The Supa Dupa Fly Legacy of Missy Elliott

Episode Transcript

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[00:00:30] Welcome to Queue Points Podcast

DJ Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel.

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my government as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III. What's happening, folks?

DJ Sir Daniel: This is not a test. It's not a recording.

Jay Ray: did there.

DJ Sir Daniel: You saw that? Thank you. I liked it too. That was right off the top of my head. Also, this is live. Jay Ray, we have not been live. In some weeks now,

[00:01:01] Recent Travels and Events

Jay Ray: Yeah, we have been, uh, so we had, uh, I was traveling for my family reunion. So we, uh, pre recorded that show, by the way, shout out to Kelvin Watson. If you have not heard our libraries and literacy show, y'all need to go back and watch that because that joint is full of gems. Um, it also kicks off our queue up the vote.

And then of course, last week. We were in Atlanta for CMP's James Baldwin, and then we went to Brooklyn. So we've been on the road.

DJ Sir Daniel: listen, so I know y'all saw the, um, the recap that we did while we were in Brooklyn at the star bar. And there was no exaggeration. I was fried. I was so, I don't think I've been so exhausted in my life, but that was just a taste. of what tour life is going to be for Queue Points podcast. And so, you know, the, it's going to be hotels and planes, trains, and automobiles.

The hotel was not glamorous by any means. It was very no frills, but you know what? I love the experience. We had a great time. Um, Catching up with the folks at Banjee Boombox, shout out to DJ Likwuid, shout out to DJ Mary Mac, and all the fam that we got to meet in person, all the connections that we made.

It was truly, truly an awesome event. Well, it was truly an awesome time to spend with you. As you all know now, the event didn't take place, because it got rained out. I mean, Mother Nature had her own, um, had her own plans for that day. But luckily enough, of course, um, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, uh, DJ Likwuid is working behind the scenes now on setting up the new date for Banjee Boombox.

So stay tuned for all of that. Of course, you know, Queue Points being the, um, Media partners that we are will let you know exactly when that's going to happen next, but Jay Ray, um, let the people know what exactly they can do to get t shirts like what they saw us wearing in the, um, in the clips and the pictures from our wild weekend in Brooklyn.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

[00:03:20] Merchandise and Support

Jay Ray: So, first of all, thank you all so much for tuning in. If you can hear our voices, see our faces, we really appreciate you. So, to get that gear, you need to visit our store. First and foremost, that's store. cuepoints. com Store. cuepoints. com has a whole bunch of stuff. We have bags, we have shirts, we have mugs.

We have everything that you need to be fresh. So summer is winding down. We know y'all are finishing up your, your parties for the end of the summer. If you want to have something fresh for your labor day barbecue, you need to go on over to the QPoint store and pick you up something. We got something for everybody over there.

So, as I mentioned, you can hear us, you can see us. This is absolutely free. The fact that you are tuning into the show, the fact that you are interacting with us, by the way, shout out to those folks that are already tuned in. Definitely. Let us know where you're tuning in from, but the fact that you're tuned in is free.

That is. is incredibly important. So thank you so much for doing that. You can do us a solid by sharing the show with your friends. If you enjoy Queue Points, share it with your friends, your family, your colleagues, because if you like it, chances are they will like it. And we just really appreciate y'all visit our website, Queue Points.

com, um, where you can sign up for our newsletter and read our blog and do all kinds of other stuff over there. Thank y'all.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yes. Thank you very much. Thank you. Because we know that Queue Points podcast is so addictive and we're really just. We're, we're super duper fly. I'm not, you know, I'm not going to hide that fact.

[00:04:55] Celebrating Missy Elliott's Legacy

DJ Sir Daniel: Um, again, you know, it's just a recipe in our cookbook of the way we put together the shows and just do awesome podcasts, like the one we are doing this episode, where we are going to celebrate the legacy of, uh, I, I can't stress it enough intergenerational excellence.

just a pioneer of visionary. Um, you know, she's down to earth because we all live in the real world. And she's but she's her mind is out of space at the same time. And I'm trying to think that I'm missing you.

Jay Ray: you got all the, uh, did you do you didn't do it? Okay.

DJ Sir Daniel: here it comes. So,

Jay Ray: You're like nope. There's one more. I got it

DJ Sir Daniel: you know, every day, Every day we live our lives, putting this podcast together. It's always under construction. So today is no, this episode is no different because Jay Ray, we want to give flowers up and give it up to the one and only Missy misdemeanor, Elliot,

Jay Ray: Yes so Yes to all of that and I and I I do I would like to say something to the people Listening and tuning in sir. Daniel because I just want y'all to to know We can't possibly cover everything associated with literally be here all night and into tomorrow, breaking down all of the things. So what? We will be doing during this conversation is contextualizing her work, um, and kind of the landscape because she's literally Sir Daniel, like shifted the way.

Hip hop as a musical form moves and coming into the game, like hip hop was already 20 years old. By the time Missy showed up as a singer, you know what I'm saying? And then shifted everything. So, um, that's what we're going to be talking about. So I just wanted to let y'all know y'all gonna be like, y'all ain't not gonna talk about all the stuff she wrote and all this stuff, baby.

How are we going to talk about all of that? How are we going to talk about it?

DJ Sir Daniel: Like Jay Ray said, manager expectations. We are going to, we're going to pinpoint some very specific things and have some specific discussion around them, but Jay Ray, you're absolutely right.

[00:07:37] Missy Elliott's Early Career

DJ Sir Daniel: We've been talking about doing a Missy episode for a minute, and I think it all started on because of Friday, November 4th, in 2023, when Missy Elliott became the first woman.

Inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame for her impact as a hip hop performer phenomenon and an overall titan of black music creativity. She was, think about that in the 50 plus years of hip hop, cause that's what we were celebrating last year. No other woman, no woman, behind the mic, behind the scenes, none of that, no woman has been, has received that accolade in the realm of hip hop until Missy, Mr.

Mina Elliott, and we have our own theories of Why that is, or, you know, and maybe it'll come up in the discussion that we're having on this particular episode, but let me just run it down. Just a quick history of Missy for you all, for those who don't know. And if, if you don't know this kind of stuff, then you're not a real fan, but But Missy Elliot is straight out of Portsmouth, Virginia, uh, which is also home of your favorites, the N.

