If you’re wondering why it seems to take Missy Elliott so long to release a single, look no further than her latest song, “I’m Better,” a video co-directed with Dave Meyers that harkens back to some of the best visual effects of “She’s A Bitch” and “Get Ur Freak On.” As Missy herself says in the trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career, “It’s never just a record for me. It’s never just making a hot record. I can do that in my sleep. But visually, I have to see what I’m going to do with that record when I perform it.”
Looking at the dramatic scenes from “I’m Better,” paired with her true to form sickening beats, it’s no wonder these things take time for Missy, whose seventh studio album has been long awaited, and briefly expected with hopefulness on the heels of the the release of “WTF (Where They From)” back in late 2015. But now, it seems Elliott is truly ready to give us the level of MCness she’s accustomed to after recovering from her longstanding health issues.
Featuring vocals from Lamb, Missy minces no words when she says, “He say I’m hot, I’m so fuego/Pull up on him in my vehicle/He say I’m pretty, I’m pretty/You must be from Brazil, it must be from México”–don’t tell Trump. In short, she’s better. With a visually arresting opening that includes an array of background dancers looking as though they’re either futuristic marionettes or have hung themselves tastefully from the ceiling, Missy appears in an Alexander McQueen-esque ensemble to show who runs the forefront of it all.
From here, the tableau drops down to an underwater pool scene, with Missy’s outfit appropriately changed to feature a sweatshirt that reads: SAVE THE HUMANS. And, truth be told, Missy is really the only gift to humanity at the present moment. If this song can’t save us from a massive depression–or at least taking to the dance floor–then nothing can.
