Under Construction is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 12, 2002, in the United States. The album was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production by Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart, Errol "Poppi" McCalla and Elliott herself.
The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 259,000 copies in its first week. The single peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying at that position for ten weeks. As of 2023, "Work It" has sold over 3 million copies in the US alone. The official music video was directed by Dave Meyers.
Under Constructions second and final official single was "Gossip Folks", which was released on December 9, 2002. Dave Meyers directed the video. "Gossip Folks" charted in 14 countries worldwide.
"Back in the Day", featuring Jay-Z, was intended to be the album's third single. It was released in February 8, 2003, peaking at number 86 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, but was scrapped as a single.
Additionally, another contender to be the album's official third single, was a newly recorded remix of "Pussycat" with guest vocals by Janet Jackson and featuring Lil' Kim. Elliott's label felt the song was too explicit to release and plans were withdrawn.
Reception
Under Construction received universal acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, it earned an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
AllMusic editor John Bush called the album "one of the best rap LPs of the year." He felt that "while Timbaland's stark digital soul girds these tracks, Missy herself continues her artistic progression, trying to push hip-hop forward with an almost pleading intro and neatly emphasizing her differences from other rappers by writing tracks for nearly every facet of the female side of relationships." Drowned in Sounds Chris Nettleton remarked that lead single "Work It" was a "good sample of the food for offer, individual, funky, sexy music. Add that to moments of sober thought, moments of Salt, Pepa and N.E.R.D.-y chilli sauce, moments of banging old-school, moments of silky R&B, and you have a killer album."
Blender critic Jonah Weiner felt that "like 2001's Miss E… So Addictive [...] Under Construction is a sex-obsessed dance-floor romp [...] Tempering futurism with retro-rap here, they feed the old through the new and refresh both. Shaken by violent hip-hop feuds and the passing of friends, [Elliott] asks herself how long she can keep the party going. Brilliantly reanimating the music of her youth through her club-ready sound, Elliott collapses past and present to defy death [...]."
Entertainment Weeklys David Browne's noted that "the zigzagging, staccato lurches and wrecking-ball bass lines of [...] Timbaland, are back in force. This time, he's constructed dance-floor jams that are experimental and challenging in their malfunctioning-robot grooves or swooping and slippery. What sound like sitars, rapping aliens, and the world's funkiest vacuum cleaners zoom in and out." Less impressed, New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote that "despite some charming stretches, the old-school sound wears thin over the course of an album. Having paid obeisance to the past, Elliott stands ready to take its lessons to her next party."
In 2010, Under Construction was included on Q magazine's Albums of the Century listing. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' guitarist Nick Zinner commented on the album: "It still sounds incredibly fresh, in all meanings of the word. Karen [O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' singer] and I listened to it all the time. We used to play it before we'd go onstage [...] "Funky Fresh Dressed" is my favourite track. I don't know what else to say other than it's amazing."
Year-end lists
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Publication
! Accolade
! Rank
! class="unsortable"|
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! scope="row"| BBC Radio 6 Music
| 16 Albums That Define 2002
|
|
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! scope="row"| HipHopDX
| The 20 Best Rap Albums of All Time
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
|
|-
! scope="row"| The Muse
| The Best Albums of 2002
|
|
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! scope="row"| NME
| Best Albums and Tracks of 2002
| style="text-align:center;"| 25
|
|-
! scope="row"| Pitchfork
| Top 50 Albums of 2002
| style="text-align:center;"| 28
|
|-
! scope="row"| PopMatters
| Best Music of 200
|
|
|-
! scope="row"| Rolling Stone
| 100 Best Albums of the 2000s
| style="text-align:center;"| 28
|
|-
! scope="row"| Slant
| Top 10 Albums and Singles of 2002
| style="text-align:center;"| 54
|
|-
! scope="row"| Slant
| The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s
| style="text-align:center;"| 54
|
|-
! scope="row"| Village Voice
| Top 10 Albums of 2002
| style="text-align:center;"| 10
|
|}
Commercial performance
Under Construction debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 259,000 copies in its first week. The album stayed on the chart for a total of 36 weeks. On July 14, 2003, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States. By November 2015, the album had sold 2,142,000 copies in the US.
Track listing
Notes
- <sup></sup> denotes co-producer
Personnel
- Executive producers – Missy Elliott, Timbaland
- Producers – Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Craig Brockman, Errol "Poppi" McCalla
- Vocal assistance – Tweet, Lisa Crawford
- Engineers – Jeff Allen, Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya, Josh Butler, Jimmy Douglass, Guru, Mike "Hitman" Wilson
- Assistant engineers – Marc Stephen Lee, Steve Penny, David Snyder, Cory Williams
- Mixing – Jimmy Douglass, Timbaland
- Mixing assistance – Steamy
- Mastering – Herb Powers
- Design and art direction – Anita Marisa Boriboon, Lili Picou
- Photography – Roberto Fantauzzi
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+Weekly chart performance for Under Construction
!Chart (2002)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)
|align="center"|6
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|style="text-align:center;"|23
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
|style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)
|style="text-align:center;"|32
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS)
|align="center"| 9
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|align="center"|3
|-
!scope="row"|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"| 174
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"| 31
|-
! scope="row"|Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"| 17
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|157
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+2003 year-end chart performance for Under Construction
!scope="col"| Chart (2003)
!scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)
| style="text-align:center;"|96
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)
| style="text-align:center;"| 14
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|148
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| style="text-align:center;"|30
|-
!scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|}