Additional information
Personnel includes: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Elephant Man, Faboluous, Nelly, R. Kelly, Monica, Beenie Man, The Clark Sisters. Producers: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Timbaland. Digitally remastered japanese limited edition comes in miniature LP-style sleeve. CD contains 1 bonus track. With THIS IS NOT A TEST!, Missy Elliott, Virginia's reigning queen of hip-hop, raises the bar once again. Working with producer and partner-in-crime Timbaland, Elliott continues to develop her signature style, which pays tribute to the hip-hop pioneers of yesteryear, while flying forward into a sonic solar system of her very own. The album's tracks--and skits--effortlessly bounce between genres, styles, and tempos, ranging from dancehall ("Keep It Movin" with Elephant Man) to R&B ("I'm Not Perfect" with the Clark Sisters) to straight-up rap ("Wake Up" with Jay-Z). However, it is on the up-tempo tracks where Elliott truly shines. On the record's first single, "Pass That Dutch," the freewheeling MC sprays lyrics like a scatterbrained genius. "Pump It Up," featuring Nelly, is a hilarious ode to oversized Southern women. And "Let Me Fix My Weave" is the Elliott/Timbaland super-tandem at its most exhilarating. THIS IS NOT A TEST! is even more proof that Missy Elliott is a pop music marvel.
Reviews
Rolling Stone (12/25/03-1/8/04, p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...She still sounds as hungry and driven as ever, refusing to repeat past successes, pushing on to newer and weirder realms...Why anybody would choose to spend their life without a copy of THIS IS NOT A TEST! is a mystery..." Spin (01/04, p.95) - "...Ridiculously, abstrusely , hyper-generously funky....It's both consistently catchy and consistently weird in all the right ways..." - Grade: A- Entertainment Weekly (11/28/03, p.124) - "...Elliott [is] full of vim and vinegar, especially when she's rapping or singing about sex....[On a couple of tracks] Elliott sets out to compete with the champagne-and-silk-underwear crowd of foxy, urban chanteuses..." - Rating: B Q (2/04, p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The sexiest, most ear-popping, jaw-dropping fusion of old-school rap tribute, sparse R&B, mutant bhangra, and beat innovation..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/04, pp.96-7) - 3 stars out of 5 - "'Wake Up' is mesmerising....'Push It' and live hip hop deconstruction 'I'm Really Hot', both inject the set's ruthless minimalism with some fresh sonic ingredients."
