Under Construction

Cringed more than sang along, not a pleasant listen but I don't think I am the target demographic, not sure who is.

classic hiphop

This is tons of fun and consistently enjoyable. Well produced, nice collabs, and solid flows. It doesn't really sound like it's "under construction".

2,5

I was really surprised with this album.

4.5

It doesn’t appeal to me in particular, but it’s not horrible.

2002 - Hip Hop; R&B; Old-school Hip Hop

2.5

I enjoyed this more than I expected I would. Will likely listen again. Some great tracks, but also some that made me want to skip.

The self-esteem we all need :D "Work it" is so good!

This album is like a history book of early 2000s hip hop and R&B. Back when driving Escalades was cool. Missy starts out with a heartfelt message to the listener that she wants to channel the roots of hip hop and celebrate the lives of those that we lost over the years. It really puts into perspective how many people left the world too soon, from Biggie to Aaliyah. From Big Pun to Left Eye. In a way this record is a memorial for all of these acts, these people who were at the top of their craft. This album is absolutely packed with features from all of the biggest names in the scene with references to popular media and figures who you undoubtedly would hear about at the time. It's almost like it was unintentionally a time capsule that, upon opening 20 years later, steeped me so deep in an era that I felt like I was actually there. Missy's intention for 'Under Construction" was clearly for it to be a love letter to hip hop and R&B. She samples classics to create boom bap earworms like "Play That Beat" but weaved throughout with Timbaland's modern style in a way that works perfectly. There are these classic-sounding tracks that are like a daydream to a golden fledging old school era with tracks like "Work It", "Slide", and "Hot" looking to the future. Side note, it's so cool that "Hot" sounds like it was born and raised in Virginia Beach. Timbaland, Pharrell, and Pusha T were all in the same circles growing up and it shows so much on this track. The beat could be a P track, the hook on the chorus could be delivered by Push. Missy ends the album with a final message to the listener where she again remarks on how far hip hop has come dedicating this one to the fallen soldiers as she calls them in "Hot". She remarks that she made this one for the ladies and it made me thing damn, Missy walked so Nicki could run. She ends it with the line "you may not feel like I’m a real hip hop artist but I grew up on hip hop and that's what motivated me to do music”. I respect the hell out of that. Seriously. Thank you Missy Elliott for this gem of a tribute to a classic era. TL;DR This album is a 5/5 for me because of the absolute heart put into it, the love for the craft and the genre, the features and the history they carried with them in their lyrics, the blend of old and new, and for "Work It".

Beats were pretty classic, but the lyrics really kept me from getting into it… Probably not gonna listen again.

I really warmed up to Missy Elliot. The timbaland bounce— and I cannot emphasize enough— is I N C R E D I B L E. He’s the best at this by far. The danceability of every record. Ah! Too much spoken word intros! It was great at first. Then it was too much. I got too much of a peak behind the curtain. Ah I love the bounce.

i’m not really the right audience for this

A little too long, feel off for me towards the end but some bangers all around

Classic rap

Not the biggest Missy fan...which I think means I am not the biggest Timbaland production fan. 1.5/5

Honestly, this was really fun. Have only really heard her hits, but it turns out she's a great singer?! Some of these songs come off as pretty toxic though... Pussycat in particular. So a little bit off for that. I'll still give it a 4 though, honestly pretty much any rap from this era is going to have some road bumps like that, and it's not egregious or anything. Fire singles, and like I said... Just fun.

Очень забавное интро, где уже наехали на Трампа и Гейтса (альбом 2002 года, напомню). И сразу же бросают в нас ебанутые электронные сэмплы. Мне нравятся ее хуки и звучание, которое по читке напоминает смесь старой и новой школы сразу

Ноунейм ноунеймом для меня, но, глянув на треклист и увидев фиты с Jay-Z, Beyoncé и 50 cent, стало интересно проявить внимание к этой персоне. Хвала богам, здесь вернули нормальный, потрясающе сведенный звук... уже за это готов оценку выше 2 поставить. Вероятно, на этом объективные плюсы заканчиваются. Я не фанат рэпа и хип-хопа в целом. Старой школы, видимо, тем более. Блин, нууу... содержание, честно говоря, особо ни про что. Вот я слушал Кендрика с подачи Тёмы - там под каждую строчку можно было подвести тот или иной контекст (ждём Good Kid, M.A.A.D City). Здесь - ну, это из разряда "сегодня в клубе чиксы танцуют". Ну типа, "Pussy don't fail me now - I gotta turn this nigga out" - че ита?)))) Про Билла Гейтса и Трампа забавный панч в интро. И вообще почему-то разговорные части больше наполнены смыслом, чем всё остальное. Лан, на троечку покатит.

Так, ну этот альбом можно рассчитывать как ну норм фит с 50 цент и сборник кековых цитат, за это пожалуй плюс и добавлю. 1+. Особенно учитывая интро, где она наобещала на попадание в 1001...

This is another missy elliott exclusive….

Decent. Missy Elliott’s delivery sometimes borders on obnoxious and Timbaland’s production is similarly hit-or-miss, but when they align it’s pretty fun (”Slide” stands out as a good example).

helt bra... bra beatzz... gillar vad Missy Elliott gör på skivor var hon baa talar i början och slutet de e chill

Missy is a legend. A little too much talking before/after songs, which disrupted the flow a bit and kept me from considering 5 stars. Still, if I could do half-stars, I'd have given it a 4.5.

Everything is an exclusive 3/5

This is OK, but I feel like Missy got brainwashed into being mainstream, acting sexy and losing both weight and personality.

banger after banger

Muy bueno, Gossips es un temazo, la colaboración con Jay Z, es tremendo.

Not for me

certified classic. 4.

Solid 3 stars - not my typical kind of music, but always a fun listen. Would not object if it was playing in an Uber.

Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gnaht ym tup i

1. This album is aging really well. 2. This is kind of the perfect album length.

Missy Elliot doing what she does best. Laying down thick beats and slaying lyrics.

