Work It (Missy Elliott song)

Background

"Work It" was written and produced by Elliott and longtime collaborator Timbaland and recorded at the Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida. According to Timbaland, the song underwent multiple revisions before reaching its final form. Elliott and him recorded at least five versions, experimenting with different lyrics and flows, but none fully satisfied him. The breakthrough came during the last attempt, when Elliott proposed reversing the line "I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it." Upon hearing the reversed vocal, he immediately recognized it as the definitive version of the song. Timbaland challenged Elliott to deliver a strong and distinctive set of lyrics. Uncomfortable recording vocals in front of others, she worked in a separate room and then played her takes back for his evaluation, an experience she compared to presenting a report card. After several attempts, he ultimately approved the performance.

Composition

"Work It" prominently incorporates elements from American old school rap group Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three's "Request Line" (1984), particularly the opening vocal scratches and the call-and-response phrase "Is it worth it? Let me work it," which serves as a rhythmic and textural component. In addition, "Work It" utilizes elements from hip-hop group Run-D.M.C.'s song "Peter Piper" (1986), which contribute to the percussive framework and rhythmic drive of the composition. Beyond these primary references, the track also incorporates subtler interpolations from American jazz keyboardist Bob James's instrumental cover of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" (1975) and American rock band Blondie's "1978 number one hit Heart of Glass," adding melodic and harmonic layers.

A portion of the song's lyrics helped popularize the slang term badonkadonk among mainstream audiences, describing the movement of the singer’s buttocks and challenging the listener. During the chorus, the lyric "I put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it" is immediately followed by the same line played in reverse, and later in the song, the phrase "Watch the way Missy like to take it backwards" is also reversed. "Work It" additionally employs creative sound effects to convey sexual innuendo. An elephant trumpeting is used in the chorus to obscure a sexual reference, present in both explicit and edited versions. Onomatopoeic expressions such as "ra-ta-ta-ta" and "buboomp buboomp boomp" simulate sexual bodily movements.

Critical reception

NME editor Alex Needham described "Back in the Day" as "marvellously louche" and write: "It transpires that Missy's become more of a celery stick and glass of Evian type of person, the sex in "Work It" presumably to be fitted in between treadmill sessions. Fortunately Missys musical talents haven’t gone the way of her booty. She just seems to have lost some of her… Missyness," while his colleague Victoria Segal called the song an "incredible single," noting its "hilarious squirt of erotic nonsense" on a record full of "shocks and surprises." In review for Under Construction, Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani singled out "Work It" as one of the "funky, freaky, and fun" tracks. He felt that the song was picking up stylistically where Elliotty's earlier hit "Get Ur Freak On" left off. John Bush of AllMusic described the song as "turn[ing] the tables on male rappers, taking charge of the sex game, matching their lewdest, rudest rhymes, and also featuring the most notorious backmasked vocal of the year." Bush cited the song as an example of Elliott's "artistic progression, trying to push hip-hop forward [...] neatly emphasizing her differences from other rappers by writing tracks for nearly every facet of the female side of relationships." Drowned in Sound described "Work It" as having a "filthy, irresistible, old-school groove."

Rolling Stone ranked "Work It" 25th in its list "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" and number 56 on its list "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2003, The Village Voice named "Work It" the best single of 2002 on their annual year-end critics' poll Pazz & Jop; "Get Ur Freak On", a previous Elliott single, topped the same poll a year earlier. Stereogum and Paste ranked the song number two and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Missy Elliott Songs. In 2025, the Australian edition ranked of Rolling Stone ranked "Work It" 101th in its list of "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far," writing: "To push music forward, Missy Elliott had to go backward. The buzzy, burbling "Work It" beat [...] was, even by their standards, so intergalactically freaky that Eliott needed a few tries at writing a song over it before she found the right approach."

Commercial performance

"Work It" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on chart issue dated September 14, 2002, at number 75. In its second and third weeks, it leaped up to number 42 and number 24, respectively, taking the Airplay Gainer title in both weeks. Within five weeks, it reached the top ten, at number 8, and gradually rose from there. On the chart issue dated November 16, 2002, the song reached number 2, but because of the massive success of "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, it never reached number one. Instead, the song stayed at number two for ten weeks, a record that it shares with "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner from 1981. Despite never topping the Hot 100 chart, the song topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for five weeks. It has since been certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the UK Hip Hop/R&B chart. It was later certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting sales of 600,000 units. Elsewhere in Europe, "Work It" reached number twelve on the Dutch Single Top 100 and number nineteen on the Dutch Top 40. The song also peaked at number eleven in Denmark, number fifteen in Sweden, and number sixteen in Norway, while reaching number fourteen in Switzerland. In Italy, "Work It" peaked at number 23 on the Italian Singles Chart and later earned a Gold certification from the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI), denoting sales of 35,000 units. The single also reached number nineteen on the Eurochart Hot 100.

