[Feature] 20 of Missy’s “Best Best”

BET’s recent special, My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women and Hip-Hop, got us to thinking about all the female legends of hip-hop. It also got us to thinking about how no one has been more prolific than Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott.

More than just an emcee, Missy has single-handedly revolutionized Hip-Hop and R&B music by being not just an amazing songwriter but the only real female producer of her kind.

A lot of folks don’t realize just how deep Missy’s producing waters run and that’s why RoJay and Shooter decided to break it down with a trajectory showcasing 20 of Missy’s “best best” creations to date. Y’all ready? Here it go!
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We’re sure y’all thought Timbaland was the first to put Missy on a record but believe it or not, ‘Melissa Elliott’ was recruited by MCA Records in 1993 to write and produce Raven-Symone’s debut single, “That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of”. It only went to #47 on R&B but it kick-started what was to become a lengthy career.

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Four years later, Missy hooked up with Mariah Carey on her REAL emancipation album, Butterfly. This was the album that signaled Mariah’s transition to a decidedly more urban sound and Missy brought out a seductive yet vulnerable side to her that had yet to be heard on wax with “Babydoll”.

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That same year, Missy helped SWV break out of their shell on their third album, Release Some Tension.“Can We”, however, Missy brought out a bluntness that was well-received and had all of their fans wanting to get “kinky tonight”. Having always prided themselves on being the “good girls” of R&B, any attempts at being sex kittens were well disguised. With

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Proving she could be versatile and bring the unexpected out of an artist (or group), Missy continued that trend the next year with the lead single from Total’s sophomore album. Being known for their edge and in-your-face attitude, she had them play it subtle and almost vulnerable with “Trippin’”. But even with the slightly softer feel, it still packed a mad punch and is one of Missy’s production that has only gotten hotter with time.

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1998 was a major year for Missy. In addition to her hits with other artists as well as a flourishing career, she was invited to executive produce the soundtrack to the Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and tapped, of all artists, Melanie B a.k.a. Scary Spice, to handle the lead single, “I Want You Back”. A smart move as pushing Mel out of her comfort zone in pop music led to the record becoming Missy’s first UK #1 hit and showcasing that she was able to pass her versatility on to other artists.

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By 1998, Whitney Houston had established herself as an unmatched balladeer. But on My Love Is Your Love, she wanted to prove that she didn’t always need the theatrics to get her point across. And in comes Missy with “Oh Yes”, a record so smooth, sensual, seductive and unlike anything Whitney had recorded before; a record that brought the unexpected best out of a legend.

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In ’99, Destiny’s Child were establishing themselves as a household name and as mature young women on the now-classic The Writing’s on the Wall. Missy crafted “Confessions” to help them tackle probably the biggest “grown-woman” issue on the album – unfaithfulness in a relationship – in a real creative manner by having the ladies be the ones doing wrong. Transition into womanhood complete? Check!

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That same year, Missy managed to pull double-duty in the girl group department, working her magic for 702′s self-titled sophomore album and giving them what still stands as the biggest hit of their career: the #3-peaking “Where My Girls At?”. But while that might have been their smash hit , “Gotta Leave” was the unsung hero of their album. Full of soul, attitude, and personality, this record seemed tailor-made for the trio and even though it wasn’t half the hit of its predecessor, it still stands as one of Missy’s brightest strokes of genius.

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Having already proved she was good for bringing different sides out of the artists she worked with, Missy kicked off 2000 with the lead single from Tamia’s sophomore album, “Can’t Go For That”, but it was the album track “Long Distance Love” that painted Tamia in a true new light. We knew she could play infatuated, lovesick, and scorned quite well but the vulnerability and slightly cold emotion that Missy evoked added a depth to Tamia’s sound that was intriguing and unique, still resonating down to this day.

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In 2001, Missy struck soundtrack gold again when she partnered with hip-hop producer Rockwilder to produce the theme to the film Moulin Rouge. While having Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink join forces on the same track might have seemed the most random combination at the time, all four ladies each brought their own unique flavor to the track – a recreation of the 1974 Labelle hit “Lady Marmalade” – and created one of the most legendary records in pop music this century that not only did the original absolute justice but will probably never be duplicated to such an amazing extent again.

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When Beyonce stepped out as a solo artist in 2003, it seemed her intent was to make as loud of a splash as possible, literally, as her introductory singles were big, bombastic numbers with lots of flash. Leave it to Missy to strip away all the theatrics with “Signs” and prove that when she scaled back, Bey still had enough soul and talent to carry her through. Clever and infectious, it was another example of Missy being able to tap into an artist’s unseen side.