E. R. D., N. E. R. D., um, uh, Those Brothers, like they, when you think, I don't know what's in the water in Virginia.

Jay Ray: in the water in Virginia.

DJ Sir Daniel: In Virginia, Teddy Riley,

Jay Ray: Yep.

DJ Sir Daniel: Teddy Riley is really out of Virginia also. So there's something about Virginia and the water that, um, just brings something, something different to the musical landscape.

But in 1988. Um, Missy and some friends started a group called, an all girl group called Faze, which later on became Sista, and then she joined forces with her classmates Timbaland and Magoo, they all went to school together, and they started recording demos, and just doing stuff that, burgeoning talent does.

They get in the studio, they write songs, they produce demos. Well, in that same, in 1988, around that year, um, Sista joined Devante Swing's Swing Mob and brought along, of course, Timbaland Magoo, but also in Swing Mob, host, like I said, by Devante of Jodeci, if I didn't mention that, um, you had Genuine in the camp.

You had Tweet in the camp. I mean, these are heavy hitters now, but they all started together in that, that, that music, that environment of the swing mob. The basement where all they did was eat, sleep and breathe music. So of course, something wonderful was going to come out of that. And so, uh, April, 1993, this is a very pivotal year and it's something happens in April of 1993, that will kind of color and shade Mrs.

music industry experience. She gets credit for writing and performing, um, along with Raven Simone or Raven Simone's debut single. That's what little girls are made of. Some of y'all remember that cause she was, you know, she had on the baggy baggy clothes and it's Raven Simone. Yes. She's doing the bogle with her fingers.

She's in a Jeep that she can't drive.

Jay Ray: Right,

DJ Sir Daniel: So speaking of the Jeep that she can't drive, the person driving the Jeep. is singing Missy Elliott's part and lip

Jay Ray: and we love that and we love that person

DJ Sir Daniel: We love that person. That person is actually Monica Payne of, of the girls fame. Um, some of you, if you, if you are real true, true schooler and know your R and B history, you know about Monica Payne and her, her stint with the girls, as well as the group, Terry and Monica.

And then she also became a industry. Inside her after that working, she still works in the music industry. So anyway, that happened because Misty Elliott was not invited to be in the video. And of course, we're going to discuss why she was not invited in that video later on, but I'm sure you could figure out why.

So that goes on. She insists to get their own record deal and they released their album in September of 1994. Um, I think we all know the, the, the song, the joint with Craig Mack, um, brand new that came out of that. And so, and we, all of us were like, who is this ficky, ficky girl? Who is that? You know, she starts to, That's where we start to see glimpses of the brilliance of Missy in this girl group and we're like, who is she?

And then, you know, they kind of fade away after that. And I think Missy at this point is like, I don't want to be a performer, but the iconic record industry executive Sylvia Roan makes, uh, offers Missy Elliot a deal that she cannot refuse. She is begging Missy to please sign a deal to be a solo recording act.

Missy's like, ah, I'm cool on that. I don't really feel, you know, I don't, I don't want to be a friend. And I, we have theories about why she possibly didn't want to do that either. But, um, Sylvia Roan is like. I'll get, I'll, I'll sweeten the deal and I will give you a record label, an imprint on the Atlantic, excuse me, the Electra under the Electra umbrella, uh, which becomes Gold Mine Records.

And from that point on, we start to see this magnificent, this flourishing, um, music. and artistry come from this one woman along with her super friends, which is what her collective is called. And Jay Ray, in only the amount of time that she's been an artist, she's only released six albums.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

DJ Sir Daniel: And we're going to talk about that, but she's on that amount of time.

She's won every ASCAP songwriter award that she was nominated for. She's won it. Um, she's got all the accolades that you can think of. And in 2019, she was actually admitted into the songwriters hall of fame. So that is just to bring you up to speed on what kind of beast Missy Elliot is.

Jay Ray: Yes.

[00:14:31] Missy Elliott's Breakthrough and Impact

Jay Ray: Uh, a couple of things that I want to, to note as well for folks, if folks go back and listen to Sister's Brand New, you can hear what Timbaland and Missy will end up doing. So You know, the interesting thing about that record too, is brand new, didn't become a thing. The label didn't know what to do with it.

Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. So, you know what happens back then? Like they'll, they'll put it away and dot, dot, dot, all of that happens. But now when you go back and listen to it, you realize, Oh, this didn't because I remember sister and I remember brand new. And I remember that I liked it because it was like, Devontae affiliated and I was like a huge Jodeci fan at the time But I also can admit I don't think I understood it.

Now when I listen to that song I'm like, oh I completely get what they were doing and then you have Missy Elliott as a heavyset black woman on leads Leading the group there was so many different. So you have the the the the the sounds as Part of the beat, you know that you know that are kind of beatboxing as part of the beat You have this heavyset black woman singing this group through, right?

Dark skin, a heavyset, dark skin, black woman

DJ Sir Daniel: that. Yes. Which is

Jay Ray: this group

DJ Sir Daniel: of at that time.

Jay Ray: at that time. Right? So, but now when you go back and you listen to that, you hear the determination because you know, one of the things that get ready for this show that I realized Sir, Daniel is. Many people would try to conform. Missy did not try to be what the industry was at the time.

Like she was always like light years ahead of what people were doing. That's why those songs. So when we listen to Sista now it still sounds like the future.

DJ Sir Daniel: It does and shout out to and rest in peace to Craig Mack who also made a cameo on brand new single Um who was also, you know ahead of his time as well And you're right those songs still hold up to this day and Jay Ray I got we got to let the audience know that the The reason or not the reason, but my reignited, um, affinity for this topic of Missy Elliott got, got stoked up again because I recently went to the out of this world concert. I first of all shout out to my best friend Darrell. took me as a early birthday present You know, shout out to best friends that you know that come through like that. And we were down on the floor. As you can see, we

Jay Ray: Look at

DJ Sir Daniel: the floor, front row, close. It, the tour, of course, features Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, and Sp Shout out to Busta and Spliffstar.

