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Missy Elliott Drops 'ICONOLOGY,' Her First Original Project In 14 Years

Missy Elliott performs onstage at Something in the Water Festival in April 2019 in Virginia Beach City. The rapper's latest EP, <em>Iconology</em>, is out now.
Craig Barritt
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Missy Elliott performs onstage at Something in the Water Festival in April 2019 in Virginia Beach City. The rapper's latest EP, Iconology, is out now.

M-i-s-s is b-a-c-k.

With little more than a few hours notice, Missy Elliott dropped a new five-song EP, titled Iconology, on Friday morning. While she's released sporadic singles and collaborated with the likes of Ariana Grande, Pharrell and most recently Lizzo (on the scorcher "Tempo"), Iconology marks Elliott's first body of original work in 14 years, since 2005's The Cookbook. Stream the EP below via Apple Music and Spotify.

The surprise release features heart-pounding production from Timbaland, Wili Hendrix and Elliott herself. The project also comes with a fresh video to go with the lead single, "Throw It Back." In classic "Misdemeanor" fashion, the visual dips heavy into the pots of special effects, choreography and technicolor saturation. It also co-stars Teyana Taylor as a museum curator in the "Hall of Missy."

"Missy make up her own rules / Not many can do what I do / So many VMAs / I could live on the moon," Elliott rhymes in the song's second verse. It's a boast that rings truer than ever as the iconic Virginia-bred star is set to be honored at Monday's MTV Video Music Awards as 2019's Video Vanguard Award recipient.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sidney Madden is a reporter and editor for NPR Music. As someone who always gravitated towards the artforms of music, prose and dance to communicate, Madden entered the world of music journalism as a means to authentically marry her passions and platform marginalized voices who do the same.