Missy Elliott has unveiled a striking new video for DripDemeanor, a track off her recent comeback EP, Iconology.
Directed by Elliott and Derek Blanks, the DripDemeanor clip sits squarely in the rappers tradition of mind-bending visuals. The concept is (relatively) simple to start, with Elliott, Sum1 and a crew of dancers moving to the hip-hop slow jam in futuristic goth punk outfits and glow-in-the-dark bodysuits. But a series of delightfully and increasingly weirder flourishes pop up as the video progresses, whether its Sum1 singing the hook from the top story of a building made out of Missys hair, or the rapper coolly spitting the cut as her eyewear changes in time with the beat.
The DripDemeanor video even ends with an unexpected cliffhanger, jumping forward to a scene in which a futuristic museum guide explains the Missy myth to a group of children in a gallery filled with portraits of the rapper (including one in which her face is transposed onto Edvard Munchs The Scream).
When one of the kids asks if Missy was always a queen, the guide replies, It wasnt always that easy. See, Missy came up in a very strict home, she wasnt really allowed to hang out with other kids after a certain time. However, it didnt stop her from dreaming of the life she was destined to fulfill.
Elliott released Iconology in August, marking her first release of all-new material since her 2005 album, The Cookbook. A few days after the EPs arrival, Elliott delivered a career-spanning medley of her hits at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she was presented with the Video Vanguard Award.