Like, talk about seasoned showmanship, and their family and their friends at the same time, and it comes across on stage. Just the two of them, and they rocked it. They absolutely rocked it. And of course, Ciara. doing her thing, who has grown as a performer.

[00:18:13] Missy Elliott's Visual and Performance Artistry

DJ Sir Daniel: And, but the piece de resistance that Missy Elliott, the combination of the theatrics, there was a, if you haven't seen it, I'm sorry, spoiler alert, but there's an ongoing theme of the wizard of Oz and the, the, the dancing, the visuals, because Is a visual artist.

There's a lot of, um, things being raised in the air and people flying around. It was, I agree with you, Kiriakos in the chat. It was the absolute best concert I have been to in a long time. I am not afraid to, to admit, I started, I started crying a little bit. During because I was like, I was sitting there just thinking about seeing this girl being introduced to this girl when I was 19 years old and thinking, you know, maybe this is just another flash in the pan because you just didn't know a lot of groups came and went.

In the early nineties, right? But here is this grown woman who celebrated her 53rd birthday last month. Out on stage, giving a hundred percent with rapping, singing, choreography, remembering where the marks are. Cause she's got to get on this floating platform and rap schools from the sky. It made me think of. I had those flashes of we've seen Beyonce flying through the air on on Renee during the Renaissance, but this part right here where she's floating on the platform

Jay Ray: Yeah,

DJ Sir Daniel: about Tina Turner.

Jay Ray: yeah,

DJ Sir Daniel: It made me remember Tina Turner and that moment where Tina was standing on that crane out amongst those thousands of people with nothing, um, holding onto her, no harness or anything, just pure guts and singing her brains out.

Missy is carrying on that tradition. At 53 years old, mind you, which is you supposed to be old and washed up at 53. But no, sis came back around and sold out the arena. And she has been selling out arenas across the country since the beginning of this tour.

Jay Ray: so a couple of things the The fact that this is her first, um, headlining tour

DJ Sir Daniel: Mhm.

Jay Ray: is crazy because I didn't realize that until obviously they started doing the promo. So this is her first headlining tour. I caught a piece of, uh, an interview that she did for like CBS or ABC or one of the people. This is what.

Um, came across and Sir Daniel, I loved that you, um, were like, let's call this the ministry of Missy Elliott, because I feel like what Missy was saying God is the leader of this thing. Like the reason why this is going the way that it is going is because it's already anointed before we go in the room.

So there is a ministry to this. that she is able to lean into. So that's one thing. The other thing that was apparent in that interview, because the interviewer asked her who is Missy Elliot and she, without missing a beat was like, Missy Elliot is a genius, is a visionary, is, but also is very humble and very shy.

And I'm like, she is fine. Fully aware of who she is and what her worth is and you can, and that's not, you know, there are so many people running around here talking about that they geniuses Missy has been showing us her genius for more than 30 years. So she can sit in that seat and say, no, like, look at what I've done.

DJ Sir Daniel: She's absolutely the real deal. And I don't want to negate the fact that this is a woman who has suffered with Crohn's disease for years. She is at a point in her life where she, what she did was she stepped back and she took care of herself. And she's got, you know, like most of us, she's battled her weight for most of her adult life.

Now she's at a place where she's comfortable in her body. And she was able to, and she's able to get on stage and give it a hundred percent. I mean, like we like to say all the time running circles around a lot of these new acts. It's not a joke. It is not a joke. I really want people. I really want aspiring artists to look at this woman and look at her work ethic and look at what it takes to actually entertain people.

And you can't, now you might not be able to do it on her level because of course this is 30 years of work. She's got, she's got the, you know, the, the, the flash and the, and the Pumbaa to give to us because that's 30 years of work. But you can build up to that if you're serious about it.

[00:23:42] Missy Elliott's Influence and Recognition

DJ Sir Daniel: If you're serious about your artistry and who you are and as a person in this, in this, um, industry of music and artistry of music, but you know what, um, you did, you mentioned something earlier when talking about Missy, um, fronting the band's sister as a, Thick up, chunky, whatever you want to call her, dark skin, black girl.

Those are three things that really don't. A lot of people that are the powers that be, especially back then, the gatekeepers and the people who sold images. Oh, they weren't having that dark skin and fat. Oh no, we can't do anything with that. Now, if you're super talented, what they will do, Jay Ray, is they will, you know, you know what they do.

They will, they will, they'll get you to sing and they'll, they'll make an album and all of that. But when it comes to promoting you, you're only going to get these pictures, these like

Jay Ray: gonna be from here.

DJ Sir Daniel: from the neck up and that's it. They're not showing your body. They don't care about your body. They may or may not have you in the music video

Jay Ray: Yo own damn music video.

DJ Sir Daniel: In your own music video and the industry is just notorious for that it was notorious for that and so just I think we need to take time to to discuss the the physicality of being Missy Elliott and what comes along with that with hair like when we, first of all, Missy, when she was a sister, they had the typical black girl slicked down edges with the, with the fake, um, which was cute, which was, um, and you form.

So it made sense and it also became their logo because their local had the, um, the phone, the ponytail with the swoop in the back, but that's, that's such a black.

Jay Ray: It

DJ Sir Daniel: thing. Seriously, that's such a black girl thing. And then when she came out again on her own, she came out with finger waves and we, and Jay Ray finger waves weren't necessarily celebrated, especially outside of the South. And outside of the East Coast, finger waves weren't always necessarily celebrated. It meant you had short hair. It meant you had hair long enough to do anything with. And again, she's a big girl.

Jay Ray: Right! So, there's a lot of things, so you, you said something earlier and I think this is the perfect time to bring it in. Um, I can't imagine what Missy knowing what the industry was like, her existing in her body and then people telling her, no, I need you to be out front. it almost in a lot of ways, I'm sure colored her rhyme style because she's like, I have to make the rhyme so big.

So then people are paying attention to that and less attention to like me, like really doing that because you are correct at the time. When missy when so when we finally get missy again, um, The first time I remember seeing her again was gina thompson the remix And then we get the he he he how he and then it's like Wait a minute and I heard and I remember hearing that on the radio Before I saw the video so and then when I saw the video i'm like Ain't that that girl that was singing in that sister song a few years ago You I didn't know she rapped, right?

