She's A Bitch

"She's a Bitch" is a song recorded by American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written by Elliott and Timbaland for her second album, '' Da Real World'' (1999), while production was helmed by the latter. The song was released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records as the album's lead single in April 1999.

Despite an expensive music video directed by video director Hype Williams, the song peaked only at number 90 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with ''Da Real World's'' other singles " All n My Grill" and " Hot Boyz" going on to greater chart success. Elliott performed the song live on a number of occasions, including the 2017 '' VH1 Hip Hop Honors: The '90s Game Changers''.

Lyrics and production

Speaking to ''Interview'' in 1999, Missy Elliott explained how she wished to highlight the double standard of using "bitch" to pejoratively denigrate certain behaviors in women, but not in men, arguing that "you don’t hear people call males bitches":

Keith Farley of AllMusic wrote that Missy Elliott "reappropriates the insult to refer to strong females", considering it "the best example" of her "satirical nods to other clichéd notions of hip-hop" present throughout ''Da Real World''. Timbaland's production contains influences of electro, with Charles Aaron of ''Spin'' characterising it as "firing short bursts of sound around Missy's short bursts of bitchery" as an " 808 drum machine implodes in your face" during the breakdown.

Critical reception

Writing for ''Rolling Stone'', music journalist Touré praised "She's a Bitch" as "a furiously celebratory, slyly feminist anthem that reclaims an oppressive word, shattering its power to offend while burning down the clubs with a blazing beat and her roaring flow". By contrast, in an otherwise positive review of ''Da Real World'', David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' dismissed "She's a Bitch" as "one of the album’s most unremarkable and most cluttered tracks", criticising its selection as the lead single.

''Stereogum'' and ''Paste'' ranked the song number ten and number nine, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Missy Elliott Songs.

Music video

The "She's a Bitch" video was directed by Hype Williams on May 1, 1999; similar to his other clips for Elliott, Williams makes extensive use of unique effects, costuming, and sets. Highlights of the video include Elliott and her dancers being raised from underwater on a giant hydraulic "M", and also a complete set made from electroluminescent lighting.

Sampling

* In 2017, Ski Mask the Slump God released a remix of the song titled "Catch Me Outside".
* In 2023, Bia released a single titled "I'm That Bitch" which heavily samples the original song, but this time in a fast paced drill beat, with Timbaland being credited as a lead artist among her.
* In 2024, Cardi B released a freestyle of the song titled " Like What (Freestyle)".

Track listings

All tracks written by Melissa Elliott and Timothy Mosley; produced by Timbaland and co-produced by Elliott.

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of ''Da Real World''.

*Drew Coleman – assistant engineer
* Jimmy Douglass – engineer, mixing
* Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott – co-producer, mixing, vocals, writer
* Darren S. Moore – assistant mixing engineer
*Timbaland – producer, vocals, writer

Charts

References

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1999 singles
Missy Elliott songs
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Song recordings produced by Timbaland
Songs written by Missy Elliott
Songs written by Timbaland
1998 songs
Elektra Records singles