They are images that have been providing "what the f---?" moments for years.

A woman wrapped in what appears to be a large, inflated Hefty bag cavorts in front of enormous gears swinging on pendulums. A bald-headed figure covered in black paint and accented with rhinestones swaggers through a lighted black and white grid. Dancers wearing only white body paint, black shorts, large black boots and some sort of black vinyl shower caps stomp around in a deserted jungle fortress. A rapper yanks her head off of her own shoulders and holds it aloft while continuing to serenade a would-be suitor as her headless body dances in the background.

"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"
Supa Dupa Fly

"Hit Em Wit Da Hee"
Supa Dupa Fly

"Hot Boyz"
Da Real World

"Get Ur Freak On"
Miss E... So Addictive

"One Minute Man"
Miss E... So Addictive

"Work It"
Under Construction

"Gossip Folks"
Under Construction

This week, it was a face full of bees, gravity-defying breakdancing and the soft-focus face of Halle Berry staring up from the bottom of an empty glass that sparked a pack-leading eight MTV Video Music Award nominations. It all adds up to one compelling case: Missy Elliott is the most important video artist of the last 10 years.

Artists like Madonna and Eminem may have owned the pop-culture zeitgeist for the last decade, but Elliott tops them both in terms of consistency, imagination and pure video pop over the last decade. "The Rain," "She's a Bitch," "Get Ur Freak On," "Work It"... each one a modern video classic, each one aped by those who followed, and each one providing yet another example of Missy's underrated vision.

Admit it: the promise of a new Missy Elliott video makes you at least a little bit happy, doesn't it? You're excited before you even see it. You know it will blow your mind (or at least twist it a bit), and when you finally see it, you aren't disappointed.

Working in a genre that rarely reaches beyond its own set of well-worn visual clichés (booty + bling = hit), Missy is an especially refreshing force. A fiercely independent artist, she writes and produces her own music and has a heavy hand in how that music is represented in her videos. Working side by side with directors willing to tackle her unique creative vision (Hype Williams early in her career, and David Meyers more recently), Elliott has found a combination of groundbreaking vision and mass appeal unmatched by her contemporaries.

Other artists may have been even more adventurous (Radiohead, Björk and a handful of others come to mind), but none have consistently brought such bold visions to a mainstream audience. For instance, hard rock visionaries Tool have made a career out of blending their brooding, booming sound with bold, intense and ambitious images, but they have never reached the audience that's Elliott quirky hip-pop touches. Her mastery comes in marrying dynamic and inventive visuals with music that practically dares you to get it out of your head.

While Missy has made her mark by taking her unique vision to the mainstream, other MTV regulars have certainly reached even larger audiences. Eminem has been virtually inescapable since his arrival in 1999, but his most memorable videos ("My Name Is," "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me") have been more lighthearted than groundbreaking, playing for laughs rather than innovation. While Missy's clips deliver their share of clever imagery, her videos move beyond the snack-food nature of sight gags into visuals that stick to your ribs.

And while Madonna has been synonymous with daring videos throughout her career, her more ambitious clips have met a mixed reaction over the past decade. Viewers have seen perhaps only two truly great Madonna videos ("Bedtime Story" and "Rain") and a handful of quite good ones ("Take a Bow," "Frozen," "Ray of Light," "Don't Tell Me" and "Music") in the last 10 years. Unfortunately, her most adventurous projects ("What It Feels Like For a Girl," "Bad Girl," and the original cut of "American Life") have aired rarely — if at all — in the U.S. The result has been a mixed bag for viewers awaiting the next Madonna.

Conversely, the truest testament to Elliott's video skills lies in her consistent ability to pop your eyes out of their sockets on a regular basis. In just the last six years, Elliott has churned out 13 videos (not including guest appearances), each one more ambitious than the last. Her most conventional video, 1999's "All in My Grill," saw her stop traffic to go from car to car telling off would-be lovers. And granted, "Beep Me 911" wasn't the greatest clip in retrospect, but it still pulled off the whole doll-comes-to-life thing three years before 'NSYNC tried it.

