Missy, Timbaland
at top of rap game
with third album
With This is Not a Test!'
Elliott proves the dance floor
doesn't have to be devoid
of intelligent beat-making
By Steven Neuman
Freelance Reporter
In the last three years, Missy Elliott,
hip-hop's girl with the golden touch,
has released three albums. It seems ra
tional that at such a breakneck pace,
the musical creativity of the records
would have to deteriorate to compen
sate for the increased delivery rate.
However, Elliott seems to have broken
this sound barrier.
Her third album, "This is Not a
Test!," proves once again that Elliott
has the goods to back up those cock
sure rhymes.
REVIEW bum is the
candy. Once again, Elliott pairs with
longtime producer Timbaland, and
the two mesh beautifully. The sound
that results is thumping club beats
tinged with exotic creativity.
The record's introduction, "Baby
Girl Interlude," personifies this
sound. It features the singing of Mary
J. Blige as Elliott flows over trumped
up beats. In the background, a young
girl sings nonsensical sounds. This
track — a fusion of melody, bass and
ethereal elements — floats in and out
with a simplicity that hides the truly
masterful production job.
Similarly, "This is Our Last Time"
whips up a frothy slow-jam style with
some synthesized funk reminiscent of
the late '80s or early '90s. This track
shines, not because it holds any partic
ular originality, but rather because it's
so fun to listen to This formula holds
true for many of the other tracks.
The whole album is also chock full
of guests, and some of their efforts
work better than others. Besides
Blige, Elliott enlists the help of Jay-Z,
Elephant Man, Fabolous, R. Kelly,
Monica, Beenie Man, Nelly and the
Clark Sisters.
Like her
last two ven
tures, this al
audio equiv
alent of eye
Courtesy
Some collaborations, like "Don't
Be Cruel" (which features both Mon
ica and Beenie Man) and "Wake Up"
(with Jay-Z), work spectacularly, with
the artists slipping seamlessly into
the songs.
Others seem forced, such as "Dat's
What I'm Talking About," which fea
tures R. Kelly This song is basically a
lot of oversexualized moaning. Later,
Nelly manages to louse up "Pump It
Up" with his same old shtick, rhymes
and rhythm.
While this album completely push
es the limits of hip-hop, in some as
pects it seems to be holding back. It
doesn't hold a candle to some of the
risks that Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/lhe
Love Below" takes, although "This is
Not a Test!" is perhaps destined to be
more popular.
The crown jewel of the whole disc
is "Toyz," which may become the
world's first feminist bump'n'grind
club anthem. Seductively funky wah
wah guitar work (think "Shaft") un
derlies proclamations like, "You don't
get the job done when I need a little
lovin'/ So I gotta do it myself if I wan
na feel somethin'." Here, it is impossi
bly hard not to admire Elliott for writ
ing in quite a personal manner about
such subjects.
In the same vein, "Let Me Fix My
Weave" explores the politics of using
sex for material gain. These two
tracks seem bouncy and fun but
scratch the surface to find some seri
ous material.
Overall, the one thing that comes
across loud and clear is that Elliott is
no lightweight.
Steven Neuman is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
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