THE ESSENTIALS: The Best of Missy Elliot - Creators For The Culture

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Missy “Misdamenaor” Elliot is a legendary creator for The Culture, no debate about it. Very few artists can legitimately say they changed the game and Missy is one of those artists. She changed the way female MC’s were seen and heard, she changed the soundscape of hip-hop, and she changed music videos. She’s a Grammy winner and became the first female MC to be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame. So in her honor we’ve put together the 5 essential creations of Missy’s career (so far).

5. “One In A Million” by Aaliyah

This was Missy’s first huge writing hit and one of Aaliyah’s biggest career singles. Leave it to Missy to do the seemingly unthinkable and pen an uptempo love ballad. That skill helped open the door for all of her amazing talents putting the industry on notice that if they needed a hit, she’s a writer to holla at.

4. “Work It”

Missy’s most successful personal single. “Work It”, with its infectious and playful lyrics and its throwback vibe took over the fall of 2002 and Spring of 2003 peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard charts.

3. “1, 2 Step” By Ciara

The most successful song written by Missy. Teaming up with Ciara was a natural fit and their collab on “1, 2 Step” resulted in a monster single that controlled the clubs and dance floors everywhere from it’s release in January of 2005 till the end of the year and won them both a Grammy.

2. Lady Marmalade

Missy brought together some of the biggest names of the time in hip-hop, R&B, and pop (Lil Kim, Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Pink) for a crossover record of epic proportions. Putting a modern twist on The Labelle’s original version of the song, Missy and company had the most memorable song from a film that was also a musical (Moulin Rouge). That ain’t easy to do. Respect.

1. Supa Dupa Fly

The beginning of it all. The reason why the rest of the list even exist. “Supa Fly” remains one of the most original, most visionary hip-hop albums of all-time. Hits included “Sock It To Me”, “Beep Me 911” and of course “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”. From the completely new sound Missy and Timbaland created to the literal out of this world visuals, Missy opened a pandora’s box of creativity that altered the course of hip-hop and The Culture forever making her debut album in it’s entirety THE ESSENTIAL Missy Elliot project.