Get Ur Freak On

"Get Ur Freak On"
Single by Missy Misdemeanor Elliott
from the album Miss E… So Addictive
Released	March 13, 2001 (2001-03-13)
Format	Digital download CD single 12" single
Recorded	2000
Genre	Hip hop, Indian pop
Length	3:56
Label	Goldmind/Elektra
Writer(s)	Missy Elliott Timbaland
Producer	Timbaland Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott (co-producer)
Missy Misdemeanor Elliott singles chronology
"Hot Boyz" (1999) "Get Ur Freak On" (2001) "One Minute Man" (2001) Alternate cover US Promo CD cover

"Get Ur Freak On" is a hip hop song written by American rapper/singer Missy Elliott and her producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for Elliott's third studio album Miss E... So Addictive (2000). Released as the album's first single in 2001, the track reached #7 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on June 30, 2001, becoming Missy Elliott's fifth most successful single to date. The song was her first top ten hit in the UK, peaking at #4 there, spending six weeks inside the top 20. A remix of the song featuring Nelly Furtado was a dance club hit during this period. The song's beat is based on bhangra, a popular music and dance form from the Punjab state of India.[1]

The six-note base of the song is a Bengali melody made by the Indian stringed instrument "ektara". This tune was also utilized in Bubba Sparxx's debut single "Ugly", in which Elliott makes a cameo in the video.

After the lyrics "Let me show you some", the Hindi words "aaj mujh ko" appear. Translated into English, this means "today, to me..."

The Japanese in the song reads Kore kara minna de mechakucha odotte... sawagou, sawagou which translates as "Everyone start dancing together wildly now... let's make some noise, let's make some noise." The Japanese at the end of the song is: "Ichi ni san shi" - 1 2 3 4.

Number 16 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

The song also lists at #7 on Pitchfork's "Top 500 songs of the 2000's."

Video

The video follows Missy Elliott into a jungle where she performs jumping. In the 2nd verse Missy performs in a dark tunnel apparently surrounded by zombies. Then appears at the front of waste dump pipes. As Missy starts performing the 3rd verse, she and the dancers appear in camouflage outfits and army fatigues. Missy in some shots can be seen dangling on a chandelier, a move she subsequently repeated in concerts. Cameos in the video include Nate Dogg, Nicole Wray, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star, Eve, Master P, Romeo, Timbaland, Ja Rule, and LL Cool J. In order to promote the single "Lick Shots" (released after the "Get Ur Freak On" remix) Elliott performed a sample of it at the end of the video.

Track listings

UK Single

12" Special Edition ^[1]

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Superchumbo's Superfreakon Remix) - 8:53

CD Maxi-Single ^[2]

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Edit) - 3:31
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Amended Version) - 3:57
3. "Get Ur Freak On" (Instrumental) - 3:53

US Single

12" Single ^[3]

Side A

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Album Version) - 3:57
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Amended Version) - 3:57

Side B

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Instrumental) - 3:53
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Acapella) - 3:10
3. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV Track) - 3:58

CD Promo ^[4]

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Amended Version)
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Edit)
3. "Get Ur Freak On" (Album Version)
4. "Get Ur Freak On" (Instrumental)
5. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV Track)
6. "Get Ur Freak On" (Amended Acapella)

Europe Single

CD Promo ^[5]

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Edit) - 3:31

German Single

12" Single ^[6]

Side A

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Edit) - 3:31
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Album Version) - 3:57

Side B

1. "Get Ur Freak On" (Instrumental) - 3:53
2. "Get Ur Freak On" (Acapella) - 3:11
3. "Get Ur Freak On" (TV Track) - 3:50

Charts

Other versions

The official remix of this song features Nelly Furtado was used both in the soundtrack and in the background of the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Covers

In 2005, Scottish acoustic rocker KT Tunstall released her version of "Get Ur Freak On" performed for BBC Radio Live Lounge on certain versions of the single for Suddenly I See.

American rock band Eels also released a version of "Get Ur Freak On" on Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. I having frequently performed it live during the Shootenanny! tour several years previously.

References

1. ^ Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On
2. ^ Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On
3. ^ Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On
4. ^ Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
5. ^ Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
6. ^ Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott* - Get Ur Freak On