Music video: Missy Elliott featuring Pharrell Williams - WTF

Music video: Missy Elliott featuring Pharrell Williams - WTF | Random J Pop

Missy Elliott's comeback has been long in the making, but it's official now. "WTF (Where they from)" is not mind blowing. It's nothing new. But Missy Elliott has made a career out of turning in insanely left field singles consistently for over a decade.

Each coming with a visual spectacle of a video unlike what anybody else across any genre was delivering at the time. Missy not only shaped Hip-Hop into how she wanted it to be, but she defined it for many women in Hip-Hop too. Nicki Minaj to name one - especially during her pink wig hey days. So to have expected something off the wall and crazy from Missy was perhaps to expect too much.

Missy has been away for so long that I'm just glad that she's back. "WTF (Where they from?)" feels nostalgic and fresh in equal measure. It's almost as though Missy never left. My only gripe with the song is Pharrell Williams. I'm not a fan of his verse and to me it interrupts the song as opposed to enriching it.


The video, I love. Every look, every dance step, every setup is gold. The opening scene of Missy in her disco ball tracksuit lets you know from the off set that this is not your average hip hop video and that Missy's visual aesthetic and style choices have not dipped nor dimmed one bit in her absence. The only things I wish I'd gotten more of is extra screen time of Sharaya J and more of Missy dancing.

Missy. It's good to have you back.

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