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

What can I say, the Timbomania of the past near-year or so's compelled me to go back and check out some of dude's earlier work. And so far the results've been pretty nice. The more I hear, the more I think he might be easily one of the most consistently great producers in hip hop. Granted I got plenty more diggin' to do, but I've yet to hear a bad Timbaland-helmed album.

'Course, I may be cheatin' a little bit (or a lot) by including R&B and pop albums he's produced in that analysis. But still. He brings a hip-hop aesthetic to it, maan.

But yeah. This is a Missy Elliott album, not a Timbo one, so the obvious question is whether she's a good emcee or not. And don't laugh, but the answer ain't as simple as ya might think. By any typical technical measure, yeah, she ain't much of a rapper, but to me it's all 'bout the producer/rapper (and singer) chemistry here. After all, Timbo's beats aren't always the most orthodox -- your average emcee might have to rethink their usual flow for somethin' as ridank as "Get Ur Freak On." In that sense, I think a case can be made that Missy's off-kilter, sometimes near-nonsense flow complements Timbo's soundscapes well.

Convoluted explanations/excuses aside though, it really is all 'bout the beats here, and in my unhumble opinion this is the best-produced Missy album I've heard so far. Her debut Supa Dupa Fly is kinda like the Timbo-prototype, where his experiments work sometimes and're borin' other times, and Under Construction, while more consistently dope, definitely has its share of forgettable tracks. I'd say Miss E is the most consistent of the bunch, even if it is kinda front-loaded with its best tracks. And it feels like the album where Timbo's best balanced his more experimental tendencies with jez plain makin' things catchy -- possibly partially thanks to Missy co-producing with him here?

Anyway, "Get Ur Freak On." I said in my Under Construction review that I originally thought this song was stupid as all hell when I heard it all those years ago, which I'd like to both confirm and retract. When you first hear this song it DOES sound mind-numbingly simple thanks to that repetitive-to-death sitar (is that what it is?) figure, but the fact of the matter is that there's a lot of layers to this beat that I didn't initially recognize. The percussion line's crazy, and Timbo throws in added background effects in the hook and as the song progresses. I especially like at the end, where things switch up and get a little more funkadelic. Missy doesn't rap here so much as she just chants, but once you wrap your mind around it the song has a real frenzied, addictive energy, and probably ranks as one of her best singles.

Other single "One Minute Man" is another head-nodder, featurin' high-end synths and shifting percussion as Missy sings -- which she does quite a bit on this album, and she actually ain't half-bad at it. Besides the beat, this track's also notable for Ludacris's guest appearance, as he seems to make a point of saving all his best material for other people's songs. Speaking of guest appearances, Redman and Method Man show up to rip the mic on the funky-smooth "Dog in Heat" -- 'specially Redman.

While the album definitely has an overall sound to it, there's actually quite a bit of variety here on the production side. "Lick Shots" has a repetitive beat that amazingly manages to work, thanks to its bass-heavy rumble, while "Scream a.k.a. Itchin'" has a similarly addictive stutterin' synth figure that builds up between bars. "Old School Joint" is probably the album's most straightforward track, with its bouncy retro vibe (makes sense I guess,) while "Take Away" is your token R&B Missy joint here. Don't get me wrong though, it's actually one of the album's best tracks. The drums sound almost sloppy on this one, but after a listen or two the beat comes together nicely, even though I'm not sure Ginuwine's all that necessary here.

As far as her lyricism goes, Missy seems 'specially focused on sex here, which can make for some occasionally funny moments -- particularly on "Step Off," where she gets "sentimental" singing 'bout some dude who's ditched her. While her focus on the subject can occasionally (OK, more than occasionally) border on ridiculosity, it helps maintain the lighthearted feel of the album.

My only real problem with Miss E is that a coupla songs at the end leave it with an almost incomplete feel. Make that one song in particular -- the closer "Slap! Slap! Slap!" Actually, there's a short little interlude after this one, but it's still really _not_ how I woulda ended this. Timbo's beat here is the only one that's really a little too "creative" for its own good -- backwards guitar sounds (maybe?) cool on paper, but there's somethin' missin' in this beat. And the badass-chick posturing by the guest femcees here is just a kinda weird way to close things out.

Oh, and I should probably mention that there's a "One Minute Man" remix here featuring Jay-Z, and as sad as it is for me to say it he definitely ain't on his A-game here. Like the "Work It" remix on Under Construction, this one is pretty superfluous -- as are the two gospel-ish bonus tracks that come on after a gazillion tracks of silence.

Overall though, if ya ask me, this is the best Missy album outta the three I've heard. If you're lookin' for some party music, or you just wanna vibe to somethin' that's not all that serious (like me,) ya can't really go wrong with this one.