So, and then seeing that it's Missy, and of course she got like a jersey on or whatever. It was hip

DJ Sir Daniel: Tracksuit.

Jay Ray: it was like a tracksuit, doing, you know, in the 90s, whatever. The confidence of the way she had to show up. The confidence that she displayed in how she showed up. Um, and the talent of it, it was so, it was like, okay, this is different.

Busta had already been doing his vert, his thing. Right. So we were about to get Wuha. It either had come out or it was coming. Um, so she was almost like the, the woman version of that. And him in so many ways, right, having to overcome, um, a lot of that as well, like in terms of look stuff and what people, what hip hop was moving to, um, I feel like they in so many ways were kind of walking this parallel path of like, in order to stand out and be taken seriously, we have to do something different.

And. I do want to bring in this statement from Kiriakos because I think this is interesting. Um, what Kiriakos in the chat in YouTube, shout out to Kiriakos, shout out to Trey, shout out to, um, Leah, Leah Barnes has a great podcast called In The Mix With Leah B. She's over on Instagram. She shouted us out a second ago, but Kiriakos said, Missy really studied Michael Jackson and built upon that in my opinion.

Kiriakos, I'm curious. I would love for you to expand on that in the chat. Um, but that's a really interesting thing. Um, because it was very clear where, why I thought that was interesting is it was really clear that Missy studied and looking at the concert, she studied, uh, the greats. And was like, I have to be that.

So I have to be unique. I have to be different. I have to have my own style and I have to lean into it.

DJ Sir Daniel: So one of the stories that's always stuck with me about Missy is that she's an only child and that's something that I immediately, um, immediately resonated with me because I'm also an only child, but, um, she tells a story of creating an audience of her dolls and performing for them.

Jay Ray: That's

DJ Sir Daniel: And so, and so in that I get it, it became all too clear to me.

It was like, she, she has been visualizing these moments since she was a child. And so it doesn't surprise me that, um, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, very visual artists are people that she, she, um, likens herself to. And that she studied because she had a lot of time to do that. And as a single, as an only child, you really, your imagination is truly your best friend.

And so that's why she's out of this world for lack of a better term. But I kind of, I want to go back really quickly. There's a point that I don't want to miss shout out to Sylvia Roan because Sylvia Roan is an executive in this industry. She's also a black woman. And so. I, I'm assuming that Sylvia obviously knew what Missy looked like and said, you, you absolutely have to be in front.

You absolutely have to be a solo artist because there are girls growing up who will look like you and need to see you. And need to see you be the front woman of whatever it is that you're doing. They absolutely need to see you. And so shout out to Sylvia Roan for possibly at that point, seeing something in Missy that Missy couldn't see.

Cause a lot of times we, it takes somebody on the outside looking at us to tell us. No, you're great. You need to stop playing the back and playing yourself. Down, you need to be upfront. And so I think after she unlocked that and broke the barrier, it broke out of that. Um, mindset of what I should look like, what a black woman should look like and move forward.

Continue pushing the envelope because, and we're going to talk about she's a bitch in, um, a little bit more, but one of the things I remember specifically was when she's a bitch came out, she was actually, um, ridiculed for the moment where she's because she's in complete black face and painted black bald.

And this very kind of harsh, um, very strong image of, but she's absolutely a woman with diamond studying her face and everything and the studs and just how people were kind of, they were using terms like cyber mammy to describe Missy Elliott. Yes. Because she was, because she was animated because she was, she danced and she did all of those things and she smiled, they were calling her a cyber mammy, but what she was doing to your point, I believe, is she was kind of, she knows what she looks like, but she's like, I have got to really entertain you all and I have do whatever it takes to really entertain you and I'm doing it all, I'm not just a singer, I can rap, I I can sing.

I can beatbox. And then on top of that, I can, I can do an eight count. And then what y'all don't know is I'm writing all these songs for these up and coming artists.

Jay Ray: Um, I think this is a good place. Yes to all of that. And I think this is a good place before I do that. The diamonds on the eyebrow. You know, when I, when I immediately saw that I thought of Nina Simone who used to do that. And I saw that as a callback. I don't know if Missy has ever said that, but I saw that as a callback to also Nina Simone.

But you mentioned something earlier, I know we're about to talk about, uh, the landing of Super Duper Fly, which we'll get to in a second. You mentioned this earlier and it's so important. There are two women, there are three women, it's really four, in music whose hair has never been out of place. Missy Elliott is one of them girls.

DJ Sir Daniel: Absolutely.

Jay Ray: Missy Elliot has never had a bad hair day. Show it to me. If you, if you, if she has, I need you to show me cause Missy Misdemeanor Elliot ain't never had one.

DJ Sir Daniel: She's going to give you a nasty swoop bang over one of her eyes. She's going to give you a bob. She's going to, um, in the early two thousands, when those flip wigs were really, she's going to give that to you. But you're absolutely right. Missy Elliott would never give you a bad hair day. Her, Dana Owens, they all had, I

Jay Ray: Medina Owens has never had a

DJ Sir Daniel: had a bad hair day.

Those are the queens of the hype hair covers. They are hype hair majesty. But no, you are absolutely right.

[00:35:03] The Iconic Super Duper Fly Album

DJ Sir Daniel: All of that plays into, and that reminds me, because the Super Duper Fly album cover, she's rocking, first of all, first of all, she was always fly, literally. Like she had custom made baseball jersey with the fly on it on the super duper fly album cover She's got the swoop bang and um But on top of that so the album we've got a great visual of her

Jay Ray: Yep. Uh huh.

DJ Sir Daniel: but then when we get into the album When we get into the album We're already given. I can't stand the rain, which is already blowing our minds Visually, the sound is different. Hype Williams. We're introduced to Hype Williams.

Jay Ray: She's like she's okay. Okay, we're gonna talk about so sir, Daniel. I remember when So you get the intro right you get the album We got to listen to cuz back then kids gather around you would get that out You would get the CD or the cassette whatever you were getting. It's 97 so it could be either or You would pop that joint in if you was in the car, you would play it in the car, wherever.

