Work IT (Missy Elliott Song)

Work It (Missy Elliott Song)

"Work It" is a hip hop song written by American rapper Missy Elliott and her producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley for Elliott's critically acclaimed fourth studio album Under Construction (2002). The song's musical style, and production by Timbaland, were heavily inspired by Old school hip hop from the 1980s, and includes a portion which samples Run-D.M.C.'s "Peter Piper". The beginning of the song samples Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three's "Request Line". Released as the album's first single in September 2002, the track reached the number two position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 16, 2002 for ten weeks (behind Eminem's "Lose Yourself"), becoming Missy Elliott's most successful single to date. It also reached number one for five weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song is tied with Foreigner's 1981 hit "Waiting for a Girl Like You" as the longest-running U.S. number-two single that did not reach number one. Like this song, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" spent ten weeks at #2. A remix of this song features 50 Cent. The end of the song samples "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James, and the synth pattern in the rhythm track samples the intro to "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.