Missy Elliott - “WTF (Where They From)” (Feat. Pharrell Williams) Video

It’s now been more than 10 years since Missy Elliott, the great late-’90s/early-’00s rap futurist, released her last album, and a whole generation has been deprived of the amazing stop-the-world feeling that comes when Missy drops a new video. Well, no longer. Missy teased “WTF (Where They From),” a new collaboration with fellow Virginian iconoclast Pharrell Williams, on Monday Night Football last month. And now we get to hear the song and, more importantly, see the incredible video. The track, with its propulsive beat and nonsensical fly talk, is vintage Missy, and the video is even more vintage Missy. It’s one long surrealist dance attack, with Missy dressing like a disco ball and hosting a dance party in what looks like a cryogenic freezing chamber. We also get to see dancing marionette puppet version of both Missy and Pharrell. It’s so awesome. Missy co-directed the video with her old collaborator Dave Meyers.