Missy Elliott - This Is Not a Test!

Listeners shouldn't blame Missy Elliott for slipping into a holding pattern for her fifth album, This Is Not A Test! Early on she arrived at a distinctive sound -- the confident, clubbed-up jam with little melodic power but endless reserves of kinetic energy, courtesy of Timbaland's rubbery productions -- and she refined it well with hits like 2001's "Get Ur Freak On" and the following year's "Work It" and "Gossip Folks." Still, although she remains by far the most interesting figure in hip-hop, This Is Not A Test! has more filler than Elliott's allowed on a record since 1999's Da Real World. Read More