Back in the Day (Missy Elliott song)

"Back in the Day" is a 2003 hip-hop song by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, featuring guest vocals from Jay-Z and Elliott protégé Tweet. The song appears on her 2002 album Under Construction and was at one time planned for release as a single. It peaked at #86 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 2003 before being scrapped as a single.

"Back in the Day"
Promotional single by Missy Elliott featuring Jay-Z
from the album Under Construction
Released	February 8, 2003
Length	4:02
Label	Goldmind
Songwriter(s)	Tim Mosley Shawn Carter Missy Elliott
Producer(s)	Timbaland

About the song

Produced by Elliott's main producer and longtime collaborator Timbaland, "Back in the Day" is an ode to the classic era of old school hip-hop, when the hip-hop culture was, Elliott sings, fun and peaceful, compared to the more violent scope of modern-day hip-hop. "Back in the day/hip-hop has changed", she sings. During the bridge of the song she even makes a point of referencing "Self-Destruction", a 1989 collaborative benefit single for peace featuring a number of that era's hip-hop stars. Incidentally, MC Lyte's verse from "Self-Destruction" is sampled on another of Under Construction's album tracks, "Funky Fresh Dressed".

Jay-Z contributes a rap verse in which he "creatively" references a number of hip-hop artists (for example, stating "I kill at will like solid water, dude", a reference to Ice Cube's 1990 EP Kill At Will). At one point during his verse, Jay-Z raps "so fuck Chuck Philips and Bill O'Reilly/if they try to stop hip-hop, we all gon' rally", a reference to two of hip-hop's most vocal critics.

"Back in the Day" references

Below is a list of old-school hip-hop people and items Elliott and Jay-Z namedrop in "Back in the Day":

Hip hop fashions

• British Knights
• Gold chains
• Phat laces

Dances

• Prep
• Cabbage Patch

Hip hop artists

• Salt-N-Pepa
• Rakim
• Run-D.M.C.
• Big Daddy Kane
• Heavy D
• Slick Rick
• MC Lyte
• Raekwon
• Ghostface Killah
• Showbiz and A.G.
• Dr. Dre
• LL Cool J
• Public Enemy
• M.O.P
• Tag Team
• Ice Cube
• The Notorious B.I.G.
• 2Pac
• KRS-One
• EPMDb

Personnel

• Lead Vocals by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Jay-Z
• Background Vocals by Tweet
• Whistle by Timbaland
• Written by Melissa Elliott, Timothy Mosley, and Shawn Carter
• Produced by Timbaland for Timbaland Productions; Co-produced by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott

Charts

Chart performance for "Back in the Day"

Chart (2003)	Peak position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	86