Saturday, December 19, 2020

Day 0840 - Supa Dupa Fly

Missy Elliott "Supa Dupa Fly"(1997)


Another musical 'lifer', Missy had been performing since she was a child, then formed a musical group called Fayze (later 'Sista').   She recruited her friend Timothy Mosley AKA Timbaland to help them get some demos together.

They caught the attention of a member of the group Jodeci who got them on board to work on music for Jodeci while they also worked on their own material and songs for other artists including superstar Aaliyah.

Puffy Daddy/Diddy tried to sign Elliott to his Bad Boy label, but she took control of her own destiny and created her own imprint 'Goldmind Records' to release her debut and (as with her future records) got Timbaland on board for production duties.

It's not hard to see why Missy Elliott was lauded as revitalising hip hop.  Entering what was primarily a male-dominated and often misogynistic genre; taking on writing, producing, rapping and singing, and bringing fresh, sparse arrangements, and well placed (though again, not cluttered) rhymes.   Single "The Rain" is probably my favourite track.

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