youngspeare's Full Review: Under Construction [PA] by Missy Elliott
I almost didn't recognize the picture of Missy Elliott on the cover of Under Construction. But despite the radical change in her physical appearance, Missy Elliott still knows how to get you off your a$$ and on to the dance floor.
With So Addictive Missy used driving dance beats to get you shakin' your thang. On Under Construction Missy focuses on a more funky, old school hip hop sound while still relying on her remarkable vocal gymnastics to keep the song interesting.
Understandably, Under Construction leaves the listener that Missy is just a wee bit tired of the posturing and violence that is predominate in today's hip hop scene. "Can You Hear Me" featuring TLC is a beautiful tribute to the late Aaliyah as well as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and a slew of hip hop artists who came to early, tragic ends. On top of that, Missy's running commentary throughout the album focuses on bringing the fun back into hip hop, and leaving the guns at home.
But that's not to say that Under Construction is at all a downer of an album. Au contraire. "Back in the Day" featuring Jay-Z pays hommage to all the greats of the not-so-distant past, the praises continuing on to "Funky Fresh Dressed" featuring Ms. Jade which samples, "Paul Revere" from the Beastie Boys of all people. Which just goes to show that Even though Missy Elliott is good enough to walk around spitting attitude about who's hot and who's not, she is level-headed enough to recognize talent no matter how unconventional the source.
"Pussycat" sounds like a typical R n B jam when you take the lyrics out of the equation, but put them back in and all of a sudden you are listening to what is probably the funniest conversation between a woman and her genitilia. And good for Missy for commenting on why she wrote that song. Without them "Pussycat" might be dismissed as a 'shock value' track, it's empowering qualities glossed over.
"Work It," "Slide" and "Gossip Folks" are all standard Missy Elliott gems: Strange, exotic beats supporting skillfully crafted rhymes. It's the Missy Elliott formula that manages to NOT sound like a formula, and keeps Missy at the forefront of hip hop innovators.
So why should you have Under Construction in your CD library? For starters, it is rare to be able to purchase an album that is so consistent in song quality. Lately it seems that CDs are getting more and more expensive, but less and less impressive. Who really wants to shell out $20 for one good song? Especially if you can download it. But Under Construction is as solid an album as I've heard in awhile. I don't like wasting money, but I will pay for a CD if it's well deserved...Under Construction falls in that category.
Secondly, unlike some hip hop artists, Missy Elliott's music is highly accessible. I find it hard to appreciate a lot of hip hop because it doesn't "speak" to me. I have no concept of what it's like in the ghetto, what it's like to be discriminated against, so I can't relate. But Missy Elliott has consistently rhymed about more universal concepts - such as love, partying and sex - and so I don't feel "left out" from her music.
The only reason why Under Construction isn't getting 5 stars is due to the simple fact that continuously introducing your tracks with "This is a Missy Elliott exclusive" is extremely aggravating. But otherwise, there isn't a song I would skip over on this album.
Tragedy can often change our outlook on life. Whether or not it changed Missy Elliott's outlook may not be entirely evident on Under Construction, but that sense of nostalgia is still there. And yet Missy continues to push her sound forward with each new album. If Missy considers herself to be "under construction," I can't wait to hear the results of the final product.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![Under Construction [PA] by Missy Elliott](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/79/26/62/2005593640-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.