Hip-hop pioneer Missy Elliott lives up to legacy in headlining tour at Dickies Arena

Missy Elliott is appropriately regarded as a hip-hop pioneer, someone who helped shape a genre before it even existed. The rapper, singer, producer and songwriter — she has mastered and excelled at them all — hasn’t released a new album in nearly 20 years, but her legacy, power and charisma exploded inside a packed Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Sunday night.

Her uncompromising sound, at times playful, fantastical or profane — either with deep thoughts or a salty use of language — blasted into the ears and eyes of the approximately 13,000 in attendance for a nearly non-stop 75-minute show spanning her six records, plus a generous portion of covers and extras during a 26-song set.

It was the 10th show of Elliott’s “Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience Tour,” which features opening sets from Ciara and Busta Rhymes and special guest and Elliott collaborator Timbaland. It’s hard to comprehend that this is the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s first headlining tour.

Elliott, who turned 53 on July 1, made at least five wardrobe changes, including her show-opening sparkling orange jumpsuit/astronaut outfit and helmet, which fit directly with the tour’s theme, and eye-popping spaceship opening, which included a high-resolution video board behind a large clean stage that appeared to have the spaceship land in the arena to let Elliott and her 20-member dance team perform. The sounds and images were Hollywood-grade magic.

She opened the night with a one-two punch from her 2019 five-song EP Iconology, “Throw It Back” and “Cool Off,” before transitioning into “We Run This,” one of only two tracks performed from her last full-length record, 2005’s “The Cookbook.” It is something of a signature song for Elliott, akin to Frank Sinatra singing “My Way.”

Even with multiple outfit changes, the fast-paced show stayed true to Elliott’s canon. The only moment that seemed out of place was a brief interlude with a single dancer moving to “Singing In The Rain.” There was a reason for the use of that particular song and the interlude, as it helped introduce “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” her debut single from her 1997 debut record. Elliott emerged with her dancers in an all-black, insect-inspired vinyl-appearing suit and later adorned a massive black cape that floated behind her with the help of a few high-powered fans as she stalked the lip of the stage.

No matter what she was wearing, and no matter what intense choreography was seamlessly and impressively performed by Elliott and her dancers, the pulsating, bone-shaking deep bass musical backbone remained a near-constant reminder that Elliott is no cupcake shrinking violet. She goes hard, and her show goes hard.

That includes the three-song finale that featured Timbaland joining Elliott to sing “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” Busta Rhymes dueting with Elliott on his song “Touch It,” and Ciara joining Elliott for a show-closing “Lose Control” from 2005.

Missy Elliott setlist, July 21, 2024, Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas

• The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
• I’m Better
• She’s a -----
• Gossip Folks
• All n My Grill
• Get Ur Freak On
• Lick Shots
• One Minute Man
• Hot Boyz
• Beep Me 911
• DripDemeanor
• Pussycat
• Bad Man
• Ching-A-Ling
• WTF (Where They From)
• Work It
• Pass That Dutch
• Up Jumps Da Boogie (with Timbaland)
• Touch It (with Busta Rhymes)
• Lose Control (with Ciara)