OLL #9: This Chick Is a Sick Individual

Dear Missy Elliot,

You're kind of my hero.

Right now, no song makes me want to stand up and dance in my cubicle to the astonishment/amusement of my coworkers and passing students like "We Run This." I love the beat, the marching band chords in the background, the more than slightly raunchy lyrics. On Saturday, I went hiking and found a little booty-shakin' energy at the end of 7 miles when that song kicked up on my discman (that's right, discman - I like to think of my lack of an Ipod more as an act of resistance rather than a product of lack of funds).

But it's not just about danceability. I love your bravado. I love that you say, "I shakes my gut like 'yeah, bitch, what?'" I love that you are always sexual without ever sexualizing your image for consumption. I have the feeling that if some guy tried to get you to cook for him, you wouldn't give him a 20-minute psuedo-feminist lecture, but you would laugh in his face and casually walk away. While other women who are singers and rappers can seem overly touchy, man-hating, and contradictory, you exude the kind of confidence that precludes all that. You're a rapper before a "female artist," and I think that helps us all out much more than any of the "Girl Power" pop acts like The Spice Girls or Destiny's Child (not that they aren't enjoyable in their own right).

So, thanks. I'm grateful for the chance to shake my gut.

Love,
Stephanie