This Is Not a Test! is the fifth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 25, 2003, in the United States. It was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production from Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart and Elliott herself.

The album received generally favorable reviews from critics. The album debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200, selling 143,600 copies in the first week of release.

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score =

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = B

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score =

| rev4 = Los Angeles Times

| rev4score =

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 8/10

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 8.5/10

| rev7 = Q

| rev7score =

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score =

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9score = A−

| rev10 = The Village Voice

| rev10score = A

This Is Not a Test! was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 21 reviews. John Bush of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, saying the album "is an effective argument for song-by-song downloads."

Year-end lists

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+ Appearances on year-end lists for This Is Not a Test!

! Publication

! Accolade

! Rank

! class="unsortable"|

|-

! scope="row"| NPR

| Best CDs of 2003

| style="text-align:center;"| 26

|

|-

! scope="row"| The Observer

| Albums of 2003

| style="text-align:center;"| 8

|

|}

Commercial performance

This Is Not a Test! debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200, selling 143,600 copies in the first week of release. The album stayed on the chart for a total of 19 weeks. On December 17, 2003, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over one million copies in the United States. As of November 2015, the album has sold 705,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

Sample credits

  • "Pass That Dutch":
  • 'The Rapper' by The Jaggerz (1970)
  • 'Magic Mountain' by Eric Burdon and War (1970)
  • 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' by Santa Esmeralda (1977)
  • 'Potholes in My Lawn' by De La Soul (1989)
  • 'Scenario' by A Tribe Called Quest feat. Leaders of the New School (1991)
  • "Keep It Movin":
  • 'I Know I've Been Wrong' by Mashmakhan (1970)
  • "Is This Our Last Time":
  • 'The Second Time Around' by Shalamar (1979)
  • "I'm Really Hot":
  • 'Buffalo Gals' by Malcolm McLaren (1982)
  • 'Release Yourself' by Aleem (1984)
  • 'Hot Music (Jazz Mix)' by Soho (1989)
  • 'Doin It' by LL Cool J (1995)
  • "Don't Be Cruel":
  • 'Push It' by Salt-N-Pepa (1986)
  • "Let It Bump":
  • 'I Cram to Understand U' by MC Lyte (1988)
  • "Pump It Up":
  • 'Please, Please, Please' by James Brown and The Famous Flames (1956)
  • "Let Me Fix My Weave":
  • 'Please Understand' by MC Lyte (1989)

Personnel

  • June Ambrose – stylist
  • Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya – engineer
  • Beenie Man – vocals, guest appearance
  • Ian Blanch – engineer
  • Bless – scratching, group member
  • Mary J. Blige – vocals, guest appearance
  • Stacy Boge – photo production
  • Anita Marisa Boriboon – art direction, design
  • Craig "Boogie" Brockman – keyboards, producer
  • Jay Brown – executive producer
  • Suzanne Burge – product manager
  • Demacio Castellon – mixing assistant
  • Vadim Chislov – mixing assistant
  • The Clark Sisters – vocals, guest appearance
  • Annette Coleman – hair stylist
  • Jimmy Douglass – engineer
  • Elephant Man – vocals, guest appearance
  • Missy Elliott – vocals, producer, executive producer
  • Fabolous – vocals, guest appearance
  • Roberto Fantauzzi – photo production
  • Linda Fields – background vocals
  • Andre Johnson – coordination
  • Claudine Joseph – product manager
  • R. Kelly – vocals, guest appearance
  • Michael Kennedy – prop design
  • Scott Kieklak – mixing
  • Safiya Lewis – coordination
  • Nelly – vocals, guest appearance
  • Lili Picou – design
  • Herb Powers – mastering
  • Chris Puram – engineer
  • Senator Jimmy D – mixing
  • Nisan Stewart – producer
  • Timbaland – producer, executive producer
  • Alonzo Vargas – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Weekly chart performance for This Is Not a Test!

! scope="col"|Chart (2003–2004)

! scope="col"|Peak<br>position

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)

|align="center"|5

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

|style="text-align:center;"|41

|-

! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

|style="text-align:center;"|7

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)

|align="center"|22

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

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! scope="row"

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! scope="row"

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Year-end chart performance for This Is Not a Test!

! scope="col"| Chart (2004)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)

| style="text-align:center;"| 17

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| style="text-align:center;"| 110

|-

! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

| style="text-align:center;"| 41

|}

Certifications

Release history

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+ This Is Not a Test! release history

! scope="col"| Region

! scope="col"| Date

|-

! scope="row"| Germany

|rowspan="2"|November 24, 2003

|-

! scope="row"| United Kingdom

|-

! scope="row"| Canada

|rowspan="4"|November 25, 2003

|-

! scope="row"| France

|-

! scope="row"| Japan

|-

! scope="row"| United States

|}

References