Songoftheday 6/14/24 - Listen up everyone we have just been informed, that there's an unknown virus that's attacking all clubs...
"Pass That Dutch" - Missy Elliott
from the album This Is Not A Test! (2003)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6
Today's song comes from rapper/singer/songwriter/producer Missy Elliott, whose fourth studio album Under Construction had spun off two crossover hits that reached the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with "Work It" and "Gossip Folks", the latter reaching the high tier in the spring of 2003. Later that year, under pressure from her label Elektra Records (who housed her imprint GoldMind), Elliott returned with a fifth disc, This Is Not A Test!, mostly produced by the artist with long-time collaborator Tim "Timbaland" Mosley. The lead single from the record was "Pass That Dutch", which was written and produced by the pair using a myriad of samples, including "Potholes In My Lawn" from rap trio De La Soul, which itself sampled "Magic Mountain" from the 70s jazz-rock band War which Missy slips "potholes in my lawn" into the machine-gun bevy of hilarious lines in every verse of this party record. It also includes other gems like "Hang him out the window, call me Michael Jackson" and "I'm under attack like my name was Saddam". While the lyrics are rich with comic material, the production is sparse, riding on a percussion and bass track that may have scared off mainstream radio programmers. But with a big-budget music video that squeezes in a theater full of movie recreations, and MTV/BET were on board, and with her fanbase even without radio made it to the top-40 again...
"Pass That Dutch" reached the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in November of 2003, while peaking at #17 on their R&B Singles chart and #9 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the song rose to #14 on the Mainstream R&B Airplay chart and #8 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format, while the remixes of the track, headed by DJ Scumfrog, helped the track place at #35 on Billboard's Dance Club Play list. Internationally, the single did a little better, reaching the top ten in Hungary (#2) and the United Kingdom (#10), while hitting the top-40 in Norway (#17), Finland (#18), Ireland (#25), Australia (#26), Belgium (#27 Flanders), Italy (#29), Switzerland (#31), and the Netherlands (#38). The This Is Not A Test! album, released in November as the single was cresting, came in at #13 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #3 on the R&B Albums list, going on to sell over a half million copies.
The second single from the record, "I'm Really Hot", also got snubbed by pop radio, only making it to #59 on the Hot 100 while getting to #26 on the R&B Singles chart and #18 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the track peaked at #22 on the Mainstream R&B list and #17 on the Rhythmic format. But again it reached the top-40 in the UK at #34, as well as in Denmark (#14), New Zealand (#25), Ireland (#32), and Australia (#35). Also during this time, Missy guested on rapper Ghostface Killah's single "Tush", which had dance remixes that topped Billboard's Club Play chart.
Missy will be back to the series.
(7/10)
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Tomorrow I'll have my top hits of this week, then on Monday Song of the day will be back with a self-important Aussie.
Comments