Work It

Missy Elliott’s “Work It” (2002) is a wildly creative hip-hop track that became a cultural phenomenon. Known for its backward-looped hook (literally reversing the line “put my thing down, flip it and reverse it”), the song is packed with Missy’s playful brags and catchy one-liners over a funk-sampling, head-knocking beat by Timbaland. It spent weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best Female Rap Solo. Beyond its chart success, the track’s innovative wordplay (“Ti esrever dna ti plif, nwod gniht ym tup!”) and iconic video (featuring Missy’s bold style and a tribute to Aaliyah and Left Eye) solidified “Work It” as one of the most defining and fun songs in hip-hop history.