| "She's a Bitch" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott | ||||||||||
| from the album Da Real World | ||||||||||
| Released | April 20, 1999 | |||||||||
| Format | 12" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | September - November 1998[1] | |||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||||||||
| Length | 3:59 | |||||||||
| Label | Goldmind/Elektra | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Missy Elliott Tim Mosley |
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| Producer | Timbaland | |||||||||
| Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"She's a Bitch" is a song recorded by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott for her second album, Da Real World (1999). Produced by Timbaland, it was released as the album's debut single, and despite an expensive music video directed by noted video director Hype Williams, the song peaked only at number 90 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, with Da Real World's other singles "All N My Grill" and "Hot Boyz" going on to greater chart success.
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Written by Missy Elliott and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, "She's a Bitch" set the darker tone of Da Real World, featuring Elliott's angry lyrics and an ominous soundscape courtesy of Timbaland. The song made heavy use of the word "bitch" as a double-edged commentary on its different meanings. It is used in both the negative sense that Elliott's critics would label her as a "female dog", and also in a sense intended by Elliott to be self-empowering.
The "She's a Bitch" video was directed by Hype Williams; similar to his other clips for Elliott, Williams makes extensive use of unique effects, costuming, and sets. Highlights of the video include Elliott and her dancers being raised from underwater on a giant hydraulic "M", and also a complete set made from Electro Luminescent lighting. Although EL lighting is cheap and readily available today, in 1999 it was not. Experts had to be flown in from Germany to construct the set, which even included an EL costume.
Costuming for the video was also unconventional. For much of the video, Missy Elliott and her dancers can be seen dressed in rubber suits with bald heads. The production cost of the video was over $2 million, making it one of the most expensive videos of all time.
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Side B
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Side B
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100[7] | 90 |
| Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[7] | 30 |
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