This Is Not a Test!

This Is Not a Test!
Studio album by Missy Elliott
Released	November 25, 2003 (see release history)
Recorded	2003
Genre	Hip hop, dancehall, R&B
Length	56:05
Label	Goldmind/Elektra
Producer	Missy Elliott (exec.), Timbaland (exec.), Jay Brown (exec.), Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart, Soul Diggaz
Missy Elliott chronology
Under Construction (2002) This Is Not a Test! (2003) The Cookbook (2005)
Singles from This Is Not a Test!
"Pass That Dutch" Released: October 14, 2003 "I'm Really Hot" Released: March 23, 2004

This Is Not a Test! is the fifth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 25, 2003 in the United States. It was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production from Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart and Elliott herself.

The album received generally favorable reviews from critics and debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard 200, selling 143,600 copies in the first week of release. It has sold 705,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
NME	8/10[6]
Pitchfork Media	8.5/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	A–[10]
The Village Voice	A[11]

Reviews for the album were generally favorable. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars, saying, "Why anybody would choose to spend their life without a copy of This Is Not a Test! is a mystery."^[9] Dan Martin of NME gave the album eight out of ten stars, saying the album was "all about the beats" and "not a right lot else", adding it was "Missy's most uncompromising work yet".^[6] Nick Catucci of Blender gave the album three out of five stars, saying the album "lacks feeling" and asked, "besides beats, what else does she care about?"^[12] John Bush of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, saying the album "is an effective argument for song-by-song downloads."^[2] This Is Not a Test! placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 87.^[13]

The album debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard 200, selling 143,600 copies in the first week of release.^[14] It has sold 705,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[15][16]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby Girl Interlude/Intro" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	Melissa Elliott Timothy Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	2:13
2.	"Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:37
3.	"Wake Up"" (featuring Jay-Z)	Elliott Mosley Shawn Carter	Elliott Timbaland	4:06
4.	"Keep It Movin'" (featuring Elephant Man)	Elliott Mosley O'Neil Bryan	Elliott Timbaland	3:39
5.	"Is This Our Last Time" (featuring Fabolous)	Elliott John Jackson Karriem Mack Shaun Owens	Soul Diggaz	5:26
6.	"Ragtime Interlude/I'm Really Hot"	Elliott Mosley Craig Brockman	Elliott TImbaland	3:30
7.	"Dats What I'm Talkin About" (featuring R. Kelly)	Elliott Nisan Stewart Brockman	Elliott Stewart Brockman Kelly	4:48
8.	"Don't Be Cruel" (featuring Monica & Beenie Man)	Elliott Mosley Anthony Davis	Elliott Timbaland	4:33
9.	"Toyz Interlude/Toyz"	Elliott Mosley Brockman	Elliott Timbaland Brockman	2:52
10.	"Let It Bump"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	2:50
11.	"Pump It Up" (featuring Nelly)	Elliott Mosley Cornell Haynes	Elliott Timbaland	3:05
12.	"It's Real"	Elliott Brockman	Elliott Brockman	2:52
13.	"Let Me Fix My Weave"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:59
14.	"Spelling Bee Interlude/Spelling Bee"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:34
15.	"I'm Not Perfect" (featuring The Clark Sisters)	Elliott Stewart Brockman	Elliott Stewart Brockman	3:49
16.	"Outro" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	1:21

Sample credits

• "Pass That Dutch":
  • 'The Rapper' by The Jaggerz (1970)
  • 'Magic Mountain' by Eric Burdon and War (1970)
  • 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' by Santa Esmeralda (1977)
  • 'Potholes in My Lawn' by De La Soul (1989)
  • 'Scenario' by A Tribe Called Quest feat. Leaders of the New School (1991)
• "Keep It Movin":
  • 'I Know I've Been Wrong' by Mashmakhan (1970)
• "Is This Our Last Time":
  • 'The Second Time Around' by Shalamar (1979)
• "I'm Really Hot":
  • 'Buffalo Gals' by Malcolm McLaren (1982)
  • 'Release Yourself' by Aleem (1984)
  • 'Hot Music (Jazz Mix)' by Soho (1989)
  • 'Doin It' by LL Cool J (1995)
• "Don't Be Cruel":
  • 'Push It' by Salt-N-Pepa (1986)
• "Let It Bump":
  • 'I Cram to Understand U' by MC Lyte (1988)
• "Pump It Up":
  • 'Please, Please, Please' by James Brown and The Famous Flames (1956)
• "Let Me Fix My Weave":
  • 'Please Understand' by MC Lyte (1989)