Despite all this, Elliott has never won a Video Music Award for her work (she does have two stashed somewhere, but they came courtesy of her work with Christina Aguilera, Pink and Mya on "Lady Marmalade"). Her solo work has garnered 17 past nominations, a figure bumped to 25 following this week's announcement. Hopefully she'll cash some of those in come August 28 and finally get the credit (and the hardware) she deserves for some of the most inventive video work of the past 10 years.

MTV.COM?

I think her and Bjork deserve that title
[This message was edited Thu Jul 24 9:29:36 PDT 2003 by twink69]

Missy's videos are always tight!!! Busta Rhyme's no slacker either. If I had to choose between the two, I think I'd vote for Missy!

UptownDeb said:

True that, not sure about calling them the BEST video artists but the BEST urban video artist along with Erykah Badu & Janet Jackson.

I personally think her videos got kinda weak after she stopped working with Hype Williams and enlisted Dave Meyers. I think Dave is alright, but he's extremely overrated. I don't too much care for his cinematography and the choppy style of filming he does in his videos. Hype's vision matched perfectly with Missy's creativity IMHO.

okaypimpn said:

Okaypimpn, if it's not asking too much, can you give one example of what you consider to be each director's best work?

I think Hype's best work with Missy would be
"Supa Dupa Fly" because it was the first
My favourit video director at the moment is Paul Hunter
I like his mellow vibe
his best work is "Roc wit you" "HONEY" & Officially missing you, nothing special but really sexy
David Lachapelle is ok, I just wished he would get over the whole bubble gum colours

twink69 said:

I'd have 2 say that Hype's highlight work wit Missy is "She's A Bitch" I love that video!

UptownDeb said:

Sure. I'll try. Choosing from my favorite list...


Hype Williams-there are a lot to choose from, but I really like Missy's "All N My Grill"

Malik Sayeed-toss-up between "D'Angleo's "Left & Right" and Laurn Hill's "Ex Factor"

Little X-Foxy Brown's "Oh Yeah"

Chris Robinson-Erykah Badu's "Love Of My Life"

Paul Hunter-now it's Pharrell's "Frontin'", but it used to be Puff Daddy's "All About The Benjamins"

Bret Ratner-Dru Hill's "How Deep Is Your Love"

Marc Romaneck-Janet's "Got Till It's Gone"

Francis Lawrence-Lauryn Hill and Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low"

Dave Meyers-Missy's "Take Away"


These are the big cats that I can think of now.
[This message was edited Thu Jul 24 10:43:38 PDT 2003 by okaypimpn]

okaypimpn said:

Oh, honey, sorry I made you work so hard. I should've been more clear. I meant the best Missy video and the best Busta video by each director. But, don't knock yourself out.

UptownDeb said:

No problem. Okay, my favorite Busta video by Hype is "Fire" and my favorite Missy video is "All N My Grill."

okaypimpn said:

Thank you! (Never seen either one. j/k)

She has one of the most unusual videos in the hip-hop arena, that makes it one of the best.

Dont 4get the weird robotniks of "Beep Me 911"

and the nice asian imagry in "Take Away"

Missy is definitely up there. But nobody's a better video artist than Bjork. Ever.

TRON said:

co-sign

TRON said:

You're absolutely right.

TRON said :

Missy is definitely up there. But nobody's a better video artist than Bjork. Ever.

---

Agree ~ There is NOT a better video artist than Bjork ~ nothing visual makes me feel more alive ~ or feel more anything for that matter!

Bjork's videos are cool, too. But I'll settle for Missy's video because at least I can figure out what message or idea she's trying to convey. I guess it just has to do with being from this planet.

TRON said:

Amen. "All Is Full Of Love" is the best video ever made.