Back in the Day (Missy Elliott song)
| "Back in the Day" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Missy Elliott featuring Jay-Z | |
| from the album Under Construction | |
| Released | February 8, 2003 |
| Studio |
|
| Length | 4:02 |
| Label | Goldmind |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Timbaland |
"Back in the Day" is a 2003 hip-hop song by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, featuring guest vocals from Jay-Z and Elliott protégé Tweet. The song appears on her 2002 album Under Construction and was at one time planned for release as a single. It peaked at #86 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 2003 before being scrapped as a single.
About the song
[edit]Produced by Elliott's main producer and longtime collaborator Timbaland, "Back in the Day" is an ode to the classic era of old school hip-hop, when the hip-hop culture was, Elliott sings, fun and peaceful, compared to the more violent scope of modern-day hip-hop. "Back in the day/hip-hop has changed", she sings. During the bridge of the song she even makes a point of referencing "Self-Destruction", a 1989 collaborative benefit single for peace featuring a number of that era's hip-hop stars. Incidentally, MC Lyte's verse from "Self-Destruction" is sampled on another of Under Construction's album tracks, "Funky Fresh Dressed".
Jay-Z contributes a rap verse in which he "creatively" references a number of hip-hop artists (for example, stating "I kill at will like solid water, dude", a reference to Ice Cube's 1990 EP Kill At Will). At one point during his verse, Jay-Z raps "so fuck Chuck Philips and Bill O'Reilly/if they try to stop hip-hop, we all gon' rally", a reference to two of hip-hop's most vocal critics.
Critical reception
[edit]Pitchfork found "although the song reeks of both a Confucian historical reworking and old-skool hip-hop dilettantism, Jay delivers a smoothly masterful verse that name-checks personal heroes Showbiz and A.G. and calls out the narrow-minded moralizing of political pundits Bill O'Reilly and Chuck Phillips [...] Missy's delivery ain't bad, either. I mean, it's not like she's composing anything traditionally deep or revelatory, but the ease with which she navigates the Timbaland's musical landmines is stunning – these two were made for each other."[2] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian felt that "Elliott is having fun here, playfully putting Jay-Z in his place on the sunny "Back in the Day"."[3]
"Back in the Day" references
[edit]Below is a list of old-school hip-hop people and items Elliott and Jay-Z namedrop in "Back in the Day":
Personnel
[edit]- Lead Vocals by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Jay-Z
- Background Vocals by Tweet
- Whistle by Timbaland
- Written by Melissa Elliott, Timothy Mosley, and Shawn Carter
- Produced by Timbaland for Timbaland Productions; Co-produced by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[4] | 86 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Bush, John. "Under Construction – Missy Elliott". AllMusic. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ Chennault, Sam (November 21, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (November 8, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". The Guardian. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ "Missy Elliott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
