The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"
Single by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
from the album Supa Dupa Fly
Released	May 20, 1997 (Radio airplay) July 2, 1997 (CD single)
Format	CD single, 12" single
Recorded	1996–1997[1] Master Sound Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
Genre	Hip hop, downtempo, R&B[2]
Length	3:59 (radio edit) 4:10 (album version)
Label	The Goldmind, Elektra
Writer(s)	Don Bryant, Melissa Elliott, Bernard "Bernie" Miller, Timothy Mosley, Ann Peebles
Producer(s)	Timbaland (exec.)
Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott chronology "Can We" (1997) "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (1997) "Not Tonight (Remix)" (1997)

"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" is a 1997 hit song recorded by American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written and composed by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller, Elliott, and producer Timbaland for her debut album Supa Dupa Fly (1997) and contains a sample of Ann Peebles' 1973 single "I Can't Stand the Rain", whose lyrics serve as the chorus.

The song was released to U.S. radio stations on May 20, 1997, and the Hype Williams-directed video was released to video shows starting June 3, 1997.^[3] The song entered the Hot R&B Airplay chart in mid-June, and peaked at #6 the week of August 9, 1997. It peaked at #51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart the following week.

The song was released as the album's lead single on July 2, 1997 (see 1997 in music), and reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. VH1 ranked the song 99th on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.^[4] And in 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 33 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.^[5] In 1998, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" was named the fourth-best single of 1997 by the The Village Voice's annual-year end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

The song's moans are used as a sample in Method Man & Redman's "The ?".

Music video

The breakout music video was the first of Missy's career directed by Hype Williams.^[6][7] The most notable aspect of the video is the inflated trash bag that Missy wears during a fisheye lens shot.^[8] Timbaland, Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George of SWV, Yo Yo, Lil' Kim, Total, 702, Da Brat, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy all make cameos.^[9] The video was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1997 VMAs.

Formats and track listings

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 4:05
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:57
3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental) - 4:09

German 12" Remixes

Side A

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Club 100 Version) - 5:10
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:46

Side B

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (House Version) - 7:25

German CD Maxi-Single

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:53
3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Master) - 4:32
4. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Beat & All Vocals) - 4:20
5. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - A cappella) - 4:04
6. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental Version) - 4:11
7. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (A cappella version) - 4:08

U.S. 12" Promo

Side A

1. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Album Version) - 4:11
2. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Instrumental) - 4:11

Side B

1. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
2. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (A cappella) - 4:11

U.S. 12" Single

Side A

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental Version) - 4:11
3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (A cappella version) - 4:08

Side B

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Master) - 4:32
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - A cappella) - 4:04
3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Beat & All Vocals) - 4:20

U.S. CD Maxi-Single

1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 4:05
2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:57
3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental) - 4:09

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10]	44
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11]	10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12]	16
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13]	4

References

1. "Bite our style (interlude) ; Friendly skies ; Best friends ... [et al.], G thang". Faqs.org. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
2. Supa Dupa Fly. "Supa Dupa Fly: Missy Misdemeanor Elliott: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
3. Reynolds, J.R. (June 21, 1997). "EastWest's Elliott Gets a 'Supa Dupa' Launch". Billboard: 18.
4. VH1 (2007-12-13). "Top 100 Songs of the ’90s – | VH1 Blog". Blog.vh1.com. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
5. "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21 | Features". Pitchfork. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
6. "Missy Elliott - "The rain (Supa dupa fly)"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
7. "Missy Elliott Turns 40: 15 Videos Celebrating Her Career". The Boombox. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
8. "The Argument: Missy Elliott Is The Decade's Most Important Video Artist". MTV.com. 2006-03-09. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
9. "Throwback Thursday: Missy Elliott "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Video)". Refinedhype.com. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Missy Elliott search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
11. "Charts.org.nz – Missy Elliott – The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
12. "Missy Elliott: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
13. "Missy Elliott – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Missy Elliott. Retrieved 2011-05-23.

External links

• Missy-Elliott.com — official site
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics