This past weekend marked 20 years since Missy dropped this album:
At the time Missy dropped this album, she was making waves in both Hip Hop and R&B. She'd already penned "Steelo" for 702, appeared on a single with New Edition, wrote the bulk of Aaliyah's sophomore album, penned Ginuwine's "I'll Do Anything (I'm Sorry)", appeared on Gina Thompson's "The Things You Do" remix, and hopped on MC Lyte's "Cold Rock A Party" remix. This all set the stage for Missy to have a platform of her own during the Summer of 1997.
Missy Elliott would take center stage with a song, "The Rain", that was both ear grabbing and perplexing. You had this beat that sounded like nothing else. There was a vocal sample of Ann Pebble's "I Can't Stand The Rain" married to crickets, backdrops of rain, and thunder, with timbales from the same song with added percussion and drum kicks underneath. Then there's Missy with an almost spoken word flow. Then there was the eye catching video that introduced the masses to the world of Missy Elliott. Singles "Sock It 2 Me", "Beep Me 911", and "Hit Em Wit Da Hee" remix would follow.
The entire album would take that same formula as the single. Production wise, Timbaland proved that he could loop a sample, give you an original beat, or isolate one instrument or sound from a sample and create something entirely new. He and Missy proved that they were a dynamic duo. That summer not only saw Missy debut as a solo artist, but she and Timbaland also lended their talents to SWV ("Can We") and Total ("What About Us"). Missy would go on to appear on Lil' Kim's "Ladies Night" both providing a hook and small verse at the end of the song. Additionally, Missy also contributed vocal arrangements for Puff's "It's All About The Benjamins". Tim would go on to produce Lil' Kim's "Money Talks" and entirely produce Magoo and his debut Welcome To Our World, which contained the hit "Up Jumps Da Boogie" featuring Missy Elliott and Aaliyah.
Post '97, has seen other artists inspired by this album in some form or fashion from Drake to J Cole to T-Pain to Nicki Minaj.
At the time Missy dropped this album, she was making waves in both Hip Hop and R&B. She'd already penned "Steelo" for 702, appeared on a single with New Edition, wrote the bulk of Aaliyah's sophomore album, penned Ginuwine's "I'll Do Anything (I'm Sorry)", appeared on Gina Thompson's "The Things You Do" remix, and hopped on MC Lyte's "Cold Rock A Party" remix. This all set the stage for Missy to have a platform of her own during the Summer of 1997.
Missy Elliott would take center stage with a song, "The Rain", that was both ear grabbing and perplexing. You had this beat that sounded like nothing else. There was a vocal sample of Ann Pebble's "I Can't Stand The Rain" married to crickets, backdrops of rain, and thunder, with timbales from the same song with added percussion and drum kicks underneath. Then there's Missy with an almost spoken word flow. Then there was the eye catching video that introduced the masses to the world of Missy Elliott. Singles "Sock It 2 Me", "Beep Me 911", and "Hit Em Wit Da Hee" remix would follow.
The entire album would take that same formula as the single. Production wise, Timbaland proved that he could loop a sample, give you an original beat, or isolate one instrument or sound from a sample and create something entirely new. He and Missy proved that they were a dynamic duo. That summer not only saw Missy debut as a solo artist, but she and Timbaland also lended their talents to SWV ("Can We") and Total ("What About Us"). Missy would go on to appear on Lil' Kim's "Ladies Night" both providing a hook and small verse at the end of the song. Additionally, Missy also contributed vocal arrangements for Puff's "It's All About The Benjamins". Tim would go on to produce Lil' Kim's "Money Talks" and entirely produce Magoo and his debut Welcome To Our World, which contained the hit "Up Jumps Da Boogie" featuring Missy Elliott and Aaliyah.
Post '97, has seen other artists inspired by this album in some form or fashion from Drake to J Cole to T-Pain to Nicki Minaj.
