Missy Elliott has given fans a glimpse behind the curtain, revealing some of the pressures involved in creating her groundbreaking albums.
The Virginia native revealed how each album added to her artistry and how she and super producer Timbaland evolved to become one of the most creative duos in Hip-Hop.
Missy Elliott revealed she felt “stressfree” crafting her debut LP, Supa Dupa Fly, in 1997 because she lacked expectation. However, the motivation for the project came from her desire to have her own label.
“My label told me they would give me my own label if I did 1 album,” Missy explained. “So me & @Timbaland completed this album in 2 weeks not knowing this would be the beginning of many more to come🔥”
The critically acclaimed album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and would go on to achieve Platinum certification, selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone.
My 1st album was stressfree because I didn’t have any expectations. My label told me they would give me my own label if I did 1 album so me & @Timbaland completed this album in 2 weeks not knowing this would be the beginning of many more to come🔥 pic.twitter.com/mineJQSfDN
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) December 6, 2022
According to Missy, the “hardest” and her “least favorite” project to complete was her sophomore offering, Da Real World.
“Because of the success of the 1st album I was so hard on myself,” she revealed. However, she eventually “realized the MASTERPIECE,” she and Timbaland created with her 1999 LP.
Missy Elliott & Timbaland Wanted to “Experiment” On “So Addictive”
Missy felt some “relief” by the time she made her third album, 2001’s So Addictive, allowing her and Tim the space to “experiment.” The duo was “open to showing what the FUTURE of music could sound like in our minds🔥”
So Addictive earned Missy her highest Billboard 200 chart position yet, debuting at No. 2. The album spawned the hits “One Minute Man”, featuring Ludacris and Trina, and “Get Ur Freak On” and went on to receive two Grammy Awards.
Having created projects “so different in sound & cadence,” Missy and Timbaland were unsure where to go next. Nonetheless, they eventually combined their “love for old school Hip Hop & breaks beats” with their “FUTURE sound” to create Under Construction in 2002.
A year later, Missy Elliot and Timbaland returned to “SOUND EXPERIMENTING” to make This Is Not a Test!
“Each time we took a risk sonically,” Missy Elliot said of her partnership with Timbaland. Check out her tweets below.
By this album I felt a small relief & I felt my 2nd album allowed me & @Timbaland to EXPERIMENT with my 3rd album🔉outtaspace sounds since my 2nd album was theatrical with knockin beats🔉 We were open to showing what the FUTURE of music could sound like in our minds🔥 pic.twitter.com/Q2cfjed1DJ
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) December 6, 2022
This album @Timbaland & I was back to SOUND EXPERIMENTING & we felt a little more free to explore since the other albums success. But each album was a lil pressure except “SUPADUPAFLY” & “So Addictive” but each time we took a risk sonically🔥 pic.twitter.com/SUmptsfB4z
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) December 6, 2022