2000s hip hop at some of its best. There’s a reason Missy was and is considered the Queen.

Some nice eulogies to her friends who had passed away. Very talented rapper and lyricist. Just not for me

This album was light years ahead of hip hop on several fronts. There's an awesome female empowerment push in this that is great. I love that she confronts it head on about how male rappers get to talk about all the dirty stuff, but women are supposed to not talk about that. As if 80% of male rap lyrics in the late 90's early 2000's wasn't about women and sex. Aside from her stance on rap culture and feminism, this album just absolutely SLAPS. The beats are great, her flow is awesome, her word play is unique and interesting, her message is fantastic, the guest spots are incredible (Beyonce, Jay Z, Method Man, TLC, etc). I'm consistently impressed with how everything she does is unmistakably hers. Even without her raps on this album, I probably could've picked out her style. Personally, this album wasn't in rotation with me when it came out and flew under my radar until MUCH later. But listening to it back now... it seems like this album would've been made much more recently than 2002. Great record and deserving of a higher place in the hip hop pantheon. So much of modern female rap culture started with and emulated Missy. Give up the flowers.

Another, what felt like, 90's throwback. Can definitely appreciate the uniqueness of the beats!

I've heard a few of these songs before way back in the day. At that moment in time and at the ripe age of 10 or 11, it was pretty good. It's honestly pretty hard to listen to now and I don't think it has aged very well. Definitely not something I could listen to for more than 10 minutes without being ready to move on, it's just a little too intense and in your face.

An album dedicated to the families of 9/11 victims includes the song "Work It". 4/5 stars.

It's fine; I like it, but don't care if I ever hear it again. I guess if this is your thing, this album is excellent.

I was super surprised how many of these tracks I knew. I liked this a lot. The flow is fun and I like her perspective.

Disclaimer.

Very enjoyable, with great guests and engaging songs. Lots of spoken word to start and end the album, which was a bit weird. I really enjoyed it, but not quite enough for full marks. She came damn close though!

Listened on headphones and really appreciated the production, however I was bored at points.

This exclusive rating brought to you by Missy Elliot. The good was so good, the rest was fine.

MISSSSSSAY WE THE BEST MUSIC. MISSY MISSY ELLIOT Liked some songs quite a bit didn’t care for it as much as a whole.

Mér finnst þetta alveg skemmtilegt.

Not my thing, but I'm glad to have listened to it anyway.

I will always love Missy Elliott, purely for the fact that she was one of my first favourite artists as a young 13 year old back in 2002 - she was so forward, so fresh and all her - and the same goes for the album. Amazing 👏🏾

One of the few rap albums that’s really held up. These beats are just dope.

a little preachy but good

3.75

elite elite elite elite. One of the first full length albums I ever listened to.

Work It! - a great song

pretty good

Can see why/how Missy was so big, great album, enjoyed her plaudits to Biggie/Pac and peace-seeking lyrics, great features too

Not my preferred genre but was okay.

Missy is a badass. Even without listening the the album, just reading the liner notes and seeing who is featured on it would tell you how much respect the industry has for her. She can rap, she can sing, the beats are unique and not repetitive. It's just a fun album. I was actually surprised at how well this album held up. I think I actually like it even more now than I did when it came out.

Hated it first time round. Still do now.

Its a banger - but didnt feel it needed the commentary. Although the commentary was pretty good. Nearly a 5 TBH

Not really my thing

Old school

bad. really bad.

Very efficient to go ahead and describe the themes of the album in the intro track

I didn’t know what to expect from this album but it certainly delivered. It is a good mix of old school style progressive hip hop with a sex positive and community minded message baked in. Overall, the album was incredibly forward thinking while paying homage to the music that came before it. Missy Elliott is clearly a student of the genre and her love for it can be felt throughout the record.

speaking for like a minute after half the songs is a cruel act but it still bumps

“This the kinda beat that go ra-ta-ta Ra-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta Sex me so good I say, blah-blah-blah Work it! I need a glass of water” Yeah I’m not convinced. The first half was promising with decent feat. and some solid hip hop vibes but the B side got way too RnB for me. Her rhymes and rhythms are very basic. The main thing I enjoyed was her complete disregard for my opinions on the matter - fair play to that.

Un peu répétitif, typique bling era, les beats manquent de oomph

Missy definitely has an iconic voice. Sounds a little like Lauryn Hill but grittier. I was expecting more out of this album. I feel like Missy Elliott is regarded as a pretty iconic female rapper but this music was mid as hell. Some of the features were good (Jay Z) but I just didnt vibe with the tunes. The songs just felt low quality. Not great 3/10

Missy deserves more credit in the game. Helped catapult female rap to a new level. Solid bars, never holding back, rapping about things we hadn't heard much of before. Some beats sound dated, but some still slap

Other than a passing reference to the former fascist douchebag President of the U.S. this holds up. Fun, brilliantly produced hip hop.

Da nema laganijih pjesama, pod tim mislim na 3-4 pjesme, album bi bio četvorka. Više joj paše hip hop strana. 3.5 u mojoj knjizi.

Més hip hop que r&b, però amb una bona dosis de tots dos, és el disc més comercial i digerible de Missy Elliott. Gran éxit al seu disc i uns quants temes engrescadors, però res que tregui la són

Bastante bien.

Ok but not groundbreaking.

Missy Elliot rocks - definitely one of the best hip hop artists of the late 90s / early 00s. This album blazes through with gusto, right from the first track until the last - with the masterpiece that is Work It and a series of songs with a bold feminine point of view that is incredibly refreshing and rare across genres. Production is awesome, the guests stellar. A great album that maybe is a tad long, given it’s relentless intensity.

T3B 1. Gossip Folks 2. Work It 3. Bring the Pain What a time for rap, late 90s into early 00s. 02 was a great year. This album is a great example. Amazing productions, awesome features. Solid 4!

3/13, 23%

That's some guud rhythm and poetry

Very fun hip-hop album. Missy can hang with the best of them. Not every song spike to me, but the ones that hit hit hard.

