Da Real World

by

Missy Elliott

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I am very impressed with Missy Elliott, especially with her never ending creativity and sense of beat. She is one of the most talented women in the industry. She sings, she produces, she raps, she writes, she does it all! Despite her collaborations with so many other people and the numerous hits by other artists she is accredited to being part of, she still glistens with her own personal work. This is one of few albums that I have that I enjoy almost all the songs. Another album you should check out is the late Aaliyah's One In A Million (Missy and Timbaland produced much of the album).

TRACK LISTING AND CRITIQUE

2. Beat Biters - GOOD SONG

3. Busa Rhyme (featuring Eminem)- GOOD SONG with a great beat

4. All N My Grill (featuring Big Boi of Outcast and Nicole) - SINGLE and great song

5. Dangerous Mouths (featuring Redman) - OKAY SONG, but I like

Missy's parts in the song more than Redman's.

6. Hot Boyz (featuring Lil' Mo) - SINGLE, awesome song! Everyone knows the remix of this song featuring Eve, Lil' Mo, and Q-Tip.

7. You Don't Know (featuring Lil' Mo) - EXCELLENT SONG!!! My favorite song off the album! It has everything great vocals and great rapping by both Missy and Lil' Mo.

8. Mr. D.J. (featuring Lady Saw) - GOOD SONG

10. Stickin' Chickens (featuring Da Brat and Aaliyah) - EXCELLENT SONG!!! My second favorite song! Da Brat's rapping and Aaliyah's vocals are off the hook.

11. Smooth Chick - PRETTY GOOD SONG

12. We Did It - GOOD SONG, Missy does a good job!

14. She's A B... - SINGLE, great song! I like Missy's rapping a lot!

15. U Can't Resist (featuring Juvenile & B.G.) - PRETTY GOOD SONG

16. Crazy Feelings (featuring Beyonce of Destiny's Child) - VERY VERY NICE SONG, my third favorite song, the ballads are so pretty.

When "Supadupa..." dropped, its effect was sweeping and powerful. The world was brought a tough yet vulnerable singer/mc and a drop-step, staccato style of futuristic beats and loops. Missy is a welcome blast of fresh air, because she was honest, multi-talented, inventive, and she did not look like the b-girl/singer template. She proved that a female hip-hop/pop star did not need to be slim and fine nor absurdly rugged and thuggish. In addition, her videos were about the most visually engaging works of the decade. However, there are two things troubling about this album. 1.) With the "Da Real World", we have nice, bouncy, catchy beats...but we have lyrics that are often senseless. Missy rhymes quite abit about "money, clothes", ...etc. Word to Missy--"We know you're rich, now! Why are asking fellas to buy you things? You're can more than do for yourself." Crass materialism undermines hip-hop's power and focus, and, on this album, we get ridiculous, materialistic drivel in buckets. 2.) Missy's skills complement different types of artists. On this album, she partners up with Redman, Da Brat, Eminem, et. al. In fact, there are few songs where she does not perform a duet--which begs the question, can she not stand on her own? Missy is a talent, but this album comes woefully short of the impact and grace of the debut.