The Hampton Roads, VA metropolitan area, population 1.7 million, has made an outsized impact on American culture in the past 20 years. It has produced athletes like Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, and Gabby Douglas and musicians like Pharrell, D.R.A.M., Victor Wooten, Timbaland, and Missy Elliott.
It's been 12 years since Missy Elliott's last album, and any time is a good time to revisit her six-album catalogue: Supa Dupa Fly (1997), Da Real World (1999), Miss E... So Addictive (2001), Under Construction (2002), This Is Not a Test! (2003), and The Cookbook (2005). Click through the gallery to revisit 10 of her best tracks from this era.
Cover by Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty
"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (1997)
Timbaland on the creation of "The Rain," as told by The FADER:
With “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” I was just going through sounds and I found that and she said, “Keep playing that.” Missy liked to hear me as I created. She always wanted me to do the bounce in front of her because she’d start writing as she’s bouncing. Then she’d kick me out when she’d go record it. I’ve never seen her record on the mic. People wanna perfect their craft, and Missy has many personalities, so she likes to be by herself when she does that — just her and the engineer. I was like Alfred and she was like Batwoman.
"Hot Boyz" feat. Lil' Mo, Nas, Eve and Q-Tip (1999)
Timbaland on his artistic bond with Missy, as told by The FADER:
Chemistry isn’t really developed — it’s usually there. With me and [Missy], it was there from day one. You can’t really develop chemistry. You can develop a way to do great music, but there’s great music and then there’s special music. What me and Missy do is special. It’s like when you meet your soulmate — Missy is my soulmate in music.
We were just two kids from Virginia that loved music and couldn’t wait to have a real studio to really do it the right way. Missy always had a vision — she had a major vision. We both had visions but in different ways: She had a vision to entertain, and I had a vision to get my sound out into the world.
"She's a Bitch" (1999)
Goldlink interpolates "She's a Bitch" on his song "Spectrum." "To be honest with you, I didn’t pick that shit," he told Genius. "Louis Lastic [his producer] made the beat and sent it to me with the Missy sample as as placeholder. He was like, 'You’re going to come in to make it your own hook and then rap.' I didn’t know that though, so I just rapped the verses and used Missy’s sample as I rapped. I catered to the sample. He played it and was like, “This is crazy. I’m just going to leave it with the hook.”
Pootie Tang
Duet with Pootie Tang, from Pootie Tang (2001)
"Tippi Ti On My Cappi Town," the sensuous duet that Pootie performed with Missy Elliott during the nightclub scene of the classic Pootie Tang, may be the film's most iconic moment, other than when he deflects bullets with his braids. Lepatine on my clammy dees, penatime on my damie kings.
"Get Ur Freak On" (2001)
Timbaland's capacity for cooking up spicy dance floor boppers is second to none, and "Get Ur Freak On" is the work of a master at the height of his powers. The people listened. Steve Carrell listened. The critics listened: The Village Voice named it the best song of the year, and Pitchfork ranked it the 7th best song of the decade.
"Work It" (2002)
Not only was "Work It" the highest-charting single of Missy's career (#2), it also marked Missy's return to the top of the The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll for the second consecutive year. Even better, it helped popularize the word "badonkadonk." Which puts Missy with elite company of popularizers of slang: luminaries like BG ("bling bling"), Keak da Sneak ("hyphy"), and E-40 ("broccoli," "flamboastin'"...).
Ti esrever dna ti pilf, nwod gniht ym tup...
"Gossip Folks" feat. Ludacris (2002)
One of the angriest and most idiosyncratic songs in Missy's catalogue, "Gossip Folks" addresses rumors about her diet, relationships, and sexual orientation with a mixture of vitriol and sampling from Frankie Smith's 1981 funk hit “Double Dutch Bus.” Hilzzoo? My gizzirl!...
"Pass That Dutch" (2003)
"Pass That Dutch" has it all: goofball humor, steamy club vibes, slick lines, and handclaps. HOOTIE HOOOOOO.
Ciara - "1, 2 Step" feat. Missy Elliott (2004)
If you're wondering why Missy's flow feels so retro on "1, 2" Step," it's because's she taking her cues from a song from 1981: Teena Marie's timeless summer jam "Square Biz."
"Lose Control" feat. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop (2005)
"It was funny because Ciara don't rap and I had her rapping," Missy told MTV. "She was like, 'Is this gonna sound messed up? My fans are gonna be mad.' I told her to just do it and if it sounds crazy, I won't put it up there. "When me and Ciara get in the lab, it's all about us listening to a record to see if it makes us dance. We both like to dance. When I heard '1, 2 Step,' I immediately felt it. When I did 'Lose Control,' soon as I heard it, I was like, 'The only person who can pull something off with me [on this track] is Ciara, because it's a record with speed.' When we get in there it's about finding the hot dance step."
"Me and Tim[baland], this like our sixth album," she said of The Cookbook, "so if we go any further left, we gonna be on Mars somewhere."