Fun album. Missy Elliott has a lot of talent. There were a few misses, especially on the back half, but overall it was a pretty good listen. 3.5 stars.

Not so annoying but perfectly valueless

Very well produced hip hop album with great beats and a star lineup of features. Missy kills it on the delivery.

Decent rap album with some big guests and a few good songs. Overall just a bit too much of a mix of r&b and hip hop rather than picking one side

worst so far 1

Fire from start to finish. Missy is such an underrated MC.

I like her best on her own or feat other ladies. Some nice tracks.

Classic

A modern classic

Quality

I liked it much better than I'd expected.

Great album! Lost me in the second half, too bad it couldn't stick the landing because this was a really fun listen for the first 60-70% of the record. 3.5/5

One of the best and coolest in hip hop, and nicely weird too. I can't stand corporate commercial pop crap, and this is thankfully not that. Some of the lyrics are trite as hell, but some are fucking brilliant too. The talking between songs is just completely buzzkill though.

Not my thing at all, but base sounds good.

Pleasantly surprised. Some jams here.

- First Missy Elliott album I've listened to - Sounds much newer than 20 years old - Not a fan of the talking interludes, but all solid tracks - Fav songs: Work It, Funky Fresh Dressed, Bring the Pain

Favourite song: Gossip Folks One for the karaoke: Pussycat - I just know that this was Nick and Shaun’s favourite song, so to see their faces light up as I dedicated this to them in Woody’s would mean the world to me. One for the car: Slide Great to see the lads Method Man, Ludacris and Jay Z show up but there were some lyrics in this album that made me me want to steam iron my fingers x

Favourite Song - Slide One for karaoke - Nothing out there for me One for a run - Work It Sound that. Jenna was excited for me as a lover of older hip hop and it was justified

Ik begon goed, maar mijn open mind werd bruut de kop ingedrukt door Mevrouw Elliott en kornuiten.

Goede en stijlvolle hiphop plaat!

Meh...niet zoveel aan te beleven.

Zegt me niet zoveel. Wel sympathiek dat ze Aliyah en Lisa Lefteye Lopez zo fantatiek herdenkt.

Enjoyed this a lot more than her debut, Supa Dupa Fly. While this doesn’t differ greatly in terms of style or tone, it refines a good deal of the R&B/Hip-hop hybrid formula to make for a more distinct listen. That being said, it’s an album of ambivalence for me. Unquestionably Missy Elliott is a powerful figure, and a very articulate one at that, who challenged a lot of the misogynistic tropes of her contemporaries and offered a genuinely intriguing perspective. She exposed a lot of the hypocrisy surrounding the sexualisation of music through the masculine lens and also allowed for genuine character to resonate with listeners as opposed to some bland rapper archetype. I’m a big fan of this approach even when the music starts to wane in terms of its lyrical quality. Ironically, my favourite parts of the album are Missy’s monologues, which demonstrate a seriously focused vision for what hip-hop should be. That’s not a slight on the songs, but she is so adept at making you think and laugh in equal measure. The death of Aaliyah also looms quite large over this record, and there’s room for plenty of sometimes ham-fisted but always endearing reflection and nostalgia on tracks like “Back in the Day” and “Can You Hear Me”. Not sure I would go back and listen again, but Missy Elliott has my complete admiration as an artist who genuinely tried to enforce change in a stagnant field of expression - kudos.

Liked it more than i thought i would!

10/10 I mean come on now

Leuke hiphop. Niet heel speciaal. Hier een 4

5 Great hip hop

Slay queen

I've heard a lot of her songs through the radio and whatnot but don't think I've ever sat down and listened to an entire project. I really dig it. Great beats from Timbaland and her flow and lyrics are mostly on point. Minus some gross casual racism on the first track at least.

Pretty great

The lyrics are excellent and heartfelt, while the vocals are diverse and perfect, but it feels like the production is just missing something.

Raunchy, bopping and a great listen. This is a Missy Elliott old school exclusive. 👍

A classic of the kind. Miss Elliott is and will remain a queen and her association with Timbaland propelled her to superstardom. That album is star studded and remains a staple in rap and hip hop history.

album was better than i expected, the production is excellent, the flow and lyrics have meaning and power but the vocals let it down a lot

For me, Missy is at her best taking cues from hip-hop rather than RnB. I'm just not a big fan of the contemporary RnB/urban sound, though I can appreciate it. It's no coincidence that all of my favorite tracks on here, minus "Play That Beat", have a really good feature. The highlights for me were Jay's feature and TLC's tribute to Lisa and other musicians who have passed, the rest I can take or leave.

Fine.

wasn’t too shabby, not my cup a tea tho

Nije ko supa dupa fly i missy e do eddictive ali zbog work it i svemirske produkcije je super

It’s Missy alright.

Not my favorite, but some of the songs are pretty decent.

I get it Missy Elliott, this is a great album full of old school exclusive songs.

This album is incredible, ahead of it's time, and speaks truth to power. It's still sounds absolutely fresh today. Excellent album.

Lacking originality and it shows - most tracks rep on the same bar for up to a minute at a time, giving way to guest rappers who lay down much better lyrics than Elliott is even close to coming up with herself. Throw in a few unfortunate cultural references and not much distinction in the backing tracks and this is just a forgettable mess

Lunas.

Not my favorite but definitely some boos in there

Overall this is one of those albums that is better played loud! I find the spoken parts break the flow but understand they are important to what Missy Elliot wants to say

Missy is pretty cool.

Pretty good, enjoyed listening to this one. Some amazing featured artists on this album

One of the all time great female rap albums

More albums need a directors commentary like the opening track of this. Absolute banger of an album. Great samples, great flow. Loved it 4.5

Pastiche to my ears

This was not unpleasant but kind of passed me by.

De gesproken stukjes waren voor mij absoluut geen meerwaarde

Super hard hitting, all the collabs are awesome to hear. She's the real deal.