In Canada, the song originally reached number 35 on the Canadian Singles Chart in 2003. In 2015, "Work It" re-peaked at number 31 on the chart, more than a decade after its original chart run a result of Elliott's performance at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show earlier in the month. In Australia, the single reached number six on the ARIA Singles Chart and number five on the Australian Urban chart, becoming Elliott's highest-charting solo single by then, and earned a Gold certification from Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 35,000 units. In New Zealand, "Work It" peaked at number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart, likewise becoming Elliott's highest-charting solo single in the market at the time, and was later certified 2× Platinum by Recorded Music NZ, representing 60,000 units sold.

Accolades

"Work It" garnered multiple industry recognitions in both awards won and nominations. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in 2004, marking Elliott's third consecutive win in the category. It was also nominated in the Best Rap Song category at the same ceremony. At the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, "Work It" won for Hot Rap Track, acknowledging its strong performance on genre-specific charts. In awards presented by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), "Work It" received recognition at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards as one of the Award-Winning Songs of 2004, and at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards as a Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song and Award Winning Rap Song.

In addition, the song received two nominations at the Brit Awards 2003: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (as part of Missy Elliott’s overall recognition) and Viewer’s Choice for the song itself. It went on to win Best Rap/Hip-Hop Track at the International Dance Music Awards, as well as Outstanding Song at the NAACP Image Awards. "Work It" also won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Music Single and the 2003 Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year.

Music video

Elliott reunited with frequent collaborator, director Dave Meyers to shoot the music video for "Work It." Filmed in Los Angeles, California, The visuals were choreographed by Nadine "Hi‑Hat" Ruffin, and features Alyson Stoner as the lead kid dancer, selected from a pool of 400 to 500 auditioning children. Elliott personally selected the breakdancers from New York and was present at every audition for the other dancers, including Stefan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente. It includes visual tributes to Elliott's late friends and collaborators Aaliyah and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, whose images are airbrushed on the back of her jacket and hood of the car to commemorate their recent deaths. Timbaland, Tweet, and Eve make cameo appearances in the clip.

Meyers and Elliott conceived the video as a space where anything could happen. As with their previous collaborations, Elliott would propose initial ideas, such as setting portions of "Work It" in a beauty salon, after which Meyers expanded on the concepts, developing multiple visual scenarios and presenting a wide range of ideas for consideration. Meyers and his production designer conceived a sequence that uses bees, while brainstorming a shocking opening for the video. The scene was filmed without live honey bees on Elliott's face, using a mannequin head previously created for her video of 2001's "One Minute Man," which was refurbished and composited with separate footage of Elliott in post-production. In a restaurant scene, a glass of wine was mistakenly left in Elliott's hand instead of water, resulting in a take in which she appeared intoxicated and babbling playful nonsense when singer Janet Jackson visited the set. A model was brought from London to the set to appear as a Halle Berry lookalike in the scene.

"Work It" premiered on MTV's countdown show Total Request Live on September 19, 2002, and won Video of the Year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. At the same ceremony, Elliott received additional nominations for Best Female Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, and Best Direction along with Meyers, while art director Charles Infante, editor Chris Davis, cinematograph Michael Bernard, and the staff at Realm Productions were also recognized with nominations in the categories of Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects in a Video categories, respectively. In 2015, Stoner reunited with former co-stars to release a tribute dance video for Elliott, responding to public curiosity about their absence from the 2015 Super Bowl performance with Elliott and Katy Perry. In 2018, Billboard ranked the "Work It" video second on their "The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century" listing.

Track listings

US 12-inch single :A1. "Work It" (album version) :A2. "Work It" (amended version) :A3. "Work It" (remix dirty featuring 50 Cent) :A4. "Work It" (remix clean featuring 50 Cent) :B1. "Pussycat" (album version) :B2. "Pussycat" (instrumental) :B3. "Work It" (instrumental)

UK CD single

1. "Work It" (album version) – 4:25
2. "Pussycat" (album version) – 3:36
3. "4 My People" (Basement Jaxx remix video) – 2:58 UK 12-inch and cassette single
4. "Work It" (album version) – 4:25
5. "Work It" (instrumental) – 4:25
6. "Pussycat" (album version) – 3:36

European CD single

1. "Work It" (album version) – 4:25
2. "Pussycat" (album version) – 3:36

Australian CD single

1. "Work It" (album version)
2. "Work It" (amended version)
3. "Pussycat" (album version)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Samples and cover versions

• In February 2023, DJ and record producer Skrillex released the album Quest for Fire, which includes the song "Ratata". The song heavily samples "Work It", with Elliott delivering new vocals.
• On March 23, 2023, British group Flo released the single "Fly Girl", featuring Elliott; the song samples and interpolates "Work It" plus a new rap section from Elliott.

