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Work It
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the animation Workit by "EvilZug", see Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
- For the song by Nelly, see Work It (Nelly song).
| "Work It" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Missy Elliott | ||
| from the album Under Construction |
||
| Released | October 22, 2002 | |
| Format | Digital download CD single 12" single |
|
| Recorded | 2002 | |
| Genre | Hip hop | |
| Length | 4:58 | |
| Label | Goldmind/Elektra | |
| Writer(s) | Missy Elliott Tim Mosley |
|
| Producer(s) | Timbaland and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott (co-producer) | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Missy Elliott singles chronology | ||
| "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is about You)" (2002) |
"Work It" (2002) |
"Gossip Folks" (2003) |
"Work It" is a hip hop song written by American rapper/singer Missy Elliott and her producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for Elliott's critically acclaimed fourth studio album Under Construction (2002). The song's musical style, and production by Timbaland, were heavily inspired by Old school hip hop from the 1980s, and includes a portion which samples Run-D.M.C.'s "Peter Piper". Released as the album's first single in the fall of 2002, the track reached the number two position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming Missy Elliott's most successful single to date.
The single spent ten consecutive weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States (about this Elliott confessed: "I just wanted to die those ten weeks, I mean, it wasn't cool"), and reached number one for five weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song is tied with Foreigner's 1981 hit "Waiting for a Girl Like You" as the longest-running U.S. number-two single that did not reach number one. "Work It"'s music video was directed by Dave Meyers. A remix of this song features rapper 50 Cent.
- A portion of the song's lyrics helped popularize the African-American slang term "badonkadonk" with mainstream audiences:
-
- "...love the way my ass go 'bum-bump-bum-bump-bump'
- keep your eyes on my 'bum-bump-bum-bump-bump'
- and think you can handle this 'badonk-a-donk-donk'"
- During the chorus, the line "I put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it" is played backwards twice, a part many mistakenly assumed to be gibberish. In the middle of the song, after the line "Listen up close while I take you backwards", "Watch the way Missy like to take it backwards" is also played in reverse.
Aaliyah & Lisa Lopes (Left Eye) appears in Missy Elliot's "Work It" video.
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 6 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 40 |
| Canadian BDS Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 11 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 19 |
| French Singles Chart | 60 |
| German Singles Chart | 32 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 19 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 16 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 14 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 15 |
| Taiwan Singles Chart | 6 |
| UK Singles Chart | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap | 1 |
| United World Chart | 7 |
| Preceded by "Luv U Better" by LL Cool J |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single November 23, 2002 |
Succeeded by "Love of my Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" by Erykah Badu featuring Common |