Miss E...So Addictive [PA] [ECD] - Elliott, Missy (CD 2001)

Ah, Missy Elliot. Everyone who follows music closely has an opinion over the ever-shrinking Virginian, whether it be good or bad. She's one of those artists that you really can't feel indifferent toward- you either like her or despise her. Starting with her solo debut in 1997, she has ruled the femcee world except when some girl named Lauryn something-or-other came out. Whatever happened to her, eh? (sarcasm)

Anyway, Elliot makes serious rap fans a bit uneasy due to her obvious lenience on stylish production, almost nonstop (mostly simple) punchlines and party songs rather than mixing that with something a bit more serious and profound. More casual fans are drawn to her infectious personality, feel good flow and music that feels like the girl down the block recorded it. I'll let you make the choice on this double platinum junior effort.

Tracklisting:
Intro
Dog in Heat featuring Redman and Method Man (*** 1/2)
One Minute Man featuring Ludacris (**** 1/2)
Lick Shots (****)
Get Ur Freak On (****)
Screamin' a.k.a. Itchin' (**)
Old School Joint (*****)
Take Away featuring Ginuwine (**** 1/2)
4 My People featuring Eve (****)
Interlude
Whatcha Gon' Do featuring Timbaland (*** 1/2)
Step Off (****)
X-Tasy (***)
Slap! Slap! Slap! featuring Da Brat and Ms. Jade (** 1/2)
Interlude
One Minute Man Remix featuring Jay-Z (**** 1/2)

Dog In Heat is a swaggering, retro-ish bassline heavy banger that just oozes sex, something almost unfamiliar in her work until that point. The neck breakin' bassline remains a constant while other elements tend to waver, including the ominous horror movie strings. The guest spots are both pretty ok: Redman's defiant, in your face wildin' out party boy verse and Meth's darker, more metaphor laced verse. Lick Shots has a pretty hot intro goin' on: Timbo's ominous party starting chanting and dark, brooding synth work. Elliot sings more on the song (more on that later), bragging about her sexual prowess while knocking some amusing punchlines out of the ballpark. Missy goes all out on this song, especially on the lazy pseudo-patois around the 2:00 mark that'll get you listening, regardless of how bad it is.

The Grammy winning Screamin' a.k.a. Itchin' is my least favorite song on the record. Her flow isn't at all entertaining (monotone, it drags a bit and offers no life to her lagging punchlines) while the stuttery bassline never allows you to get into the song that much. The hook is nice- soulful, beautifully sang and a nice change of pace. Oh laaawd...Old School Joint blows all this other stuff out of the water. Carefree and full of a fun energy that rap lacks nowadays, its throbbing bassline will get you moving with that throwback club anthem mentality coming across as plain as day. Charlene "Tweet" Keys provides the instantly learnable backup while the digi-bubbly synths are just awesome.

The surprisingly sensitive rap ballad Take Away is another great, great song. Released after Aaliyah's death (and thus, taking on a whole new meaning), this introspective track features two wonderful performances that are enough to listen to this track obsessively, as I have in the past. I know I'm not the best role model but I digress. Elliot integrates her singing more (although not nearly as obnoxiously and free style as on Lick Shots) while Ginuwine's controlled complementary performance is toned down, slightly brooding and completely enjoyable. The synths are mainly strings (the deeper, lazy harp is simply amazing) while the bassline is completely natural. This is easily the best lyrical song, with the message of unconditional love reigning supreme. 4 My People is yet another winner with the multi-layered pulsating bassline, laugh-out-loud lyrics that you can always count on Missy for (one of her few constants) and strong guest spot from then-relative newcomer Eve whose rapid flow and snotty tones almost always get a favorable rating from me. Elliot's charisma just glows on this track, as the Virginian's lighthearted regular girl-ness is completely endearing.

Whatcha Gon' Do is a percussion heavy Timbo-guested track that lightly recalls his own Love To Love You for the underlying darker tones and slightly mumbly rap from Tim. Speaking of his rap, its decent but referring to yourself in the third person is so passe. The hi-hats and twangy bassline sound kindof paranoid while Elliot's rhymes progress from generically sexual to some decent battle rhymes. Step Off is a more subdued track that requires a bit more thought that its predecessor. The lone wavering synth woodwind is actually kindof hot while the bass riff is exotically original and the underlying bassline/electric piano combo is extremely affective. The star of the show is Keys (Charlene, not Alicia, foo'!) whose ad libs are warmly comforting.

X-Tasy, Slap! Slap! Slap! and One Minute Man (Remix) all end up the record on mixed notes. The first, a metaphor-laced dryly produced percussion heavy track, is a little bit boring and generic; blah blah blah hip hop and drugs blah blah blah sex blah blah blah. I do, however, enjoy her seductive flow that gets quite breathy at times. The second, a collabo with Da Brat and Ms. Jade, has some strong production (racy strings, twangy bass riff, laidback synths) but the lyrics end up being so bland. All three turn in flows that are better than expected, whether it be Brat's rapidly dexterious one, Jade's cocky snarling one or Elliot's mumbly unintelligible one, but since the lyrics suck, nothing could save the track as a whole. The latter is the same as the original but Jay's noteworthy verse namechecks Beyonce Get your independent as*s out of here/ Question? and adds a fresh perspective to the song.

This is easily the best Missy record that she's put out, whether it be the strong lyricism (well, mostly), wisely chosen guests or sterling production. She shows a lot of originality while not going completely into left field like she normally does.

Great Music To Play While: wondering where in the heck Ms. Jade went

Pay Attention To: Old School Joint, Take Away, 4 My People

Drift Away To: X-Tasy, Screamin', Slap! Slap! Slap!

Last Three Reviews:
A*Teens- Pop Til You Drop
Kimberley Locke- One Love
Tamia- More

The reason I decided to post this review was the on-going Hip Hop Appreciation Write Off- no, this isn't an entry, because even I couldn't pull out FAITH with this record. This is just a way of giving some respect to all those who love hip hop, all those who are knowledgeable on the subject and know its ins and outs. I'm a hip hop fan myself but some of the people on this site put me to shame in that category. Big ups to everybody in the hip hop field- I have so much respect for ya. I wish I could give you more but Mad already reviewed Lauryn Hill