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This ability to tap into an unseen side is what helped Monica make such a big returning splash that same year. After the Storm would not have nearly become as successful an album if it had not been for Missy’s creation of the now-classic “So Gone”. But while that record struck the major chord with the masses, it was the slept-on follow-up “Knock Knock” that was even more ingenious. With little-known-at-the-time Kanye West on backup production, Missy brought all the harmonious soul and attitude out of Monica over a uniquely memorable beat and proved she was no one-trick diva.

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Missy kept the comebacks rolling in 2003 with Mya’s lead single from her third album, Moodring. While she was never one to play too shy on record when it came to her sex appeal, Mya had played it rather safe and tame with the singles from her previous album. Missy laid all that to rest, however, with “My Love Is Like Wo”, a bold declaration of a woman fully grown and comfortable in her skin. With the title and meaning exuding confidence, Mya’s voice, sound, style, image, and attitude were all taken to the next level thanks to Missy.

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It’d already been established that versatility is a key element to Missy’s talent and success and she created another prime example of this with her placement on Angie Stone’s Stone Love album. Without the use of any samples, Missy relied on her sheer ability to work a soundboard, arrange instruments, and utilize her pen for the brilliant and clever kiss-off that is “U-Haul”. Full of metaphors, analogies, Tweet’s angelic background vocals, and soul, this is probably one of the biggest hits Missy made that never was but still one of her greatest records this side of the century.

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Speaking of Tweet, in 2005 we got a chance to see what she and Missy were really capable of when they combined their brilliance for several records on Tweet’s sophomore project, It’s Me Again. The cream of their crop was easily the bold and brazen “Sports, Sex & Food”. We had never quite heard a Tweet lyric like this nor had we heard Missy incorporate a sample quite like that but as odd as it was on first listen, repeated listens helped us to appreciate the cleverness and creativity behind it. It seemed so tailored made for Tweet’s voice and so unique, as is Missy’s style, that it ultimately didn’t seem to be out of character for either one.

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Building upon the chemistry they developed with “Free Yourself” from her debut album, Fantasia got another handful of Missy records for her self-titled album in 2006. Every record Missy crafted for Fantasia helped her move away from American Idol territory and more toward her own sound; “Two Weeks Notice” being the most soulful and clever of the bunch. More than just another typical Missy kiss-off record, ‘Tasia sang this “resignation letter” with conviction and disproved any lingering notions that she was just another reality show puppet and would not be fading into the background anytime soon.

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For her sophomore album in 2007, Keyshia Cole’s label wanted to soften up the rough edges she sported on her debut; leave it to Missy to bridge that gap between street and sweet with “Let It Go”. Taking one of the most recognizable samples in hip-hop and turning it into an R&B dance floor filler that even pop radio could appreciate, this was the record that helped Keyshia transform into a crossover artist and solidified her status as an R&B star.

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15 years after she started, Missy was back at getting careers off the ground with the production of “Need U Bad”, the lead single from Jazmine Sullivan’s debut album. While Jazmine had some minor success as a songwriter, no one knew what she was really capable of as a singer in her own right. A powerhouse vocalist, the fear was that Jazmine’s sound was too old for her own good but Missy put any negative thoughts to bed by taking two little-known reggae records and concocting this hypnotic reggae-soul groove with an ageless appeal that sounded like nothing on radio and made Jazmine stand out as a contemporary talent.

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In 2010, Missy is still working hard and proving that her magic has lost none of its luster and appeal. “Everything to Me”, from Monica’s fifth album Still Standing, was just as classic as anything Missy ever created and allowed Monica to take an ’80s classic (Deniece Williams’ “Silly”) and turn it into another signature record of her own. Free of any gimmicks and trends, it was proof positive that in both Missy and Monica’s case, pure talent will always rise to the top and speak for itself.

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And Missy is poised to dominate the second-half of 2010 as well with Jazmine’s upcoming album, Love Me Back, and its lead single “Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)”. Flipping the formula and incorporating several familiar samples into the beat, Missy still retains Jazmine’s identity and ageless appeal. Pleasing established fans and enticing curious new ones, it’s safe to say that slumping is the last thing Jazmine’s sophomore album will do.

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And there it is! Everyone knows about Missy Elliott, the artist, but we felt those who may have been a bit in the dark needed a refresher course about what exactly this phenomenal woman has contributed – not just to hip-hop or R&B – but to music!

Thanks to Missy, all of their mics sound nice and we can only hope the next 17 years will sound just as dope! *MCP ~ We Know Our Music*

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