Missy and Timbaland are a creative match made in heaven. They balance subtle experimentation with catchy hooks. The thing I like most about them is just how playful they both are. Missy will have these more serious interludes throughout the album that seem very heartfelt, rather than contrived, but she usually follows it up with humor to temper it, and I appreciate both. Some real interesting recycling/reusing samples of very identifiable beats and clips from older iconic hip hop albums such as Public Enemy and Beastie Boys. Even the Method Man song is more or less a remix/reimagining of his older version.

I know lotta folks that like Missy Elliot and there are some bops, but overall not my thing. Not bad though. Classic 00s hip-hop for sure.

Whew!!! She came out hard and kept going. And the Guests! I still think Missy Elliot is underrated in popular culture. Love this album.

Won't hit my regular listen rotation because the beats are deliberately jarring and it makes my anxiety brain twitch, but it's great.

Why can't I rate albums that are really, really shit as a zero? I thought I'd got as low as I could get with Supa Dupa Fly, but this was worse. Oh well, only another 819 albums to go...

Took me a few tries to get through this one but it surpassed my expectations. There are some poignant lines and “work it” was a massive hit.

2.5/5

Surprised how much I like it

This is a Missy Elliott exclusive. Appreciated the monologues and the songs were mostly fine. Not my typical genre but I could see myself throwing this on again.

ye

No suena nada mal. Lleno de colaboraciones se siente como un disco muy bien hecho. No me encanta que se ponga a platicar pero supongo es porque no soy fanático de la artista. La mejor canción es Nothing Out There For Me con Beyoncé, seguida de Play That Beat.

Tiene un par de sencillos que fueron muy conocidos por VH1 o MTV y en su época los escuché, pero fuera de eso la verdad es que no tiene nada que me sorprende. No tiene mala voz, Missy, pero esos tracks en los que habla y habla y habla… Ni que fuera un audiolibro de Obama. 2.5 que sube a 3 de cuates.

Pretty good beats but not really my cup of tea.

Great sound, and great non-violent message. Excellent features.

Sadly the songs featuring other artists outshines the solo songs. Gossip Folks, which I consider one of the best songs in the album, is completely carried by Ludacris. The same thing goes for Back in the Day, feels like a Jay-Z song featuring Missy Elliott, rather than the other way around. All in all an OK album, but it's lacking "personality". It just feels like a bunch of singles thrown together, rather than a thought through album. Not sure if that was intentional?

some good r&b jams but missy isn’t the best rapper so timbaland carried this album

p890. 2002. 2 stars Hip-hop, so not my thing at all. Well done of its kind, and had me tapping my foot, but a lot of the tracks just blurred into each other.

The album starts off really strong (with the exception of her annoying posturing chats in amongst the songs) but after a couple of listens I'd have to say this might be the least of Missy's albums. Timbaland and Elliot's beats are just groovy and they're trying to get a bit of that old school soul and hiphop feeling here, but after a few songs it feel like they just weren't fully in it. As for all the guest appearances, Ludacris has never been one of my favourite rappers, Jay-Z is not adding anything special, 50 Cent is not nearly as bad as most people make him out to be, but it's not a good last song of the album. The TLC colab "Can You Hear Me," would've been a better choice. One good appearance is Method Man though. Love his work in Bring The Pain. Also I'm always smiling with the Beastie Boys references, like in Work It All in all, not a bad album, but not really special either.

I have not listened to much from Missy Elliot, but there were at least a couple of tracks from Under Construction that I've heard before. The listening experience for me was a combiniation of okay, good or even great beats, combined with lyrics ranging from unfortunate to terrible. I could not listen to this again, and I can't recommend the album to anyone.

I didn't know this artist but it's not the kind of music I like.

Learned of one new banger from this album

If someone says 'female rap artist' I can almost guarantee the first name they think of is Missy Elliott, and with good reason. Love the little intro and outro speeches - setting the scene, and unapologetic. Play Work It and see how many people can resist a little wiggle.

Really solid album

Is this hip-hop? There are a few tracks where she gets to do her thing but it's like the record executives decided they wanted a R&b Beyonce clone with generic studio tricks sounding like Janet Jackson's daughter. Too slick with no heart, feeling or commitment. There's just too many layers of gloss to see deep down- I suspect underneath she's a talented artist with something to say but she's buried beneath the whoops and drum tracks.

eh

I thought it was better than Supa Dupa Fly. The feats were more interesting and the more modern production by Timbaland suits her music best. But for the love of our Lord the Rock Lobster can you tell me why there are two of her albums in this book? This is ridiculous.

The beats were better than the other Missy album from this list, but the lyrics just completely turns me off. I don't understand how she can be on this list... Twice!

Better than the first one for sure. fews hits but not my type at all

Missy Elliott has a less flashy attitude on this album, the songs are laid back, but solid. The beats are catchy. It's not my type and I'll probably never go back to it, but nice job!

I love Missy Elliot, and love this album most out of all of her work. The nod to early hip hop while also sounding brand new really works here. I am not sure about a couple of the more smoochy numbers, but Ain’t It Funny is a standout here with the layered vocalists and buzzy synths over a pop construction. The best from one of the best.

This was great. I loved the intro acting as a prologue. It would probably get on your tits after repeat listens, but it helped to set the scene for me. Work It was a little cheeky back in the day. It still managed to put a smile on my face. The old skool feel with all the samples is strong, yet Missy still keeps it relevant. The Roxanne Roxanne head nod was a surprise. Like most hip hop albums, it's probably five tracks too long. I would have given it four stars if a little shorter, but three for now. Still very strong.

bumpin

Hip Hop. Again so not my thing. And while there are some songs I don't actively hate it's just not something I listen to or I'd like to listen to again!

Listened to on 5/25/22 3.5/5 Favorite song: work it remix, play that beat The theme of this album is so good - the songs were all in all great with lots of amazing features. I enjoyed listening and hated this hip hop less than pretty much every other one

Overall real chill hip hop album. I knew Work It was 10/10 but hadn't heard much of the rest. Liked the features by Ludacris and Method Man. Not a big fan of the Beyonce feature.

not her best

Not for me!

