Back in 2021, accompanied by fellow icons like Ciara and Lizzo, Missy Elliott unveiled her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of her ability to revolutionize what it means to be a female rapper, adding radio appeal and meshing pop elements with hip-hop, Elliott’s star felt way overdue, coming two decades after the height of her fame.
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With smash hits like “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Lose Control” and more, Elliott was able to craft one of the most impressive catalogs in hip-hop history. However, even though she topped the charts every time she released a new project, many of her most impressive tracks were often the least recognized.
Throughout her six studio albums, all with at least 14 songs on each of their track lists, you’ll be able to find numerous under-appreciated gems, thanks to Elliott’s consistently great lyricism and abundance of creativity. Below, we’ve listed five songs that match this criteria.
“I’m Talkin'”
The fourteenth track on Elliott’s debut studio album Supa Dupa Fly (1997), “I’m Talkin” sees Elliott at her most relaxed and braggadocious. Mixing an elegantly sung hook with rapped verses about how she’s “fly as shit,” this is the perfect song to play when in need of a confidence boost.
My style of rappin (My style)
I’m su-su-such a good rapper (I’m su-su-such a good rapper)
I give you good and plenty (Yeah, yeah)
My style’s the bomb diggy (My style)
“Beat Biters”
Coming just before star-studded cuts like “Busa Rhyme” with Eminem and “All N My Grill” with Big Boi of OutKast on the track list, Elliott’s “Beat Biters” sets a menacing tone for her sophomore album Da Real World (1999). Calling out pettiness and jealousy in the music industry, while also defending her beloved producer Timbaland who she feels bred a lot of copycats, Elliott uses “Beat Biters” to let her adversaries know that she’s onto them.
[RELATED: The Origins of Missy Elliott]
“Scream a.k.a. Itchin'”
As the sixth song on Elliott’s third LP Miss E… So Addictive (2001), placed right after her aforementioned fan-favorite “Get Ur Freak On,” “Scream a.k.a. Itchin'” sees Timbaland aid Elliott in establishing a promiscuous tone. Rapping about a Puerto Rican man she has the hots for, Elliott’s “Scream” hook could put any listener in a sensual mood.
“Play That Beat”
An anthem for, perhaps ill-advised, loyalty to a partner, “Play That Beat” is impressively one of the catchiest songs on the Under Construction album (2002) that contains bops like “Gossip Folks” with Ludacris and “Work It.” Sure to give you a week-long earworm, “Play That Beat” is another unsung masterpiece on the long list of Timbaland-produced Elliott songs.
“Let Me Fix My Weave”
The thirteenth song on Elliott’s 2003 album This Is Not A Test!, “Let Me Fix My Weave” may be undervalued because it’s only for badasses. Insisting that she can only have relations with a man whose financial affairs are in order, the song sees Elliott detail her high standards.
I told him, “Baby let me fix my weave
I got a hair out of place and use a fake ID.”
Pepe LePew voulez vous ooh oui
You want to misdemeanor me
You gotta spend more G’s
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
