"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"

Missy Elliott
(Gold Mind/EastWest, 1997)

It's got Missy's sexy, stoned nonchalance and Timbaland's deep funk whump, with thunder peals punctuating the beat like high-hat rimshots from God. Then there's the Ann Peebles sample, a primordial blues couplet that is God. But above all, what made this rap such a turning point were the silences, empty spaces through which hardcore challengers leaked away like so much piss and vinegar. Standing astride their incontinent remains, Missy could rule by just counting out the tempo, escaping clean on the one line everyone remembers: "Beep, beep/Who got the keys to the jeep?/ Vrrrrooommm!"

-- Franklin Soults