Ok, I must admit I wasn't sure but great work Missy. Work It is an easy fave.

I liked this album okay. I think that Missy Elliot makes excellent music with Timbaland. The features on the album are good. It makes for great dance music. I think, in some ways, not enough time has passed for me to critically evaluate this album, since it now sounds old, but not old enough that it's easy for me to place it in the history of hip-hop. It's at that in-between age when a lot of good albums feel like they have aged poorly, like a lot of early 2000s music. I felt the same way about 80s music when I was younger, but eventually came to really appreciate it. 4/5

I didn't last long before I had to skip this album.

Strong start, Gossip Folks had some absolutely filthy beats, but faded towards the end. Whilst good to hear a woman's voice against the background of pervasive misogyny in hip hop, the album wasn't as strong as I'd hoped.

It took a few listens to get into but eventually I quite liked a few songs on this. "Bring the pain", "Funky Fresh Dressed" and "Slide" were quite good.

My first Missy Elliott album. Not bad musically every once in a while it hits a reslly cool groove, most notably on Back in the day...definitely a cool song. Now the lyrical subject matter is generally pretty juvenile...nothing wrong with that, per se, I mean juveniles are people too. The spoken word intros get a little hard to take for sure but all in all a good listen that could work for me as background music that once in a while might push it's way too the foreground. 3.5 🌟

Almost lost a star for everything being an exclusive.

I haven’t minded either of her albums 👍🏼

Not bad

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Bring the pain, Work it, Hot

God damn what a glow up from Missy. I thought her debut was absolutely carried by Timbaland and a few features, with Missy Elliot’s rapping leaving a lot to be desired. I’ve never been happier to be shown up, because god damn does she have a presence behind the mic now. Combine that with some more consistently excellent beats from Timbaland once again, and you got a recipe for a great album.

She is marvelous. Flawless production with bangers throughout, flows, features, and soul.

Started strong but ultimately a three star record

4/5. Solid girl-boss hip-hop 👍

2/5

Oh my gosh I did not like this one bit.

Certainly didn't hate it. Although the monologues at the beginning and end felt completely unnecessary to me.

Really hard to say something about this one. Sounds to me like any other R&B and or hip hop album. The beats don't really stand out too much, the lyrics (didn't listen that carefully 100% of the time) are also quite generic rap stuff. Her flow is cool I guess (sometimes). It's also 56 minutes long so it's a real chore to make it to the end. In terms of the songs themselves I guess it's OK, but in terms of what it's doing to me, unfortunately it's a 2/5

loved it.

enjoyed that - bit all over the shop and a couple too long but good

¡ǝuo sᴉɥʇ pǝʎoꓩuƎ

Missy Elliott is a hero

It doesn't feel quite as groundbreaking as her astonishing debut or the futuristic classic Miss E... So Addictive, but it's still a really solid album. The production is killer as always, and Missy continues to be a phenomenonal rapper with a uniquely assertive delivery

Lotsa flow and a few standout songs (“Back in the Day,” “Can You Hear Me”) – notably the more R&B-oriented ones – beyond “Work It.” One likes the empowered-woman vibe, but the boasting, self-referencing and name-dropping bore after a bit. The spoken-word stuff is tedious, too, even if it’s hard to disagree with the messaging. 3.4 > 3

Hett

Snark

en pärla!!!

Loved it, did not know this before, but it slaps.

Attitude as music!

I really don't like hiphop. I can't really comment on the musical quality of this album within its genre, but to me it's unlistenable.

Nice one

Assez old school Le break de scratch on aurait dit rock it de Herbie Hanckock Bien phat le bass drum, les beats sont cools Pas tombé sur le cul plus que ça, drôle d'idée l'intro et la conclusion qui nous jase ça Jamais compris l'idée de se nommer à toute les tounes... Meh...

Y’a quelques bons beats. J’aimerais mieux que mes enfants écoute ça que du Cardi-B. Par contre, le propos est franchement stupide. Elles fait de long speech sur le féminisme et la paix dans le Hip-hop et ensuite elle rap que pour cruiser le gars, elle va faire son lavage, ou qu’elle va lui faire des affaires que les autres ne font pas... Bref, ce n’est pas tellement mon genre et je ne vois pas ce que ça peut apporter de neuf.

Avant Cardi B, il y a eu Missy Elliott pour jouer la game explicite du côté féminin. J'adore son flow et ses beats. Oui il y a Timbaland, mais c'est une collaboration. Cet album dans la veine plus Old School du genre rend bien hommage à la période tout en sonnant actuel. Ce n'est pas égal comme album, mais les succès sont des mégas hits. Missy est une artiste accomplie qui ne se prend pas au sérieux et qui s'attarde aussi visuellement à tout ce qui accompagne sa musique. Ses vidéoclips sont fantastiques. Définitivement la plus grande du Hip Hop et elle a influencé combien d'autres filles qui ont suivi dans tout plein de styles. Je l'adore. Pièces préférées: Work it, Gossip Folks

Classic 90's/early 2000's rap. Silly that every song starts with "This is a Missy Elliott exclusive". All of the biggest collab/guest rappers. Songs are meh, ok. Same lyrics/theme for most songs. Overall good initial message in the intro and at the end. Cool tributes to artists that are dead. I enjoyed listening to it but will not give it any more listens.

This review is a Missy Elliott exclusive. I thought this would be a fairly unremarkable hip hop album thrown here just to balance out all the rock and folk, but damn okay. I like this a lot.

Great singles, just generally not my thing though. Sorry Missy!

While I am impressed that she fit so many Missy Elliott exclusives on there, I didn't love the album. I did quite enjoy Slide, Funky Fresh Dressed, Back in the Day and Work It, and also the monologues. Bit of a tearjerker when she addressed the haters with 'you may not think I'm a real hip hop artist...' I DO think you're a real hip hop artist, Missy!! But I'm still giving Under Construction 2.5 stars.

