loyalists. Super catchy musically, the video has a little bit for everybody. It’s got references to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, King Kong, and if that’s not your thing then they’ve got heavy Drumline influences, too. It also is a bit ahead of its time, beating out Bad Blood and Mad Max: Fury Road with strong feminist images like woman-on-man cannibalism.
“Sock It 2 Me”
If you were a youngin’ in 1998, watching “Sock it 2 Me” on the TV screen, then your imagination was set ablaze. Sure, a viewing now might prove that the once jaw-dropping special effects have since aged dramatically. Yet, the cartoonish dream-world that Missy and the featured Lil Kim star in is still a delight to feast your eyes on.
“Lose Control”
It’s hard to deny the validity of the music video for “Lose Control.” It’s got two Video Music Awards and a Grammy, to boot. Back when it first came out, it was a pop culture phenomenon with wondrous dancing. Now, it’s like a time-capsule for the mid-2000’s, complete with dancers wearing visors and a fresh-on-the-scene Ciara, Tommy Lee Jones, and Fatman Scoop appearances.
“The Rain”
Before Dave Meyers took over directing Missy’s works, there was Hype Williams who brought undeniable flavor and unforgettable imagery to some of Elliott’s earlier works. Despite all of her outstanding and trippy visuals that oftentimes define her music videos, it’s Missy’s inflated trash bag look that she sports in this video from 1997 that is the most iconic.
“Get Ur Freak On”
"Get Ur Freak On" is just so goddamn cool. It goes down the list of everything that makes us love Missy videos and checks each item off seamlessly. Amazing dancing? Yep. Somewhat goofy Timbaland appearance? Oh, hell yeah. Weird CGI that still warms your heart despite being jarringly unrealistic in 2015? Check it off, baby! Special shoutout to Missy’s Motörhead shirt, which she sports as she walks through a surreal forest that seems reserved for a hippy-dippy Midsummer’s Night Dream revival.
Work It
“Work It”
“Work It” could be argued as both the essential Missy Elliott song and music video. The song dominated charts and airplay for years and has since become a classic. The video has cinematic references to films like Roots and Terminator 2 that keep the pop-culture nerds going. It’s also stuffed with an Aaliyah tribute, a mini-Missy in a dunce hat, Prince and Halle Berry lookalikes, and the debut of frequent Missy collaborator and tiny-white-girl Allyson Stoner.