Missy Elliott & Da Brat - Sock It 2 Me

What this video is

Released in September 1997 as the second single from Missy Elliott's debut album Supa Dupa Fly, 'Sock It 2 Me' arrived at a pivotal moment when female rap artists — Elliott, Da Brat, Lil' Kim — were collectively redefining authorship, sexuality, and spectacle in hip-hop. The video's Afrofuturist sci-fi world-building was groundbreaking for the genre, positioning Black women as action heroes in an alien landscape…

Why it matters

A landmark text in Afrofuturist hip-hop visual culture, 'Sock It 2 Me' demonstrated that rap music videos could deploy cinematic sci-fi world-building, video game iconography, and surrealist production design as vehicles for Black female self-expression. It helped establish Missy Elliott's…

The director

Harold 'Hype' Williams (born August 1, 1970, Queens, NY) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter who attended Adelphi University. Regarded as the seminal hip-hop music video director of the 1990s, his style was defined by fish-eye lens work,…