Far better than I expected it to be. Some great tracks on here 3.5

Not bad. Some decent tracks, but a fair bit of filler, and generally not my cup of tea.

Missy elliot is cool, but not my thing.

pretty good album, kinda cheesy but overall a pretty fun love letter to hip-hop I thought the end was pretty funny, “byemothafucka” 7/10

Belangloses Rap/RnB/Pop-Gemisch mit netten Beats. Ziemlich eingängig. Nicht mein Ding. Kann es aber verstehen, wenn man es mag.

I am familiar with Missy Elliott and I was familiar with some of the songs. I don't think I had ever heard this entire album previously. The beats were good. The lyrics were alright. I probably would not choose to listen to this entire album again, maybe just a couple of songs.

This takes me back 20 years! My brother was really into his early 00's RnB/Hip Hop. Nice listening, for nostalgia's sake, but wouldn't revisit.

Best Song: Pussycat. Has to be one of the best R&B choruses out there, in a track that manages to be both absurd and legitimate at the same time. Worst Song: Back In The Day. Get Jay-Z outta here. The choppy beat is good, but wasted on Jay-Z's low energy input. Overall: Missy crushes it with her self-aware and funny lyrics. Timbaland crushes it with some production that is maybe peak-Timbaland, with layers upon layers of clipping beats. Honestly, the features here are the weakest parts (especially Jay-Z and Beyonce). Missy's presence is so big, and she's so uniquely playful and creative, that it feels a waste to have her share the stage.

I don't need to like Missy, she likes herself enough for both of us.

Fantastic

Vraiment beilleur que je pensais. J’avais pas le gout de l’ecouter mais j’ai ete suprit par un album super bien produit. 3.75

This is a classic. Loving the chance to revisit the album. To those who hasn't heard it yet, you have something to look forward to.

[nodding head] 2002 Missy

What a pleasant surprise! Missy Elliot has a masterful control over the production of this album; great old school beats and fun raps. I like the overall positive/light hearted spin, but also that the album is dedicated to the people that she lost. I knew Work It, obviously, but it was fun to revisit. I also REALLY enjoyed some of the music videos. Creative stuff.

Слушаю это первый раз. Что-то нравится, но музыка так сказать не моя

Beter dan verwacht, maar meh

Some pretty good stuff. Not my bag though. I enjoyed quite a bit but wouldn't go out of my way to rehear most of it.

Rap femenino con el típico estilo. Sin mucha estridencia y escuchable, sin más. Voz agradable. Algún artista del estilo también incluido en el disco

Bamgers through and through. I usually don't like monologues, but these fit very well.

Work it is nice, sonst meh

One of the better female rappers. This album has some solid beats and one of her best songs. The features are solid. This album is decent and some of it has replay value. 6.2/10

Let's go Missy! The sampling on this album is really heavy on the soul and jazz which gives the songs this sense of cool thats hard to beat. Work It is a generational groove. Back In The Day is just all up in my face with Jay giving the opening rap. Pussycat is incredibly explicit, but Missy comes in with an explainer. Aight cool. This album was great I loved it a bunch.

Missy was in your face, fiery and vulgar before it was cool

utter shite

Solid, not outstanding, but understandably got some decent traction back in the day.

Not really my thing, to be honest. 2/5. The song with Beyonce was probably the one I enjoyed the most, which is pretty telling given it's quite different in style to most of the others. Generally, I tended to enjoy the bits that weren't Missy Elliott rather than the bits that were, which isn't great. I just don't get on with her style of rapping for some reason, Play That Beat (which was much more R&B but still just her) was quite good.

I'm not looking forward to his. At all. This is not a genre I enjoy. But hey ho, gotta open yourself up to new things haven't you. First track. Oh, she's mouthing off already. Shut up and sing ffs. Ok, here we go. Oh no. Go back to the talking. Please. I'm not going to make it through a whole album of this. Hitting the fourth minute of this now. The tune is pretty decent. Oooh, first use of the N word. Edgy. Better turn it down a bit. Nothing to the 'lyrics'. Track two. There are lots of collaborations on this. Maybe that'll help, because on her own she seems quite bad. Yeah, this is better. I mean, it's still nonsense lyrics, but it's got something. Track three. Did I just hear 'mama-jama'??! As annoying as I find it to say this, this track is quite catchy. Not lyrically, obviously. Track four. Ooooh, I've heard this before. It's alright from what I remember. Good chorus. Still a bit dodgy outside of the chorus - 'sex me so good I say blah blah blah'. I'm gonna be humming this all night, I know it. Hang on, she's talking to me again. Hope I'm enjoying the album? Meh, it's ok, thanks for asking. Track five. Jay-Z in the house. This track seems louder than the others? She sounds better on this track. More singing rather than rapping? I dunno. This is a bit of a nothing track tbh. Track six. 'My attitude is bitchy because my period is heavy'. Nice. No, I will not turn the volume up. This seems like something a school kid would come up with and think it's cool as fuck. It's not. It's shit. Track seven. This sounds a bit sexy. 'Pussy don't fail me now, I gotta turn this N out so he don't want nobody else'. I know I'm beating on these lyrics a lot, but come on, they fucking deserve it. Keep your man happy by making sure he's enjoying the sex. Oooh, more chat. Fuck me, is she reading my mind??!? She's having a go at me for slating her lyrics. Fuck off woman. Track eight. Here's Beyonce. Awww, she doesn't want to go out, she wants to stay in with her man. And on and on. I think she's protesting too much. Clearly out shagging all sorts. Are we at the end yet? No? Oh. Track nine. Pretty funky start to this one. She seems to be saying she's doing alright for herself. Got a bit of money, a couple of nice cars. Ok, good for you girl. Track ten. Why does she feel the need to keep telling me I'm listening to Missy Elliott? I'm ten tracks into the album, I know who you are. More advice on keeping your man. Back rubs, sex (I think), laundry, shout at hoes. Might play this to all prospective girlfriends, make sure they know what I expect. Track eleven. Back with the funk. Still telling me it's Missy Eliott. I. Know. Sounds like her fella left her. Stupid pussy must have let her down. Track twelve. 'I bought a Murcielago to sit, on the plush leather seats, forget am I on my own clit?'. It's Shakespeare. Some guy is broke, Missy isn't. 'Cuz rich folks, we buy boats' is gonna stick in my head. Track thirteen. This is pretty good. Yeah, quite like this. Best track on the album for me. Good way to finish. Oh, it's not over. More chat. She hopes I like the album, but if I don't, she doesn't give a shit. Ok.  I won't ever listen to this again. Hopefully.

