"Back in the Day" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott, featuring guest vocals from Jay-Z. It was written by Elliott, Jay-Z and Timbaland for her fourth studio album Under Construction (2002), while production was helmed by the latter, with co-production from Elliott. At one time planned for release as a single, the song peaked at number 86 on Billboards US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in May 2003 before being scrapped as a single.
Background
Produced by Elliott's main producer and longtime collaborator Timbaland, 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"." British online newspaper The Independent singled out "Back in the Day" as the "key track" that hinges on hip-hop nostalgia and commentary about "gold chains, fat laces and old-skool" vibes. NME editor Victoria Segal mentioned "Back in the Day" as the "only low point" on its parent album due to its standard hip-hop nostalgia, even though she praised Elliott overall performance.
Commercial performance
"Back in the Day" peaked at number 86 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the weeks of May 10, 2003.
- Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya – recording engineer
- Demacio "Demo" Castellón – assistant engineer
- Jimmy Douglass – mixing and recording engineer
- Missy Elliott – co-producer, vocalist, writer
- Jay-Z – vocalist, writer
- Gimel "Guru" Keaton – recording engineer
- Marc Lee – assistant engineer
- Timbaland – mixing, producer
- Tweet – background vocalist
- Ben "Steamy" Williams – mixing assistant
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for "Back in the Day"
!Chart (2003)
!Peak<br />position
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