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Back in the Day (Missy Elliott song)

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"Back in the Day"
Back in the Day (Missy Elliott song).jpg
Promotional single by Missy Elliott featuring Jay-Z
from the album Under Construction
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2003
Studio
Length4:02
Label Goldmind
Songwriters
Producers
  • Missy Elliott
  • Timbaland

"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 Billboard 's US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in May 2003 before being scrapped as a single.

Contents

Background

Produced by Elliott's main producer and longtime collaborator Timbaland, [2] "Back in the Day" is an ode to the classic era of old school hip-hop, when the hip-hop culture was, Elliott sings, fun and peaceful, compared to the more violent scope of modern-day hip-hop. "Back in the day/hip-hop has changed", she sings. During the bridge of the song she even makes a point of referencing "Self-Destruction", a 1989 collaborative benefit single for peace featuring a number of that era's hip-hop stars. Incidentally, MC Lyte's verse from "Self-Destruction" is sampled on another of Under Construction's album tracks, "Funky Fresh Dressed".

Jay-Z contributes a rap verse in which he "creatively" references a number of hip-hop artists (for example, stating "I kill at will like solid water, dude", a reference to Ice Cube's 1990 EP Kill At Will. At one point during his verse, Jay-Z raps "so fuck Chuck Philips and Bill O'Reilly/if they try to stop hip-hop, we all gon' rally", a reference to two of hip-hop's most vocal critics.

Critical reception

Pitchfork found "although the song reeks of both a Confucian historical reworking and old-skool hip-hop dilettantism, Jay delivers a smoothly masterful verse that name-checks personal heroes Showbiz and A.G. and calls out the narrow-minded moralizing of political pundits Bill O'Reilly and Chuck Phillips [...] Missy's delivery ain't bad, either. I mean, it's not like she's composing anything traditionally deep or revelatory, but the ease with which she navigates the Timbaland's musical landmines is stunning – these two were made for each other." [3] 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"." [4] 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. [5] 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. [6]

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. [7]

"Back in the Day" references

Below is a list of people and items Elliott and Jay-Z namedrop in "Back in the Day":

Hip hop fashion

Dances

Hip hop artists

Personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of Under Construction . [2]

Charts

Chart performance for "Back in the Day"
Chart (2003)Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [7] 86

References

  1. 1 2 Bush, John. "Under Construction – Missy Elliott". AllMusic . Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Under Construction (booklet). Missy Elliott. Elektra Records. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ↑ Chennault, Sam (November 21, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  4. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (November 8, 2002). "Missy Elliott: Under Construction". The Guardian . Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Album: Missy Elliott". The Independent . November 21, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Elliott, Missy : Under Construction". NME . September 12, 2005. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Missy Elliott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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