Missy Elliott & Da Brat ft. Aaliyah: Stickin' Chickens

Released: June 22nd 1999

Recorded: 1998 – 1999

Label: The Goldmind Inc/EastWest Records America/Elektra

Da Real World is Missy Elliot's second studio album, which shows a more darker, raunchier style to Missy's music. During the time it was released, it also featured a comeback from female rapper Lil' Kim who took a break from the music industry when Notorious B.I.G. had passed away. As for guest appearances, not only is Aaliyah featured on the album, but it also shows the likes of Timbaland, Lil' Wayne, Juvenile, Lil' Mo, Nicole, Beyoncé, Eminem, Lady Saw, Da Brat, Big Boi from Outkast, MC Solaar and Redman. (Wooo, that's a lot of guests appearances right?) The album is also dedicated to the victims of the Columbine High School massacre  which happened on 20th April 1999. As for reviews, it definitely received a lot of positive feedback despite the rawness of the lyrics.

Now one of the songs I will be talking about is Stickin' Chickens featuring Aaliyah. This songs goes hard in terms of relations, where you find out the person you are with is cheating on you. The title itself literally means that, with the 'chickens' showing reference to other women or 'chicks' who you mess with, constantly 'stuck' to them. The song also features female rapper Da Brat, who I have to say goes really hard on this track and topic matter. We all know cheating is not cool, so why do it? But what's even worse is cheating with your significant others friends, that's where you have to draw the line, and this song talks about that very scenario. To anyone who has gone or is going through this right now, here's a track which I'm sure you all can relate to. Enjoy! :o)

Missy Elliot ft. Aaliyah: Best Friends

 

Released: July 15th 1997

Recorded: November 1996 – May 1997

Label: The Goldmind/Elektra

Supa Dupa Fly is Missy Elliot's debut studio album which was released in 1997. As you can tell, Aaliyah was featured as a guest appearance on the album for the track Best Friends. The song talks about how women go through the trials and tribulations of ending up with a man who just play and mess around with them, taking them for granted. It also talks about the true meaning of friendship, showing which people are down for you in your time of need, and which ones merely see you as a hinderance. I think this is very important as not many people understand the true value of friendship these days. People are so quick to jump into a relationship, yet they don't take the time to allow themselves to get to know one another. You can hear this from the first line of the track where Aaliyah sings – 

"My best friend say, 

She's sick of me cryin' on the phone 

telling how a man be doggin' me, 

My best friend say,

Don't tell her nothin' bout me and you 

cause she ain't showin' me no sympathy"

As you can see from the lyrics, a true friend is brutally honest no matter how much you would like to hear it or not. In the song, it's saying let go of all the drama that you put up with because no matter what, your best friend will be by your side to help you through it all. All I can say is that's real talk. I'm sure a lot of women can relate to this song when they have a heart to heart with their girlfriends about a man who is just being ungrateful and malicious. To anyone who is going through or has been through this, here's a song which will cheer you up for sure. Remember that true friends are hard to come by, so when you do come by them, make sure they are down for you and vice versa. As J.cole would say..."Watch out for the snakes". 

Speaking of J.cole, he also did a version of this song titled Best Friend, sampling the beat, where he is rapping over it. You can find this on his third mixtape Friday Night Lights (A great mixtape I must add!) Personally I think he did a great tribute in memory of Babygirl as it's something which keeps her memory alive for those younger kids who are not aware of her. He also does a nice spin on it, talking from the males point of view on how sometimes your lady's friend (her homegirl) can interfere a bit too much, since a relationship is between two people. I like how he stayed true to the theme of the song on this one. Nice work J.Cole! :o)

Sunset Park Soundtrack: Are You Ready?

Released: April 23rd 1996

Recorded: 1995 – 1996

Label: Elektra

I left this track on the side, as not many people are aware or have heard this before. Are You Ready? was released as a promotional radio single. This is probably one among many other (I can listen to this woman's music all day, day everyday lol) tracks that I jam to a lot. It has a nice summer vibe to it, where you can either just cruise by in your car on a hot summers day, or just relax somewhere on a beach with the sun beaming, showing off them stunnas! (90's nostalgia right?). Released in 1996, this track is one of her earliest soundtracks for the basketball film Sunset Park. The song was written by Renne A. Neuville and produced by DJ Kay Gee from the hip-hop group Naughty By Nature. 

The album itself is pretty interesting as it is hip-hop oriented, so for any hip-hop fans out there you might wanna check out the album as it features the likes of many such as Tupac, Queen Latifah, GhostFace Killer, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, MC Lyte etc... The list goes on and on. Anyhoo, please check out the video below for the audio content of Babygirls Are You Ready?. Enjoy Guys! :o)