References

Bibliography

• Keazor, Henry; Thorsten Wuebbena: Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen. 3rd. edition, Bielefeld 2011; , pp. 83–113
• Michael Rappe, Under Construction. 2 Vols., Cologne 2011

References

1. Feeney, Nolan. (April 14, 2017). "Timbaland shares untold stories behind songs with Missy Elliott, Madonna, and Beyoncé".
2. [[Associated Press]]. (November 29, 2018). "Missy Elliott on Writing For Aaliyah, Beyonce and Herself".
3. "Sampling in Missy Elliott's ''Work It''".
4. "63. Missy Elliott "Work It" (2002)". Complex.com.
5. Guins, Radford. (2009). "Edited Clean Version: Technology and the Culture of Control". [[University of Minnesota Press]].
6. Needham, Alex. (September 12, 2005). "Elliott, Missy : Work It". [[NME]].
7. Segal, Victoria. (September 12, 2005). "Elliott, Missy : Under Construction". [[NME]].
8. Cinquemani, Sal. (November 13, 2002). "Elliott, Missy : Under Construction". [[Slant Magazine]].
9. Bush, John. "Under Construction: Review".
10. Rawcliffe, Jonathan. (November 11, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Work It".
11. [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617/missy-elliott-work-it-20110616 25: Missy Elliott, 'Work It']
12. Patrin, Nate. (March 3, 2015). "The 10 Best Missy Elliott Songs".
13. O'Brien, Jon. (July 18, 2017). "The 10 Best Missy Elliott Songs".
14. (October 14, 2025). "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far".
15. "The Hot 100 - The Week of September 14, 2002".
16. "The Hot 100 - The Week of September 21, 2002".
17. "The Hot 100 - The Week of September 28, 2002".
18. "The Hot 100 - The Week of October 12, 2002".
19. Caulfield, Keith. (April 11, 2016). "20 Surprising Artists Who Never Had a Hot 100 No. 1 Hit — From One Direction to Bruce Springsteen".
20. "Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott".
21. (June 5, 2003). "2003 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Finalists".
22. "ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2002)".
23. "Missy Elliott Signs With WME: Exclusive".
24. "18th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DANCE MUSIC AWARDS (presented in 2003)". wintermusicconference.com.
25. (December 6, 2002). "India.Arie Leads Image Awards Music Nominations".
26. (August 18, 2003). "A Closer Look At Music-Related Television This Week".
27. Moss, Corey. (November 12, 2002). "Missy Elliott Speaks Gibberish To Janet Jackson On 'Work It' Set: VMA Lens Recap". MTV.
28. (February 12, 2015). "The Little Girl From The Missy Elliott Video Made A Missy Tribute Video And It’s Awesome".
29. Jefferson, J'na. (November 10, 2017). "Interview: 15 Years After “Work It,” Alyson Stoner Talks Missy Elliott’s Character And Influence On Her Career".
30. "Missy Elliott: Work It".
31. Reilly, Dan. (August 26, 2019). "How Missy Elliott’s Music Videos Influenced a Generation, According to the Man Who Directed 11 of Them".
32. Baio, Lincoln. (October 4, 2025). "12/20/24 Post". Instagram.
33. Sanneh, Kelefa. (August 29, 2003). "A Win for Missy Elliott at Music Video Awards". [[New York Times]].
34. (July 24, 2018). "The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century: Critics' Picks".
35. (2002). "Work It". The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records.
36. (2002). "Work It". [[The Goldmind Inc.]], [[Elektra Records]].
37. (2002). "Work It". The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records.
38. (2002). "Work It". The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records.
39. (2002). "Work It". The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records.
40. (2002). "Work It". The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records.
41. "Top 50 Singles".
42. "Canadian Top 20 in 2002".
43. (November 23, 2002). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
44. "Missy Elliott Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)".
45. (January 14, 2003). "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002 (Part 2)". [[Jam!]].
46. "UK Year-End Charts 2002". [[UKChartsPlus]].
47. (January 18, 2003). "Top 40 Urban Tracks of 2002".
48. "Billboard Top 100 – 2002".
49. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 2002".
50. (December 28, 2002). "The Year in Music 2002: Hot Rap Tracks".
51. (December 20, 2002). "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2002".
52. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2003". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
53. "Billboard Top 100 – 2003".
54. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 2003".
55. (December 27, 2003). "Year in Music: Hot Rap Tracks".
56. (December 19, 2003). "The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs".
57. (December 19, 2003). "The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs".
58. "The Billboard Hot 100 Singles & Tracks – Decade Year End Charts". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
59. (September 13, 2002). "Going for Adds".
60. (September 30, 2002). "Going for Adds".
61. (November 4, 2002). "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 4th November 2002". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
62. (November 2, 2002). "New Releases – For Week Starting 4 November 2002: Singles".
63. (December 16, 2002). "New Releases".
64. Najera, Ally. (February 26, 2023). "Skrillex Releases New Song "Ratata" Featuring Missy Elliott And Mr. Oizo".
65. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael. (March 23, 2023). "Flo and Missy Elliott Share Video for New Song "Fly Girl": Watch".
66. Williams, Sophie. (March 23, 2023). "FLO team up with Missy Elliott on new single 'Fly Girl'".
67. Griffiths, George. (March 23, 2023). "New Releases".