Missy Elliott - "Under Construction" (2002)
Nov 28, 2022 23:23:12 GMT -5
Post by B-Boy on Nov 28, 2022 23:23:12 GMT -5
No thread for this 20 year old album? lol.
Missy blended the old school with the new school on her fourth album Under Construction. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified double platinum making it her most commercially successful album to date. The album included appearances from Method Man, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Tweet, Beyonce Knowles, Ms. Jade, TLC and 50 Cent. It spawned the major hit singles "Work It" and "Gossip Folks" as well as minor airplay hit "Pussycat". The album's intent was to commemorate the loss of Aaliyah first and foremost, hip hop legend and the victims of the September 11 attacks. Missy wanted to bring back the carefree spirit that was missing in hip hop at the time. The album propelled Missy into superstardom. And it was an exciting time to witness that.
I first heard the clean version on AOL (lol) and was surprised that Missy even rerecorded vocals for the album cuts. I was a fan of "Double Dutch Bus" and was glad Missy used it for "Gossip Folks". Even happy that she released it as the second single. "Pussycat" and "Play That Beat" are my Top 2 favorite tracks and my favorite vocal performances from her. I thought it was nice that she got T-Boz and Chilli on the album to commemorate Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes. Other tracks that I enjoy are "Bring The Pain" and "Slide".
I've noticed over the years how Timbaland's production is less complex on the album. He keeps it simple like the old school hip hop songs from the 80s and early 90s. The sample usage was pretty creative for the time as well. He pretty much mixed the samples with his futuristic sounds (i.e. "Funky Fresh Dressed").
I didn't think "Back In The Day" was great enough to be a single so I was relieved that Elektra scrapped it. The label didn't promote "Pussycat" much even though it did well on urban radio. I'm still waiting for the Janet and Lil' Kim remix though.
Also, I wanna add that this is the one album I wish I bought in real time.
"Work It" - #2 (Hot 100), #1 (5 weeks) (R&B and HH)
"Gossip Folks" (featuring Ludacris) - #8 (Hot 100), #5 (R&B and HH)
"Back In The Day" (featuring Jay-Z and background vocals by Tweet) - #86 (R&B and HH)
"Pussycat" (featuring background vocals by Tweet) - #77 (Hot 100), #26 (R&B and HH)