Missy Elliott made hip-hop 'Supa Dupa Fly'
In the 1990's, many of the women in rap videos were scantily clad (if they were clad at all.)
But Missy Elliott took a different approach. In her first music video, she wore a comically large black body suit that was inflated like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloon.
You want curves? Here's your curves.
Beyond her fashion sense, the music she and her partner Timbaland produced was unlike anything else.
On Morning Edition, cultural critic Kiana Fitzgerald looks back at some of the game-changing moments in Hip-Hop. One of her choices: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly.
Fitzgerald remembers being puzzled by her first experience with Missy Elliott: "When 'The Rain' video came out and she was in the inflatable patent leather suit, it was like, what is going on here?"
Fitzgerald credits Elliott with carving out a place for Black women who didn't fit the 'video vixen' mold.
"She's made a lot of things possible, just with her mere presence," she says.
Missy Elliott made hip-hop more welcoming for women rappers
Even though they have been foundational members of hip-hop every step of the way, women found themselves blocked by the gatekeepers at record labels and radio. who created arbitrary limits on the number of women who could pass through the door in any particular era.
By the 1990's, artists like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown were popular, but Fitzgerald explains that "a lot of their material was focused on sex, explicit things. They didn't really have much opportunity to exist outside of that. And Missy presented herself to the world exactly as she was: a quirky, futuristic feminist."
Missy Elliott and Timbaland reportedly spent just two weeks recording Supa Dupa Fly. The result was dizzying at times — with off-kilter, spare beats and manipulated samples from other worlds.
Her flow was unhurried and unpredictable, with sound effects, animal noises, and when she felt like it, even pure nonsense.
Fitzgerald remembers the song 'Izzy Izzy Ahh.'
"She's just making up words!," she says, but it doesn't come off as unconventional just for the sake of it. It's like she's saying to her fans: "I want to draw you into my orbit and into my planet of off-the-wall, oddball, unexpected music."
Fitzgerald hears Elliott's playfulness all over the rap of today. "She has her fingerprints on so many careers, not just the 'female rap' of today, but rap at large. So much of what is possible today is because of Missy being, you know, one of one."
"Her ability to not depend on what everybody else is doing has made her one of hip-hop's most revered acts."
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Transcript
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In the 1990s, many of the women in rap videos were skinny and scantily clad, but Missy Elliott took a different approach. In her first solo music video, she wore a comically large black bodysuit inflated like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloon. You want curves? Here are your curves. And the music that she and her partner Timbaland produced was unlike anything out there. Cultural critic Kiana Fitzgerald is looking back at a few of hip-hop's game changing moments. And today, it's Missy Elliott's 1997 debut album, "Supa Dupa Fly"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE RAIN (SUPA DUPA FLY)")
MISSY ELLIOTT: (Rapping) Me? I'm super fly, super-duper fly, super-duper fly.
KIANA FITZGERALD, BYLINE: When "The Rain" video came out and she was in the inflatable patent leather suit, it was like, what is going on here? Like, who is this woman and where did she come from? As, you know, a Black woman of a specific size, I had never seen anything like it. She's made a lot of things possible just with her mere presence. And I think that really speaks to how off the wall she and Timbaland were. They were just two, you know, very talented, albeit goofy people who were able to come together and say - you know what? - what is everybody doing and how can we not do that?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE RAIN (SUPA DUPA FLY)")
ELLIOTT: (Rapping) Beep, beep. Who got the keys to the jeep? Vroom. I'm driving to the beach, top down, loud sound. See my peeps, give them pounds. Now look who it be. It be me, me, me and Timothy.
FITZGERALD: Before Missy Elliott, hip-hop wasn't the most friendly place for women rappers. You know, we had Lil Kim, Foxy Brown. We had artists that were very popular. But honestly, a lot of their material was focused on, you know, sex, explicit things. They didn't really have much opportunity to exist outside of that. Missy presented herself to the world exactly as she was, a quirky, futuristic feminist who, you know, if she was talking about sex, she did it in a very, like, coquettish, covert way.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IZZY IZZY AHH")
ELLIOTT: (Rapping) You know how I is, so freaking hot that I siz'. Gee whiz. Get my clothes tailored like I'm Liz.
FITZGERALD: She loves to inject humor into her work. There's a song called "Izzy Izzy Ahh." And she's just making up words (laughter), having a good time. And we're like, oh, yeah, I don't know what she's saying, but it sounds good. This is a bop. I like this.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IZZY IZZY AHH")
ELLIOTT: (Rapping) Izzy, izzy, ahh, zizah, zizah, zah (ph). Hard [expletive] be talking like they rah-rah. Blizzy, blizzy, blah, zablah, zablahzay (ph). None of y'all fools ain't got [expletive] on me.
FITZGERALD: That's the kind of world that she lives in. It's not like, you know, I'm just going to be unconventional for the sake of doing it. I'm going to be unconventional because I want to draw you into my orbit and into my planet of off the wall, oddball, unexpected music.
(SOUNDBITE OF MISSY ELLIOTT AND DA BRAT SONG, "SOCK IT 2 ME")
FITZGERALD: She has her fingerprint on so many careers, from a Drake to Ludacris, you know, who is both musically and visually inspired by Missy Elliott. A lot of not just the quote-unquote "female rap" of today, but rap at large is because of Missy being, you know, one of one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOCK IT 2 ME")
ELLIOTT: (Singing) I was looking for affection.
FADEL: That was Kiana Fitzgerald. Her new book is called "Ode To Hip-Hop: 50 Albums That Define 50 Years Of Trailblazing Music." She'll break down another album next week. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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