Missy Elliott: Da Real World (Elektra)
Amy Linden, The Source, 1999
THERE ARE cultural watershed moments. Blips in the radar screen that make you anticipate what lies ahead and forget what came before. One of those moments came in 1997 with Missy Elliott's Supa Dupa Fly, an album that pointed out a new direction for Black pop. While Missy's ascension gave women a more realistic and humane template, her union with Timbaland reigned as one of the most sexually egalitarian in recent pop memory.
Total word count of piece: 357
