Under Construction (Missy Elliott album)
Under Construction is the fourth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 12, 2002 in the United States. The album was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production from Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart, Errol "Poppi" McCalla and Elliott herself.
Under Construction | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 12, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2002 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 56:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Missy Elliott chronology | ||||
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Singles from Under Construction | ||||
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The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 259,000 copies in its first week.[1] The album was also certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[2] The album received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year.
Controversy
The album's third single was intended to be a newly recorded remix of "Pussycat" with guest vocals from Janet Jackson and featuring Lil' Kim. Elliott's label felt the song was too explicit to release, and plans were withdrawn.[3][4]
Sequel
A "sequel" album, Under Construction, Part II, was released the following year by Missy's close affiliates and producers, Timbaland and Magoo.
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 81/100[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Blender | [7] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[8] |
The Guardian | [9] |
Los Angeles Times | [10] |
NME | 8/10[11] |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10[12] |
Q | [13] |
Rolling Stone | [14] |
USA Today | [15] |
Under Construction met a generally positive reception. At Metacritic, it earned an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 19 reviews.[5] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]
"It still sounds incredibly fresh, in all meanings of the word," observed Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner. Karen (O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer) and I listened to it all the time. We used to play it before we'd go onstage... 'Funky Fresh Dressed' is my favourite track. I don't know what else to say other than it's amazing."[17]
Commercial performance
Under Construction debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 259,000 copies in its first week.[1] The album stayed on the chart for a total of 36 weeks.[18] On July 14, 2003, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.[2] As of November 2015, the album has sold 2,142,000 copies in the US.[19]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro"/"Go to the Floor" |
| 5:06 | |
2. | "Bring the Pain" (featuring Method Man) |
|
| 2:59 |
3. | "Gossip Folks" (featuring Ludacris) |
|
| 3:54 |
4. | "Work It" |
|
| 4:53 |
5. | "Back in the Day" (featuring Jay Z) |
|
| 4:55 |
6. | "Funky Fresh Dressed" (featuring Ms. Jade) |
|
| 3:56 |
7. | "Pussycat" |
|
| 4:32 |
8. | "Nothing Out There for Me" (featuring Beyoncé Knowles) |
|
| 3:05 |
9. | "Slide" |
|
| 3:43 |
10. | "Play that Beat" |
|
| 3:02 |
11. | "Ain't that Funny" |
|
| 2:48 |
12. | "Hot" |
|
| 4:09 |
13. | "Can You Hear Me" (featuring TLC) |
|
| 4:29 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Work It (Remix)" (featuring 50 Cent) |
|
| 4:59 |
15. | "Drop the Bomb" |
|
| 3:27 |
- Notes
- ^[A] denotes co-producer
Production
- Executive producers – Missy Elliott, Timbaland
- Producers – Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Craig Brockman, Errol "Poppi" McCalla
- Vocal assistance – Tweet, Lisa Crawford
- Engineers – Jeff Allen, Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya, Josh Butler, Jimmy Douglass, Guru, Mike "Hitman" Wilson
- Assistant engineers – Marc Stephen Lee, Steve Penny, David Snyder, Cory Williams
- Mixing – Jimmy Douglass, Timbaland
- Mixing assistance – Steamy
- Mastering – Herb Powers
- A&R – Yaneley Arty, Merlin Bobb, Jay Brown, Patricia Elliott, Gail Hansen, Andre Johnson, Celeste Moses
- Design & Art Direction – Anita Marisa Boriboon, Lili Picou
- Photography – Roberto Fantauzzi
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[37] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[38] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[40] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
References
- Keith Caulfield (November 24, 2010). "Kanye West, Nicki Minaj Set for Huge Billboard 200 Debuts". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2010..
- "RIAA Certifications - Missy Elliott". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- "Missy Elliott Teases Collaboration with Lil' Kim and Eve". Rap-Up.com. 2012-09-18.
- "Missy Elliot "Janet Jackson & Lil' Kim Was Supposed To Be On The Record Pussy Cat" - 92 Qc". 2012-12-18.
- "Reviews for Under Construction by Missy Elliott". Metacritic. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- Bush, John. "Under Construction – Missy Elliott". AllMusic. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- Weiner, Jonah (December 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Blender (12): 142. Archived from the original on October 25, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Browne, David (November 15, 2002). "Under Construction". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Sullivan, Caroline (November 8, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Nichols, Natalie (November 10, 2002). "Miss E.'s her own work in progress". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Segal, Victoria (November 22, 2002). "Elliott, Missy : Under Construction". NME. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Chennault, Sam (November 21, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Q (198): 121. January 2003.
- Edwards, Gavin (December 12, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Rolling Stone (911). Archived from the original on February 19, 2003. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Jones, Steve (November 12, 2002). "Missy Elliott has some constructive fun". USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- "Albums of the century". Q. No. 282. January 2010. p. 93.
- "Billboard Chart History - Missy Elliott". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- Trust, Gary (November 22, 2015). "Ask Billboard: Missy Elliott's Career Album Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- "Australiancharts.com – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Missy Elliott – Under Construction" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Missy Elliott – Under Construction" (in French). Hung Medien.
- "Danishcharts.dk – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Missy Elliott – Under Construction" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Lescharts.com – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
- "Charts.nz – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Swisscharts.com – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Hung Medien.
- "Missy Elliott | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
- "AMG: Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
- "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Best of 2003". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
- "Japanese album certifications – Missy Elliott – Under Construction" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
- "British album certifications – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Under Construction in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American album certifications – Missy Elliott – Under Construction". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
External links
- Under Construction at Discogs (list of releases)