Supa Dupa Fly

While in high school, Elliott formed a group called Fayze—later to be renamed Sista—with three of her friends.[6][7] The group attracted the attention of record producer DeVante Swing, who was part of the R&B group Jodeci. After being signed to the Swing Mob record label, Sista recorded an album in New York, but the album was never released. This led to subsequent termination of Sista's recording contract. Elliott returned to Portsmouth, Virginia, where she and record producer Timbaland began writing songs and contributed to singer Aaliyah's album One in a Million. In 1996, Elliott was signed to East West Records, which at that time was a division of Elektra Entertainment Group, and was given her own record label, The Goldmind Inc. Sylvia Rhone, then the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Elektra, encouraged Elliott to embark upon a solo career.[6][8] Recording sessions of Supa Dupa Fly took place at the Master Sound Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia;[9] the recording process took place over slightly more than a week.[10] The album was produced solely by Timbaland.[6]

The first single released from the album was "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)".[11] As part of the promotional drive for her album, Elliott took part of the 1998 Lilith Fair tour; she became the first female rapper to perform at the event.[12] She also joined rapper Jay-Z's Rock the Mic tour.[12]

Supa Dupa Fly brings together elements of hip hop, dance, R&B, electronic music, and soul.[13][14] Music critic Garry Mulholland described Timbaland's production as "eschewing samples for a bump 'n' grind electronica, strongly influenced by the digital rhythms of dancehall reggae, but rounder, fuller, fatter".[15] AllMusic described it as consisting of "lean, digital grooves [...] packed with unpredictable arrangements and stuttering rhythms that often resemble slowed-down drum'n'bass breakbeats."[13] A retrospective review from The New Yorker emphasizes the usage of "extra-musical noises" as "instruments in and of themselves" on the album, and describes the result as "a futuristic sound in which the organic and the synthetic were complementary".[10]

Elliott's raps were described as "full of hilariously surreal free associations that fit the off-kilter sensibility of the music to a tee".[13] According to author Mickey Hess, the album's lyrical content "reveals Elliott's complex, creative, and challenging discussion about womanhood; her demand for respect, respect for her personal voice and her desire for fulfilling intimacy with lovers and friends".[16] Elliott has also been recognized for her diverse cadences and deliveries on the album, a versatility that has been described as her "oily ability to slip from singing to rapping to elliptical riffing".[10] The album's opening track, "Busta's Intro", features rapper Busta Rhymes as a town crier warning of a "historical event about to unfold".[16] "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" contains a sample of Ann Peebles' 1973 song "I Can't Stand the Rain".[17] "Pass da Blunt" is partly based on the song "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth. The track "Bite Our Style (Interlude)" samples the song "Morning Glory" by Jamiroquai.[18]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Chicago Tribune	[19]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[20]
The Guardian	[21]
Los Angeles Times	[22]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[25]
Spin	8/10[26]
The Village Voice	A−[27]

Upon its release, Supa Dupa Fly received acclaim among music critics. Writers lauded record producer Timbaland's production as unique and revolutionary. AllMusic called the album a "boundary-shattering postmodern masterpiece" whose "futuristic, nearly experimental style became the de facto sound of urban radio at the close of the millennium".[13] Elliott's rapping, singing and songwriting also received much acclaim. The 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide rated the album five out of five stars, noting that the avant-garde sound of the album "made Elliott and Timbaland the hottest writer/producer team around".[25] Mulholland called the album a "key prophecy of the dominant 21st century black pop", noting Elliott's ability to "avoid the whole east vs. west, playas vs. gangstas mess." He described Elliott's style as "everything the hip hop doctor ordered; a woman who could flip between aggression and romance, sex and nonsense, materialism and imagination, without batting one outrageously spidery eyelash".[15]

Spin magazine ranked the album at number nine on its Top 20 Albums of the Year.[16] In 1998, four out of five music critics from The New York Times ranked the album as one of their top ten favorite albums of 1997.[28] The album earned Elliott two Grammy Award nominations: Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)".[16]

With the release of Supa Dupa Fly, Elliott became one of the most prominent female rappers.[29] Her persona on the album established a niche separate from the archetypes of "hypersexualized vixens or rugged hip hop purists", leading it to be argued that Supa Dupa Fly "caused a shift in how women in rap were perceived".[30] The album is credited for redefining hip hop and R&B;[13] in particular, Elliott's combination of rapped and sung vocals has been described as "pioneering".[10] Its production has been described as "visionary" for its usage of sampling, in which samples are not used straightforwardly and instead undergo "bending... to fit the album's unconventional tempos".[10] Its sound is frequently described as "futuristic" and "ahead of its time", with retrospective reviews often stating that the album retains that feel even decades after its release.[8][10] Steve Huey of AllMusic felt that the album was "arguably the most influential album ever released by a female hip-hop artist".[13]

The music videos from Supa Dupa Fly have been recognized as influential for their Afrofuturist style, with Elliott's leather "trash bag suit" in the "I Can't Stand the Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" video being hailed as especially iconic.[10][30]

Supa Dupa Fly debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 129,000 copies sold in the first week released,[31] becoming the highest debut for a female rapper at the time.[12][32] The album remained on the chart for 37 weeks.[33] On September 19, 1997, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies.[34] As of June 2008, it has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States.[33]

All tracks produced by Timbaland.

Credits for Supa Dupa Fly adapted from AllMusic.[35]

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)

• Hess, Mickey (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33904-2.

• Supa Dupa Fly at Discogs
• Article at Spin