It is different from her first couple records and I'd not heard this all the way through. A bit of old school feel mixed in for sure. By the end though, a bit boring.

Not for me. Respect to Missy for being a badass take no shit kind of artist who does things her way. Work It is a hip-hop classic from my high school days and sampling from the Beastie Boys was a cool surprise, but this was never my scene or genre.

It's Missy 🤷🏻‍♀️ What can I say?

Ok but gets a bit samey after a while. Nowhere near as good as Ms Dynamite's debut, which came out the same year.

Definitely under construction. The finished Missy articles are great, the rest needs work.

Fwod pilf ti dan esrever ti/ I tup ym gnith

3. pretty good! I did skip through the skits and speeches though.

This is a surprisingly deeper album than I would have expected. Missy's love for the overall hip-hop community really shines through. With all of the intro/outros throughout the album really hark back to where she came from and pays tribute to who came before her (I'm not normally a fan of intros/outros). She really brings the love for the music and the music alone and does away with the huge egos and all of the unnecessary 'gangsta' deaths. Best: Work It Worst: Slide

The slow jams fail this album. Classic beats, great rhymes and flow. It just can't be kept up through the whole album. Best Tracks: Work It; Back In The Day (feat. Jay-Z); Funky Fresh Dressed (feat. Ms. Jade)

Hip-hop popero.

Bastante bien.

Some of her songs are along the same line as WAP and taking back sex for women, which is cool to hear. That said, this isn't really my jam. I am between 2 and 3 stars, but 2 is more indicative of this not being the type of hip-hop I like rather than the album itself. Some cool collabs on it, a bit too many mentions of songs being exclusive Missy Elliot, however.

I was surprised by the amount of other singers on the album. Pretty alright album, not something I would tend to choose.

Really excellent album, she has great flow and great beats.

"This is a Missy Elliott one time exclusive" e eu já fiquei animada. Conhecia pouco o trabalho da Missy, embora escute muuuito Work It até hoje, amei o disco e fiquei me perguntando porque não tinha parado para ouvir antes.

Loved it!

It's Missy, it's classic, it's timeless and it still kicks so much ass. Hot album!

SO GOOD. I am ashamed to have never heard this album before, but that's why I'm doing this project. I knew Work It, of course, but the other tracks were all new to my ears. Dedicated to Aaliyah, produced by Timbaland, this Missy Elliot album sounds amazing. Like, if it had come out today instead of nearly 20 years ago (which...how has it been that long??) - it would still be fresh and sound great.

Classic

How could you not enjoy this?

Good album

Full disclaimer: the songs on this album are all "Missy Elliott Exclusive" - I'm glad she let us know this at the beginning of each song. Some decent rhymes, some not so great. Didn't like any of the tracks except for the back in the day one with Jay -Z. Everything else was not for me.

I remember a review calling this "coffee table hip hop" which does sum it up a bit. Thing is Missy just works with so many talented people that when her flow isn't the best each song has a killer beat or hook. 4.4

Klassiker, viele Songs die man kennt. Guter Rap aus den 2000ern.

Missy is able to achieve the rare feat of having hit singles and solid supporting tacks in a strong album. In addition to having her most popular song "Work It", Missy frequently touches on current events and her mourning of contemporary Aaliyah. This album is a good blend of Rap and R&B while having multiple asides a staple of future mix tapes.

This review is being brought to you by crsb. This is a CRSB 1 time exclussive review. Enjoy this Reviya, read this reviewya blah tah tah. 2.5

Not my thing.

7/10 not my favorite style but it had interesting beats.

5/10. Does she have to tell us at the start of every song that this is a Missy Elliott exclusive? I liked the song with Beyonce, and the one with TLC because they are interesting takes on these other artists' music. I also liked that the album had some heartfelt themes and meaning, but at the end of the day, I am not a big fan of the bulk of Missy Elliott's music.

Feels really outdated. Also I don’t need to hear that every song is a Missy Elliot exclusive. 5/10

Didn’t like

Another great album that I never got to listen to at the time. Felt almost conversational at times but the raps were great and I'm glad we got this one on the list.

Wow, what a great album. First full-length I've listened to from Missy Elliott. I know about her, but wasn't too familiar with her music going into this. Plenty of hits, including some I recognized. The rapping is excellent and good lord, the production is amazing. It's handled almost entirely by Timbaland and Missy herself, they really are a force to be reckoned with. Give me more like this. Favorite tracks: Work It, Slide, Hot, Pussycat, Funky Fresh Dressed. Album art: Nothing to write home about, just a picture of Missy in the street. She's under construction I supposed. 4.5/5

Can stay unfinished for me

Sublime in every way

toll, dass eine Frau auf diesem Gebiet erfolgreich und gut ist, aber ist definitiv nicht meins

Damn bars where hard af back in the beginning of the century. Most of the album slaps even tho that Bey track is cringe af

I hadn’t listened to Missy Elliot before this, and that’s on me.

Hmmm. I wanted to like this more than I did. Bold on the surface but aged kinda badly 'pussy don't fail me now' ??????

Lyrics are a bit of their time, but it was a fun listen.

Like Missy, but this seemed average, and no standout tunes for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A pretty great album! Hearing a woman in hip-hop take control of sexuality and other topics dominated by men of the era, and the talking directly to the audience vigniettes within songs seem like the most notable takeaways of the album and trends of the era. 3.5 rounding up!

