3 Songs from Missy Elliott that Prove Her Limitless Power

Missy Elliott is a power supply. She is the world’s answer to renewable energy. She is a creative genius and has been writing and releasing songs that turn minds upside down since the 1990s. There is perhaps no person more suited in hip-hop to be called a work of art than her. From her elastic, Salvador Dali-esque rhymes to her eye-popping dance moves and painterly fashion, she’s an all-timer.

Here below, we wanted to explore a trio of songs from the lyricist that demonstrate both her talent and her staying power. Three songs that showcase how Elliott could walk up to a wall in the Louvre and just stand there on display and it would make total sense. Indeed, these are three songs from Missy Elliott that prove her limitless creative power.

[RELATED: Missy Elliott Goes Out of This World: NASA Transmits Her Song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus]

“Work It” from Under Construction (2002)

One of the many incredible collaborations between rapper Missy Elliott and super producer Timbaland, this song features Missy rapping backwards on the chorus. Perhaps more than any track, this one shows why Elliott was the first female rapper to be inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. If the mark of a great lyricist is the listener wondering what she might say next then Missy achieves that here in spades. On the track, she raps,

If you’re a fly gal, get your nails done

Get a pedicure, get your hair did

Boy lift it up, let’s make a toast, ah

Let’s get drunk, it’s gon’ bring us closer

Don’t I look like a Halle Berry poster?

See the Belvedere playin’ tricks on ya

Girlfriend wanna be like me never

You won’t find a b—h that’s even better

I make it hot as Las Vegas weather

Listen up close while I take you backwards

Sdrawkcab ti ekat ot ekil yssiM yaw eht hctaw

“WTF (Where They From)” (2015)

This 2015 standalone single is an onslaught on the senses. It’s like a smorgasbord of visual and sonic flavors; Michelin should come in and offer it a few stars. Especially since the work features two of the biggest musical stars on Earth in Missy and Pharrell Williams. It’s impossible to separate the song from its music video, which includes eye-popping dance moves and production. On the track, Missy raps,

The dance you doin’ is dumb

How they do where you from?

Stickin’ out your tongue, girl

But you know you’re too young

A bunch of girls do it and the s–t looks fun

That’s how they do it where we from

You know it don’t start ’til one

That’s how they do it where they from

I’m so faded, no exaggeration

Backs breakin’ like a percolation

Boys to the yard for some hip spankin’

Where you make it drop down like you in the matrix

Can’t take it, them chicks been fakin’

Ya’ll still sleep, better stay awakened

Hot new dance for the hood to make it

Make the dope move fast, make them think you drinkin’

“The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” from Supa Dupa Fly (1997)

The single that put Missy on the map, this debut offering includes production from Timbaland and a prominent vocal sample from Ann Peebles’ 1973 song “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” It’s also a track that NASA transmitted to the planet Venus. On it, Missy introduces herself and showcases her elaborate, rubbery rhymes. She was all over outlets like MTV after the song release and has stayed in the public consciousness ever since. On the track, she raps,

When the rain hits my window

I take and – me some Indo

Me and Timbaland, ooh, we sang a jangle

We so tight, that you get our styles tangled

Sway on dosie-do like you loco

“Can we get kinky tonight?” Like Coko, so-so

You don’t wanna play with my Yo-Yo

I smoke my hydro on the D-low

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