CULTURE CLASSICS – “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” by Missy Elliot

#RunTheCulture

Many artists make hits, many artists have had hit debuts. But only a very select few can say they changed the game with the first song they dropped. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot is one of those artists. “The Rain” by Missy gets the love it deserves as a #CultureClassic.

“The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” dropped in 1997 as the lead single for Missy’s debut album Supa Dupa Fly. It was by Missy and Timbaland who also produced the track. The song featured a sample of Ann Peebles song “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, with the lyrics also used for the chorus. Besides that, there was absolutely nothing else conventional about this hip-hop record.

From the staccato drums, to the random sound effects, and slightly off beat rhyming, “The Rain” broke almost every other rule in the music book. It sounded so different, people didn’t;t know quite what to do with it initially.

And then there were the visuals. The music video, directed by Hype Williams, was the perfect marriage of two of the most creative minds in The Culture at the time. Through all the colors, and fisheye lens shots, the most iconic aspect of the video is the patent leather blow up suit, a look still called back to within The Culture to this day. Timbaland, Puff Daddy, Lil Kim, Lil Ceases, SWV, Total, Da Brat, and 702 all make cameos proving that even though Missy was a new artist to the masses, her work behind the scenes in he game made her very well connected and respected. Missy’s influence on and in hip-hop and urban culture can not be overstated.

The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and went platinum. It also set he stage for Missy’s album to go #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and go platinum as well. And from there, Missy has gone on to become one of the greatest female talents in Hip-Hop history, the first female rapper to be inducted into the songwriter’s hall of fame, a true visionary, and legendary Creator for The Culture.