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Virginia's singer-rapper-songwriter Melissa "Missy" Elliott and Virginia's
producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley proved to be a lethal combination.
Elliott's sultry vocals, gymnastic raps and female-centric lyrics
coupled with Timbaland's stuttering, digital grooves created a mood
that was simultaneously sensitive, confrontational, hedonistic, stark
and futuristic
on Supa Dupa Fly (1997), containing The Rain.
Da Real World (1999) was artistically inferior, but spawned two
massive hits: She's a Bitch and Hot Boyz.
The duo veered towards a format that mixed freely
intimate ballads, dancefloor tracks and angry raps.
So Addictive (2001) created an influential archetype,
while continuing the string of hits with Get Ur Freak On and One Minute Man,
Under Construction (2002), which is basically a concept on the
relationship between the sexes, spawned two more hits,
Work It and Gossip Folks.
This Is Not A Test (2003) was the first major disappointment of her
career.
The Cookbook (Atlantic, 2005) featured guests Slick Rick (Irresistible Delicious), M.I.A., Neptunes, Mary J. Blige and many others, but Timbaland produced only two songs.
Lose Control,
Meltdown,
Rich Harrison's Can't Stop,
the Neptunes' On & On,
Timbaland's Joy
are background party tunes that recycle cliches of contemporary productions.
By then, she had become the best-selling female rapper of all time.
Other than two songs for a film soundtrack, Ching-a-Ling (2008) and
Shake Your Pom Pom (2008), she limited herself at composing and
producing for other artists. Notable songs crafted by her include:
Fantasia's Free Yourself (2005),
Keyshia Cole's Let It Go (2007),
Jazmine Sullivan's Need U Bad (2008),
Monica's Everything to Me (2010),
Jazmine Sullivan's Holding You Down (Goin' In Circles) (2010).
She finally released two singles towards the end of the decade:
WTF (Where They From) (2015) and
I'm Better (2017).
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