MUSIC: Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell Williams- WTF (Where They From)

On the surface the current class of female R&B stars take a lot of their swagger from Aaliyah. Breathy vocals, exposed midriffs in exercise wear, a heavy focus on danceable beats; you see these signifiers from FKA Twigs to Tinashe. But the real well where modern R&B artists (both male and female) swagger jack from is Missy Elliott. You can hear her knack of wrapping straightforward lyrics with complex changing melody lines in the Dream. You can hear her ability to switch from rapping to singing seamlessly in Drake. Without her ear for futuristic R&B and dance DJ Mustard would probably just be a DJ. She’s helped birth a lot of careers and she’s back like she never lost a step. Crazy choreographed dance moves? Yup. A beat that’s going to knock dance floors? Yup. Endearingly weird and cute video? Yup. And most importantly fun so infectious it practically leaps out of speakers? Yup. You need this in your day; watch above.