CD, CD, CD man, whatever. I remember the intro. Didn't surprise me. Busta Rhymes intro. Yeah, that makes sense. And then, Miss C,

DJ Sir Daniel: Oh,

Jay Ray: when that, I said, oh, is this, yo, hit

DJ Sir Daniel: Oh, it's the Q to the D to

Jay Ray: to the

DJ Sir Daniel: double

Jay Ray: E,

[00:36:41] Missy's Debut Album: A Bold Start

DJ Sir Daniel: and

Jay Ray: it lovely, and it don't stop, bruh, I was like, oh, this is what we're doing. This is track one.

DJ Sir Daniel: Out the box. First of all, you got, first of all, this is Missy's. Solo album, the first track on Missy's solo album, but she has little Kim open it up for her, which means that Missy's not scared to share the spotlight with a bad bitch. She's like, okay, Kim has already been out here. Kim has already killed the scene, has already carved the lane out for herself.

And on top of that, they're friends.

[00:37:19] Female Rappers Unite: Missy's Collaborations

DJ Sir Daniel: And so she, of course, she's going to, uh, Do you realize how many of the hottest female rappers of the time were on that album? I mean, we've got Kim and we've got Da Brat on that album. I'm trying to think of who else was,

Jay Ray: was a bunch of them in the videos was mocha on this one. I think mocha showed up on the second album. Yeah, I'm looking mocha showed up on.

DJ Sir Daniel: a remix. She showed up on a

Jay Ray: up on a remix. She showed up on a hit him with the heat remix. Yep

DJ Sir Daniel: we see is, is that Missy is already grabbing her girls by the hand. And bringing them along for the fun. Yes, you're right. In the super duper fly video, Kim was in the video. Yo yo was in the video. There was like a lot of cameos of people that were like, Oh, okay.

Mrs. Cool with everybody. This is good. You know, she's got people that want to be in the video, which made it even more special. But yes, you're absolutely right. Herb, um, kicking it off with hitting with the he and letting, um, little Kim open up, cracking it open with, uh, I mean, just, uh, that rhyme, if you, that was one of the first things that you memorized off of that album is that verse because it is, it kills.

And then we get socket to me. It's

Jay Ray: then we get socket to me then you get the rain then you get beat me 9 1 1 past the bluntness coming Friendly skies with genuine is coming right best friends with it There's so many joints on this record

DJ Sir Daniel: crazy. Released it released 15th of 1997. Seven kids.

Jay Ray: Man,

DJ Sir Daniel: years.

Jay Ray: 27 years and what's crazy about this record is it still sounds fresh.

[00:39:13] Missy's Timeless Sound and Influence

Jay Ray: So something you said earlier, something you said on a previous show, rather, I think is really important now and you, you echoed this on this show.

We need artists. Commercial artists today like a missy so that young girls like when you're talking about the girl who's on the reality show So that they can look to and be able to like see what's possible Um, I think Lizzo is Was trying to do that and it didn't kind of, it's not Missy, you know what I'm saying?

What Lizzo was doing is not, what Lizzo was doing is fine. It's just not what Missy was doing.

[00:39:57] The Need for More Missys and Lizzos

Jay Ray: I think the point I'm making is we need more Lizzo's. We need more Missy's. We need more of these women occupying the space in the commercial space. Um, and not being boxed in to your point, Sylvia Roan. Had to figure out or had to be like this is different It sounds like nothing that anyone else is doing and Sylvia clearly was like I can sell it You know what I'm saying?

We could sell this. We need more people taking chances because I do think that Missy was like Willing to go so far that you had to be willing to take a chance And so this record was like one big chance of like, this is either going to work or it is not. And it worked.

DJ Sir Daniel: Clearly it did. It worked. And to your point about Lizzo, I think what I think Lizzo lives in the legacy of, of Misty Elliot, she's continuing it. Because what you were going to get from a Missy Elliot is, like I said earlier, is like Missy understood the.

[00:41:15] Missy's Showmanship and Beatboxing Legacy

DJ Sir Daniel: The importance of showmanship

Jay Ray: Mm hmm.

DJ Sir Daniel: early on, we saw that we saw that she was not afraid to, to go all out to, for an image, if it meant a costume that was out of the ordinary, if it meant, um, being painted up like a Barbie doll and moving yourself mechanically to the beat, mind you, man, moving yourself to the beat and beat boxing.

Like, let's not, let's hold it real quickly right there. There's not a lot of women that carried on the, the, the, the legacy of beatboxing like, um, Missy. You had, you know, baby, baby D of course was part of JJ fad. She does her beatbox. Um, K Def, um, from the, Oh God, what was the name of that song? I can't, it was from back in the eighties, but she was beatboxing on that.

But beatboxing is a hip hop tradition. It's a hip hop tradition that sometimes gets left by the wayside because a lot of people don't take it seriously because there was a kind of a comic aspect to it. There's something funny about it. You know, of course we have the human beat box. We got Dougie Fresh, but Missy including sound effects in her rhymes and her rhyme schemes and whatnot was just like something that typically other women weren't doing and she was like, nah, I got to really Push myself and push my pen and push my showmanship to another level, because there's a lot riding on this.

A lot of people, I've got a lot riding on this. And so yeah, to your point about that, but you know, and dancing.

[00:43:02] Missy's Dance and Performance Legacy

DJ Sir Daniel: Now, and this is in the beginning where she would, like we said, she was, she was a heavyset girl, but she kept up. She had, she was working with Fatima, hi hat, all those choreographers and stylists, but she kept up.

She did not. I don't think she, she, I've never said, Oh, I'm just going to sit back and let the dancers move. No, I'm going to be in a part of this ensemble, which was very clear during the con the concert.

Jay Ray: Well, and I think to that point, so we talk about, uh, we talk about beatboxing, um, as you know, that's just such a core element. You're absolutely right. We leave it behind. But Missy also, respects the importance of the dancers. It's very much like what Janet Jackson does. Like, it's very clear that she understands that part of hip hop tradition is you have like a, you have like a DJ person, you have like an MC and then you have dancers.

