Flip It And Reverse It: The True Story of Missy Elliott's 'Work It'

Disclaimer: This Episode contains discussions of physical and
sexual abuse. To skip past these discussions skip to (4:54)


There is no shortage of innovators in Hip-Hop, though for the
most part the genre has been a world dominated by male artists.
But from her mind-bending, award-winning music videos to her
experimental approach to producing, Missy Elliott has changed the
game. She has been one of the most forward-thinking minds in
hip-hop since she first made her debut in 1997 - regardless of
gender.


In her early days as an artist, Missy would form a R&B group
called Fayze with friends La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and
Radiah Scott. Through her friend Melvin Barcliff, who rapped
under the name Magoo, she met Timothy Mosley, a local DJ producer
operating as Timmy Tim. He would produce some demos for Fayze,
including a single called “First Move.” 


Fayze would impress DeVante Swing, a producer, songwriter and
singer for the rising R&B group Jodeci, after singing a
cappella for him following a concert. Swing invited the group to
record in New York City, along with their producer Tim, who Swing
renamed “Timbaland” after the popular Timberland construction
boots that were taking over hip-hop fashion.


Missy got her first gig as a songwriter, producer and rapper on a
song called “That's What Little Girls Are Made Of,” the debut
single by Raven-Symoné, the eight-year-old star of The Cosby
Show. But Missy quickly learned the hard way that the music biz
wasn’t ready to welcome her with arms wide open. Missy was
blindsided though when they cast a smaller, lighter-skinned
actress to lip-sync to her lines in the song’s music video. At
that point, she realized that she would have to work even harder
to be taken seriously as an artist.


Eventually Missy and Timbaland would become their own as a
songwriting/production team. They co-wrote songs for artists like
702, Busta Rhymes and the debut album by Ginuwine, which
Timbaland produced in full. But it was their work on One In A
Million, the second album by teenage R&B sensation Aaliyah,
that really opened the door for Missy as an artist. 


Timbaland’s flickering, clap/snap sounds on One In A Million set
Aaliyah apart from the rest of R&B, introducing a fresh and
futuristic style that no one had ever heard before. And the duo
would hit it big when the album’s lead single "If Your Girl Only
Knew" topped Billboard’s US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while
peaking at #11 on the Hot 100. One in A Million would end up
going triple platinum in the US, selling more than eight million
copies worldwide, but the impact was immediate. Overnight, labels
were scouring to offer Missy a record deal, but she was quick to
see right through them.


Through her own label, distributed by Elektra records - Missy
Elliot would release the albums Supa Dupa Fly
and Miss E... So Addictive - which gave her mainstream exposure
as an artist - with her and Timbaland pushing their production
into new territory.


By 2001, Missy would release the seminal Miss E... So
Addictive which not only included lead single "Get
Ur Freak On", but her most popular song of all time...


This is the story of Missy Elliot's "Work It" with newly
unearthed audio from Missy Elliott herself!