In Plain Sight will take a look at songs from popular albums or classics that, for one reason or another, seem to get overlooked–tracks hidden in plain sight. Gotta give the deep cuts their shine!
It’s been almost 10 years since Missy Elliott released the critically acclaimed Under Construction, her best selling album and the best selling female rap album of all time (thanks, Wikipedia) at 2.1 million copies domestically. The album spawned hits with the infectious “Work It” and “Gossip Folks,” songs that relied on Timbaland’s skeletal electro funk beats and bizarre verbal tricks (the former using the now famous reversed chorus and the latter sampling a gibberish chant for its hook). The rest of Construction followed in similar suit: barebones, old school tinged beats with Timbaland’s signature electronic bells and whistles.
Except for “Slide.”
Timbaland has a category of beats that’s difficult to label with a single word. They’re best understood as beats that make you scrunch your face up like Jay does in Fade to Black when Tim plays him “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” (which is, of course, one of the beats in this category–others include “Bounce” off of Tim’s Shock Value, Jay’s “Hola Hovito,” and “Are We Cuttin” by Pastor Troy). “Slide” certainly fits in this category. The bass is rude. The synthesizers are set to full on menace. The drums slap. Everything hits with an extra edge that makes you forget the perfect pop sheen that Timbaland threw at Nelly Furtado or One Republic, or the dance floor anthems he crafted for Justin Timberlake. In short: these beats are mean.
And say what you will of Missy as a rapper in generally, but on “Slide” she rises to the occasion and delivers amusing razor sharp flows to complement Tim’s buzzing bass. It never would’ve hit radio, but it doesn’t matter because it hits in whatever speakers you’ve got handy, and isn’t that the only thing that’s important at the end of the day? As the good Dr. Dre once prescribed, this should be played at high volume, preferably in a residential area.
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