July 15 In Hip-Hop History: Missy Elliott Drops Debut Album ‘Supa Dupa Fly’

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott has been supa dupa fly throughout the span of her 30+ years in the music industry. After spending at least five years writing for some of the best R&B acts of the ’90s, Missy finally released her debut album on this day 25 years ago.

On July 15, 1997, Missy Elliott delivered her first solo studio album Supa Dupa Fly. The Timbaland-produced album arrived two weeks after she dropped her debut solo single “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).” The 17-track LP contains a slew of Missy’s originals like “Sock It To Me” featuring Da Brat and “Hit Em Wit Da Hee” featuring Lil’ Kim.

“I just was workin’, man,” Missy Elliott told VinylMePlease about her album on the 20th anniversary. “Just doing what I love. It wasn’t calculated, I didn’t have an agenda or anything. And I didn’t think ‘Listen… years from now, they’re gonna say this, they’re gonna say that…’ I wasn’t even thinking years from now. All I was thinking is musically, sonically… I felt that we were never in the year of the ‘90s or 2000, that we were always in 3-G.”

The album, which was released via Elektra Records/The Goldmind, also includes other collaborations with Busta Rhymes, Timbaland, Magoo, 702, Ginuwine, Nicole Wray, and the late Aaliyah. It was just the beginning of Elliott’s career as a solo artist after spending years penning hits for the likes of Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and plenty of others.

Over a week after its debut, Supa Dupa Fly hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Two months later, the album became certified platinum. The accolades she achieved with her debut album set the foundation of her overall legacy in Hip-Hop which has influenced generations of artists throughout the past three decades.

Listen to Missy Elliott’s Supa Dupa Fly album below.