She's a Bitch
| "She's a Bitch" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott | ||||||||||
| from the album Da Real World | ||||||||||
| Released | April 20, 1999 | |||||||||
| Format | CD single, 12" single, 7" single, cassette single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hip hop, dance-pop | |||||||||
| Length | 3:59 | |||||||||
| Label | The Goldmind, Elektra | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Melissa Elliott, Timothy Mosley | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | 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.
Overview
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.
Music video
The "She's a Bitch" video was directed by Hype Williams on May 1, 1999; 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.
Track listings
UK single
- 12" Promo [1]
Side A
- "She's a Bitch" (Radio Edit) – 3:27
- "She's a Bitch" (Clean Version) – 3:27
Side B
- "She's a Bitch" (Instrumental) – 4:00
- "She's a Bitch" (Acapella) – 3:48
US single
Side A
- "She's a Bitch" (Radio Edit) – 3:27
- "She's a Bitch" (Clean Version) – 3:27
Side B
- "She's a Bitch" (Instrumental) – 4:00
- "She's a Bitch" (Acapella) – 3:48
- CD Promo [4]
- "She's a Bitch" (Radio Edit) – 3:27
- "She's a Bitch" (Clean Version) – 3:27
- "Audio Bio" – 1:25
Europe single
- CD Promo [5]
- "She's a Bitch" (Radio Edit) – 3:27
- "She's a Bitch" (Clean Version) – 3:27
Charts
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100[6] | 90 |
| Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[6] | 30 |
Personnel
- All vocals by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Timbaland
- Produced by Timbaland
- Co-produced by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
- Engineer: Senator Jimmy D (Jimmy Douglass)
- Assistant engineer: Drew Coleman
- Mixed by Timbaland and Jimmy Douglass at Manhattan Center Studios, New York, New York.
- Assistant mixing engineer: Darren S. Moore