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The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

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Format
  
CD single, 12" single

Label
  
The Goldmind Elektra

Genre
  
Hip hop downtempo R&B

Released
  
May 20, 1997 (1997-05-20) (Radio airplay) July 2, 1997 (1997-07-02) (CD single)

Recorded
  
1996–1997 Master Sound Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)

Length
  
3:59 (radio edit) 4:10 (album version)

"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" is a 1997 hit song recorded by American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written and composed by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller, Elliott, and producer Timbaland for her debut album Supa Dupa Fly (1997) and contains a sample of Ann Peebles' 1973 single "I Can't Stand the Rain", whose lyrics serve as the chorus.

Contents

The song was released to U.S. radio stations on May 20, 1997, and the Hype Williams-directed video was released to video shows starting June 3, 1997. The song entered the Hot R&B Airplay chart in mid-June, and peaked at #6 the week of August 9, 1997. It peaked at #51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart the following week.

The song was released as the album's lead single on July 2, 1997 (see 1997 in music), and reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. VH1 ranked the song 99th on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s. And in 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 33 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. In 1998, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" was named the fourth-best single of 1997 by the The Village Voice's annual-year end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

The song's moans are used as a sample in Method Man & Redman's "The ?".

Music video

The breakout music video was the first of Missy's career directed by Hype Williams. The most notable aspect of the video is the inflated trash bag that Missy wears during a fisheye lens shot. Timbaland, Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George of SWV, Yo Yo, Lil' Kim, Total, 702, Da Brat, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy all make cameos. The video was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1997 VMAs.

Formats and track listings

  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 4:05
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:57
  3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental) - 4:09
German 12" Remixes

Side A

  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Club 100 Version) - 5:10
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:46

Side B

  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (House Version) - 7:25
German CD Maxi-Single
  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:53
  3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Master) - 4:32
  4. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - Beat & All Vocals) - 4:20
  5. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagle Discs Remix - A cappella) - 4:04
  6. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental Version) - 4:11
  7. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (A cappella version) - 4:08
U.S. 12" Promo

Side A

  1. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Album Version) - 4:11
  2. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Instrumental) - 4:11

Side B

  1. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
  2. "Supa Dupa Fly (The Rain)" (A cappella) - 4:11
U.S. 12" Single

Side A

  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental Version) - 4:11
  3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (A cappella version) - 4:08

Side B

  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Master) - 4:32
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - A cappella) - 4:04
  3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Beat & All Vocals) - 4:20
U.S. CD Maxi-Single
  1. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Radio Edit) - 4:05
  2. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Desert Eagles Discs Remix - Radio Edit Master) - 3:57
  3. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Instrumental) - 4:09

References

The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) Wikipedia