Personnel

June Ambrose – stylist Yaneley Arty – A&R Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya – engineer Beenie Man – vocals, guest appearance Ian Blanch – engineer Bless – scratching, group member Mary J. Blige – vocals, guest appearance Merlin Bobb – A&R Stacy Boge – photo production Anita Marisa Boriboon – art direction, design Craig "Boogie" Brockman – keyboards, producer Jay Brown – executive producer, A&R Suzanne Burge – product manager Demacio Castellon – mixing assistant Vadim Chislov – mixing assistant The Clark Sisters – vocals, guest appearance Annette Coleman – hair stylist Jimmy Douglass – engineer Elephant Man – vocals, guest appearance

Missy Elliott – vocals, producer, executive producer Patricia Elliott – A&R Fabolous – vocals, guest appearance Roberto Fantauzzi – photo production Linda Fields – background vocals Andre Johnson – coordination Claudine Joseph – product manager R. Kelly – vocals, guest appearance Michael Kennedy – prop design Scott Kieklak – mixing Safiya Lewis – coordination Nelly – vocals, guest appearance Lili Picou – design Herb Powers – mastering Chris Puram – engineer Senator Jimmy D – mixing Nisan Stewart – producer Timbaland – producer, executive producer

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (2003) Peak position Australian ARIA Albums Chart[17] 39 Austrian Albums Chart[17] 67 Belgian Albums Charts (Flanders)[18] 32 Dutch Albums Chart[17] 44 French Albums Chart[17] 63 German Albums Chart[17] 37 Netherlands Albums Chart[18] 44 New Zealand Albums Chart[17] 35 Swedish Albums Chart[17] 50 Swiss Albums Chart[17] 25 U.S. Billboard 200[19] 13 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[19] 3 UK Albums Chart[17] 49

Certifications Country Certification Australia (ARIA) Gold[20] Canada (Music Canada) Gold[21] United Kingdom (BPI) Gold[22] United States (RIAA) Platinum[16]

Release history

Region	Date
Germany	November 24, 2003
United Kingdom
Canada	November 25, 2003
France
Japan
United States

References

1. "Reviews for This Is Not A Test! by Missy Elliott". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
2. Bush, John. "This Is Not a Test! – Missy Elliott". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
3. Sinclair, Tom (November 24, 2003). "This Is Not a Test!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
4. Lynskey, Dorian (November 21, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
5. Nichols, Natalie (November 23, 2003). "Elliott at the top of her class with 'Test'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
6. Martin, Dan. "Elliott, Missy : This Is Not A Test!". NME. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
7. DiCrescenzo, Brent (December 3, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not a Test". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
8. "Missy Elliott: This Is Not a Test!". Q (211): 100. February 2004.
9. Sheffield, Rob (December 2, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test!". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
10. Pappademas, Alex (January 2004). "Booty call—for help?". Spin 20 (1): 95–96. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
11. Christgau, Robert (January 13, 2004). "Consumer Guide: MLK Fever". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
12. Catucci, Nick. "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test Review". Blender. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
13. "Best of the Aughts: Albums". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
14. Martens, Todd. "Jay-Z Back Atop The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
15. Trust, Gary (November 22, 2015). "Ask Billboard: Missy Elliott's Career Album Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
16. "Gold & Platinum: Elliott, Missy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
17. "Missy Elliott - This Is Not A Test! - Music Charts". αCharts. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
18. "Missy Elliott - This Is Not a Test! (album)". Ultratop. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
19. "AMG: Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
21. "Searchable Database - Gold & Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
22. "BPI Certified Awards Search" (insert "Missy Elliott" into the "Search" box, and then select "Go"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-06-13.