Right. And as an MC, I got to get it on the dance routine because that's part of the show. Right. Um, And I want, okay, another lesson gather around more MCs need to do that today. More dudes need to do that today. Back at, we talked about this a gajillion times on the show. Big Daddy Kane was dry. Big Daddy Kane was doing full out choreography, scooping scrap at Big Daddy Kane.

They was doing the dip and the throw and the whatever. They can't do none of that now. Cause you know, they're

DJ Sir Daniel: Because they're older. Yes. They're seasoned.

Jay Ray: but I think that idea of Incorporating all the elements of hip hop that Missy could do. Um, and I think I said this as we were preparing for this show. It was so easy to forget that Missy was a rapper too, even though she rapped all the time, it just always seemed to me that she like rose.

Like she did like so many things that it would be like, so when she would end up on like top 10 rapper laptop, 10 women MCs of all time, you'd be like, Oh yeah, that makes sense. Missy does rap too, but she also sings and she also writes and she also dances. She also like visualizes all of this. stuff. And, um, she just transcends.

So, um, which of course, as we move through the albums, I will definitely talk about she's a bitch, which is from the second album, the real world. But I also remember, um, crossing over. So when Miss E so addictive came out, Um, what was it?

[00:45:46] Missy's Crossover Success

Jay Ray: Uh, uh, get your freak on my God in heaven. That song. I never have to hear that song again.

Love you, Missy. Every white person I knew. What? No, I, but. The crossover of, um, that song and it became a pop culture phenomenon, which of course was not Missy's last because then you get work it and then you get like all of these phenomenon songs, right? Missy was responsible for at least three of them, but.

Get your freak on. Yeah, uh, crossover, but then she has so many other joints on that particular album. One Minute Man was on that album, was the joint with Eve, was on that For My People, was on that album. Yeah, and Missy all of a sudden is like a pop culture mainstay.

DJ Sir Daniel: memory unlocked it's 2000. When did, um, so addictive come out 2001, right? 2000, 2001,

Jay Ray: 2001, yeah, 2000, 2001. What

DJ Sir Daniel: I'm working at HMV record store. And I remember this at Lennox mall. So if you've ever been to Lennox mall, you kind of have a visual idea of what it was set up. The store is kind of big. And there's an entrance to the store has like a little walkway.

It's almost like a runway. It's a runway, basically. And they're listening stations on either side. Of course, racks of music everywhere. Part of working there, what we got to do is we got to pick the playlist of the CDs. Yes, CDs, ladies and gentlemen. CDs that we got to play that day. and rotation. Of course, we had a huge CD multi disc player.

And so I, I decided to, um, I picked So Addictive that day and put it in. And just, just being mischievous, I, I saw a group, I saw a group of kids, Outside of the store and our manager, just like you at the time, he had had it with hearing that

Jay Ray: Had it.

DJ Sir Daniel: you could

Jay Ray: your freak on. Had it.

DJ Sir Daniel: shout out the gym, a white dude. He was cool, but it was like I can't take that song anymore But I saw these kids outside and I was just like jim.

You can't deny the power of this song Watch this and I hit Um get your freak on And as soon as you heard that was like the pied piper those children Stop made an about face and literally came into the store dancing. I mean, they came in the store doing that, that hot, that, that danced in Missy

Jay Ray: This

DJ Sir Daniel: that, that, um, almost crippled, almost crippled walking into the store.

And it was like a ton of these kids coming into the store and literally there was a dance party in front of the register that is peak. Missy, Missy Elliot magic in 2001. And that, and lens to, like you said, the power of the crossover, cause it wasn't just black kids. I mean, these were white kids. I mean, they, and they came in by droves.

We saw the more, a few more copies after playing it and people were dancing into the store. And just that, that moment in time, it was like, she really just. Morphed into this whole new category of artists where she, she was being, she started being referred to as an artist, no more just a rapper or singer.

She started being referred to as an artist. And I think that that can't be. understated in this conversation about Missy and the impact and the crossover of that particular album. Like you said, after that, you know, things kind of lulled, things kind of slowed down a little bit after under construction, because of course, she, she experienced some personal tragedies.

We Experienced them with her. Uh, and we experienced a, a world tragedy with the world trade, the, the World Trade Centers being attacked and destroyed in front of all of our eyes. So I think those moments really changed the way we felt. Mu felt music and music was, uh, very important at that time. It was either gonna make us happy or it was not.

Jay Ray: Yeah,

DJ Sir Daniel: That time it was very important for messages to be, to be given to us for us to have fun again and Missy was a part of that healing.

Jay Ray: yeah, no, absolutely agree with all of those things. And I think, um, even, even though things had like slowed down, it was interesting because like we said, like there was, uh, on for under construction, that's where Work It was. Um, you know what else was on? So interesting, a story that's actually unlocked the memory.

Uh, so Gossip Folks was on, uh, that, uh, that album on under construction too. And of course that called back to the double Dutch bus.

DJ Sir Daniel: Mm hmm.

Jay Ray: I don't even know if you know this, Sir Daniel. Um, we have to do better about taking care of our artists. Um, Frankie the Frogman Smith. It's from Philadelphia. So during my college days of working in the recording studio Frankie came in.

Frankie was on, he was being a featured artist on some song That I can't remember who the song was for but Frankie was coming in he was gonna do a rap and like do his frogman thing and Frankie Smith was the sweetest dude, like he was the sweetest dude and Sir Daniel, he didn't make a damn dime off of that song that he wrote because he signed a shitty deal.

The Double Dutch Bus was a huge song that he should have had a nest egg for and he didn't have one because of the way the industry was at the time. Fast forward. Couple of years later. So when under construction comes out, I am working at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. I come downstairs one day who is there is Frankie the Frogman Smith like Frankie.

Oh my God. It was like, oh my God, Johnny. Yeah, I'm like, oh, I work here. Da da da da da da da da whatever, whatever, whatever. And he was telling me he was like, listen, man. I'm trying to he was like, I have talked to Missy's people. He was like, I'm trying to figure something out because you know, obviously she was calling back to the double Dutch bus.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah.

Jay Ray: never he was in the video. He was in the, I think he was in like the video on the bus. There's like a bus in the

DJ Sir Daniel: Ah, okay.

Jay Ray: driving it. Um, but anyway, he was really excited about the fact that the work that he had done was being recognized in kind of this new space through Missy. So Missy was once again.

[00:53:25] Missy's Impact on Hip Hop History

Jay Ray: Calling back to hip hop history and a piece of hip hop history that I guarantee people did not remember at the time. So I'm glad we're having this show too because we get to call in the name of Frankie the Frogman Smith, who is from Philadelphia, passed away several years ago now. But Frankie Smith was also another one of those pioneers early in the hip hop game, doing stuff, just trying stuff.

And we got the double Dutch bus out of it. Give me a ho if you got your funky bus fare with that deep voice YUM

DJ Sir Daniel: we got pig, we got pig Latin rapping out of it is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is,

Jay Ray: a yeah the double dessert, you know, so um Even during that time to your and I think you also called it back again. Like we needed to feel good And there was some of these songs were kind of do it, which is why I think work it worked, which is why I think get your freak on worked.

They made people kind of do a thing, you know, do a little, do a little jig. Missy was always making us do a little jig.

DJ Sir Daniel: You know, I'm sure all of those songs got played at every bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, wedding, cookout, everything you can imagine. Those songs, that's how songs become a part of the fabric of America have become a part of this country. And Yes, you're absolutely right. I kind of want to change, switch gears a little bit and talk about something that Kyriakos mentioned in the chat as well about, um, the theme of female unity.

[00:55:09] Missy as a Unifier of Black Women in Music

DJ Sir Daniel: And one of the things that Missy Elliot is, Missy Elliot is a unifier of black women.

Jay Ray: Yes.

DJ Sir Daniel: In hip hop, in R and B, but just in period, period, as far as behind the scenes, and it's so obvious because of all the people that have worked with her. Of course, people want to work with her because she's the hottest producer, but what Missy did specifically, if you look at all the people that were her protégés and that she introduced to the world, the majority of them are women.

The majority of them are black women and every, I think it started, even though Aliyah was already introduced to us, but I think we're all in agreement when we say that Missy and Timbaland kind of redirected Aliyah's, reintroduced and redirected Aliyah's career to us and kind of probably saved her from some other stuff.

But, um, and then, but then you get the Gina Thompson's.

Jay Ray: Yes,

DJ Sir Daniel: Didn't you get the the tweets? Oh my god

Jay Ray: the Nicole Rae, shout out to the Nicole Rae, Lady Rae running, baby, listen

DJ Sir Daniel: shout out and Missy's got such a good ear. She picked singers little mo little mo was a a Uh, it's reckless when it comes to her vocals. Lil Mo is be out here singing and then she 702 SWV.

I mean, the list goes on and on and on. There's, there's only one girl group that didn't get a chance to, to, um,

Jay Ray: they wanted to and I think an escape Missy Elliot collab would have been great. So apparently, um, Tiny talked about this. She was like, nah, we was really trying to Get in the studio and work with Missy. It just kind of never came together at the time But I would have loved to have seen that collaboration and maybe we're at the point in the world where we can get Um, Missy escape song, like, as I still think it would go off today, um, but to your point of lifting up this idea of Missy being like that girl who could get all of these women to the table.

You know what I'm saying? You brought this up when we were meeting Sir Daniel and I definitely want to bring it into this space because I see it in my head right now of those four black women smiling, you got Missy, you got Aaliyah, you got Brat, and you got, um, Kim, and they're just like having the best time.

DJ Sir Daniel: forgot what ad, what campaign it was for, but they were all wearing like these black robes and they're just having, they're having a photo shoot and having the best, the time of their lives. Let's not forget the, um, the not tonight, ladies night remix video. I mean, you can,

Jay Ray: me with just singing hooks.

DJ Sir Daniel: who I look like, Pallibel or somebody, you know.

Jay Ray: a night. You should be like this instead of being like that.

DJ Sir Daniel: deny that the time to excite, you know, just, and every, all those videos looked like fun because you had me in the video. You had changing faces, escape, um, SWV, everybody who was anybody was in Kim's video left. I, the other member, well, I didn't see the other members of TLC, but those videos were fun.

The, um, the lady Marmalade, um, project.

Jay Ray: Woo.

DJ Sir Daniel: So now you've got, not only is. Missy reunited with Kim on a record, but she's got Maya,

Jay Ray: Uh huh

DJ Sir Daniel: Christina Aguilera, Pink. I mean, it's, it's just, and that, that song, that collaboration, first of all, helped Missy to, and those girls get their first Grammys.

Jay Ray: Yeah,

DJ Sir Daniel: Like those, they can honestly say they're, well, not honestly, they can say that they are Grammy winners because of that project and it just shows that there's so much strength.

That's, I don't understand why these things, why nobody's tried to replicate or at least try to create some type of magic like that again, because those projects like A Lady's Night Not Tonight Remix and A Lady Marmalade were so much fun. We benefited from seeing all those women work together and putting a song together and a video.

Nowadays, that's like pulling teeth. I don't know why they can't, they don't understand they could win. They could possibly get Grammys by coming together and collaborating.

Jay Ray: bruh. There is there is There was a point when and it's the beautiful thing the beautiful thing about success is people get a chance to make their money and kind of do their own thing. The downside to that is everybody is kind of in their own silos and kind of, you know, in their own things doing it's, I guess it kind of parallels the internet a little bit.

Whereas, you know, before You had to be out and kind of about and around people and kind of mingling in the industry and getting to know people. So these, these women had to know each other. They had to like meet one another and like be in a space and be like, Oh, you dope. We should do something together and let's figure it out.

Right. Whereas now there's not as much incentive or ability to even do that because everybody, it's not just about the music anymore. Remember at the time when they was doing this, all the stuff, all the stuff that these women were doing was music. They had no, they had no fashion lines, no perfumes, no cookbooks, no, no, no flatware.