Enjoyable.lots of singing as well rapping. Very accessible and good intentions from Missy. Obviously as sex obsessed as Prince!

Awesome beats for Missy to rap underneath. When she is going with her low vice, I felt she was really in command of the song. "Gossip Folks" was a bit annoying, though. The frantic-ness of her voice did not mesh well (I am a big fan of Ludacris, so that was kind of disappointing.) I liked the guest vocalist, they really added something to it. I am never a fan of interstitial stuff, so the outro / intro stuff in songs I could do without. It's hard to believe that she has been recording for so long, and Aaliyah has been gone for so long as well. After this I listened to her big hit, and it still really grooves (although the baby sample does get annoying after a while). So I enjoyed the Missy Elliot album, as long as she was using her speaking voice. But I do not think I will be coming back to it.

Missy is hands down the best female rapper of all-time. One of the best rappers period. And this album has her talent on display - smart meaningful lyrics, cool beats, lightning quick raps, and a pretty darn good voice. Her interludes are actually worth listening to (not just BS) and shows her depth of thought. Although her claim in the Intro that you don't hear Gates and Trump arguing because they got "paper" and "better shit to do" shows how much times have changed in 20 years. Her wordplay or own version of pig latin that she does in Gossip Folks and Work It is so unique and innovative. The former is one of my favorite rap songs of all time - beats and lyrics are just awesome. I'm not sure there was a weak song on the whole album. Slide and Go to the Floor were particularly good tracks I didn't know of before.

Byly dwa i jest i trzeci czarny pick z rzedu i albumy ukladaja sie w sensowna calosc, od plyty z kategorii magnum opus, przez ambitny rap z niecodziennym podejsciem do beatow, do mainstreamowego szlamu wczesnych lat 2k, bo takim szlamem jest under construction, czyli plyta z pogranicza rapu i r&b, ktora jest czwartym studyjnym krazkiem pani Missy Elliott, ktora dorobila sie jakze zaszczytnego przydomka krulowej rapu, nie wiem jak do tego doszlo, kto rozdawal te godnosci i ile musiala za nie zaplacic, bo o ile wczesniej slyszalem ja glownie na jakis featurach, tak po przesluchaniu calego albumu jestem zdziwiony jak ten album znalazl sie na liscie pana wyspiarza, bo o ile gangsta rap moze dobrze sie sluchac, pieniadze, dziwki i koks moga miec swoj hedonistyczny urok, tak taka tematyka u pani Missy brzmi jak zawodzenie menelicy, ktora nie moze sie zdecydowac czy chce rapowac, czy jednak woli spiewac chorki w r&b, sieden z czternastu trakow ma featury glownie rapowe, pewnie w tym mozna sie doszukiwac takiego sukcesu komercyjnego, no ale tez musiala zapewnic jakas luke na rynku i dac mlodym szlaufom gettciarskim jakis wzor do nasladowania, wiec stworzona persona thugowej gettciary mogla sie sprzedac, co do nazwisk pojawia sie tu chocby method man, ludacris, czy jay z z beyonce, nie mozna takze zapominac o kolaborantach na prodcuerce, bo tak generyczne 2k beaty mogla stworzyc tylko wyjatkowo mainstreamowa persona, a takom wlasnie jest Timberland, ktory jest odpowiedzialny za wiekszosc beatow Missy, wydaje mi sie, ze zle ocenilem wczorajszy albumik, teraz z czystym sumieniem dalbym mu trzy gwiazdki po odsluchaniu tej konstrukcji, jako jednej z najbardziej meczacych plyt ostatnio na liscie

Every song is a BANGER

Misdemeanor doesn't mince words, and isn't afraid to share what's on her mind. In her effort to save hip-hop she mostly succeeds. Highlight Tracks: 3, 4, 6, 8

An interesting listen, great lyrics and delivery but not hugely interesting musically. Top tracks: Work it

Не люблю мисси элиот

First Listen. Besides the couple of songs that I knew, I didn't enjoy much of the rest of the album. It really isn't my kind of music. I do think that Work It is one of the best of the genre - so props to her for that one! 2/5

Really enjoyable, excellent grooves

Fun album to blast in the shower and confuse your partner with your musical choices. The Timberland production has aged well. Never appreciated Missy in her time but can clearly see her legacy in hip hop today with huge artists like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, etc. That's fantastic. Also the Method Man track reminded me how hilarious sex duets are. I don't take 56 minute showers tho. C

This album started out hot, I was dreading listening to this, but the first songs grabbed me, good word play, good flow, catchy beats, first 3 songs were 5-4-5. I was like holy shit, this is Timbaland’s magnum opus, this set the stage for Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. I was excited that I realized, “let me work it” is based off of a Blondie sample. Then it started to slide and got worse, the quality dropped, the sentimental songs sapped the life out of it, the beats lost their luster and eventually it faded into the background. By the tone she wax eulogizing her friends I just didn’t care. 3 for starting out strong. The line, “you don’t see bill gates and Donald trump arguing” because they’re rich, didn’t she well, or did it?

Missy's great, especially in a garbage bag costume

this was incredibly disappointing. 40% waffling on about some old shit, 40% R'n'B bollocks and 20% work it.

Like licking cum off the back of a tortoise. Like sucking on a corpse's cliterous. Not very nice.

Overall, just kinda forgettable. The beats are fine, the flow is fine, but it’s not my thing.

IThere are some pretty good songs (Work It, Can You Hear Me?) the rest was mostly just okay with the exception of Pussycat which was just kind of embarrassing, especially the explanation at the end of the track. I know Missy is a hip hop icon but this album is just not something that I'd choose to put on in my free time. I respect her as an artist, but its just not for me. 5/10 for me. I'll give it a 3 star here just because I don't want to round down.

Owned this album when it came out. I remember 2002 as a blur but this was and still is a banger.

Fun album to listen to. Some hits and nice features I liked. Probably won't listen again.