They had none of that shit. They was just rapping. Now it's like, music. When do you even have time to build relationships like that and get into the studio with everybody because girl you gotta sell Your the ab workout that you got

DJ Sir Daniel: I literally said this the other day. Uh, I forgot what the context was, but I said that a lot of artists are so busy being QVC salespeople now that they can't make, they can't concentrate on perfecting shows or any of that stuff. You are absolutely right. Um, egos get in the way and it's such a shame because. It's like there's a generation of women artists that can actually say, I was a part of that magic. And now there's a whole generation where, you know, they have little moments here and there, but they can't say that they had, they have a lady Marmalade or they have a lady's night. They can't say that. And, but that's all to, to Missy Elliott's credit, because a lot of those, a lot of those collaborations come because she worked with each and every one of those women individually at some point, and then.

was able to say, Hey, let's all get together and do this. I know we we've been, and we've been flapping our gums for an

Jay Ray: I know we gotta I know we gotta move to our next segment. Can we do one thing though before we go?

DJ Sir Daniel: Yes.

Jay Ray: Um two things one thing. I just want to say I loved when missy evolved to the new monica I used to live for a Missy Elliot announcing what we was about to get. No, Jasmine. I love that era. Um, can we talk about Missy and Missy?

[01:03:06] Missy's Playful Sexuality in Music

Jay Ray: Can we talk about Missy doing all the nasty sex songs?

DJ Sir Daniel: All the nastiest, the pussy cats, the, the, the meltdowns don't, I look like a Holly Berry. So this is what, what was so funny about Missy and Jay Ray and I, Had this observation. It was like, Missy wasn't physically able to sell sex, but she didn't mind talking about it. She would get on a rat and say some of the nastiest and nastiest rhymes and you'd be like, Missy, you go ahead on now, Missy, and I think, and that was part of her allure is that she can do that.

And, but I think, okay, so here's a theory that I have. I think the way she would play around with sex is that she would always do say something self deprecating first, Because it would make us, it was take us off guard that she's talking about sex, but then she would do something that would make us laugh and, and then bring it back.

Oh, that's just Missy being crazy. Does that make sense? Cause like, she'll, she'll say something, uh, you know, don't use something about cherry thongs, look like a knee along. And, and you're like, huh. Wait a minute. She's, is she serious or she's being funny right now? Just the whole, uh, Pussycat family now. I got to

Jay Ray: Let's.

DJ Sir Daniel: out.

You don't want nobody

Jay Ray: nobody else but me and only me. That is my jam. Okay.

DJ Sir Daniel: Listen, the way Tweet was carrying on on those

Jay Ray: on!

DJ Sir Daniel: her breakfast, lunch, and dinner on that song. And you know what? We were robbed because allegedly in the atmosphere they said that there was supposed to be a Janet Jackson remix

Jay Ray: Baby Janet would have wits off on Pussycat.

DJ Sir Daniel: All of us would have had our wigs blown back, but you know, the net, I think the nastiest one, not nasty, but the most explicit song that Missy to me ever did was, um, meltdown, where she was basically telling her saying her lover was a terrible lover. And that she was like, damn, if only he was, if only he was better with His love tool, you know, if only he was better with, ah, I wish I, you had that magic stick.

And, but Missy as a Missy was, that's part of her brilliance though, is being able to be sexual, but not disgusting because people would say that She, well, I don't remember what they were saying about her versus Kim as far as being sexual, but to me, they were on the same playing field, a little Kim and a Missy Elliot as far as their sexual content.

Jay Ray: absolutely agree. I want everybody to go back and revisit the Missy Elliott catalog and lean into those slow jams and them R& B joints. Dumb Joyce is nasty. Missy is always singing or rapping about sex stuff and it is fascinating.

DJ Sir Daniel: And she's always going to give you a, uh, in the background. I love it. I love it.

[01:06:23] Missy's Legacy and Influence on Modern Artists

DJ Sir Daniel: And, but that never stops her. And I think, I don't know, she just has this magic about her that makes her your favorite rappers, favorite rapper. And she's, Lil Wayne has, has said it time and time again, Missy Elliot is his GOAT as far as rappers.

And there are not a lot of men that would admit to a woman being their favorite emcee.

Jay Ray: I think it was, um, I know that we've definitely talked about it on this show, but I think Busta has said it too. If there was a versus, Missy is the only person that he could do a versus with.

DJ Sir Daniel: That's it.

Jay Ray: I don't think there's anybody. There's nobody else that would even come close. It would have to be her.

DJ Sir Daniel: Yeah. And that was, that was all too evident during that tour because they share the same energy, the aesthetics, all of that. That's what made this show a perfect, uh, Marriage, but Jay Ray, we have been talking these people's ears

Jay Ray: gonna put my air on. You see, I'm sweaty. Child got a sweaty in here. I'm gonna put the air on.

DJ Sir Daniel: It's Missy talking about Pussycat that got you slammed.

[01:07:25] Conclusion: Celebrating Missy Elliott

DJ Sir Daniel: Thank you for sitting through us, sitting, sitting through this episode and listening to us go on and on about Missy Elliott.

Jay Ray, let's just remind the folks one more time, because I think we got some new viewers. Let's just let them know real quick how they can continue to be ongoing viewers. of Queue Points

Jay Ray: Yes. Thank y'all so much for hanging out with, uh, Queue Points tonight. If you can see us, if you can hear us. That is an incredibly important thing. We need y'all listening, watching the show. Y'all can do us a solid and share the show with your friends, family, colleagues. If you enjoy Queue Points, chances are they will enjoy Queue Points too.

And it's a way to spread the word about the show. So please, please consider sharing the show. And that is free. Other free thing that you can do is visit our website at Queue Points. com. You could join our newsletter. You can read our blog. You can just go around the website and kind of hang out, read all about Queue Points and what we've got going on.

That is free too. If you want to get some of the fresh gear that Queue Points has, you can visit our store at store. Queue Points. com. We have shirts, we have hoodies, we have mugs, we have bags, we have everything you need to stay fresh. And it helps us to keep the lights on over here in Queue Points land, y'all.

DJ Sir Daniel: That's right. Couldn't say any better. So, as I always say in this life, we have a choice. We can either pick up the needle or we could let the record play. I am DJ Sir Daniel

Jay Ray: And my name is Jay Ray, y'all.

DJ Sir Daniel: and we put our thing down. We flipped it and reversed it. This has been Queue Points Podcast dropping the needle on black music history.

We'll see you on the next go round. Peace.

[01:09:06] Closing Theme