Missy Elliott Slows It Down And Takes It Back In Her 'DripDemeanor' Video

It's been an incredible year for Missy Elliott. Just since the spring, she's received an honorary doctorate degree, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, received her long overdue Video Vanguard award at the VMAs, and released an EP that speaks to her Iconology. Today, she's released the video for "DripDemeanor" from her Iconology EP, and, surprising absolutely no one, she delivers the same one-of-a-kind, inventive visuals that have characterized her decades-long career.

The video opens with Missy flanked by her dancers in a form-fitting black latex jumpsuit, complete with a characteristically bold blue hair color. Elliott won the Video Vanguard award for her years of constant invention and reinvention of what artists-specifically female rappers-can do in videos, and always pushes the envelope by creating something that's never been seen before. The "DripDemeanor" video is no different: from her doughnut- and skyscraper-shaped hairdos to her fluorescent color palettes, it's classic Missy from beginning to end, and feels especially satisfying to see her artistry continue to evolve more than twenty years into her career.

R&B debutante Sum1, who's featured on the track, makes a welcome appearance in the video, providing a vocal and visual balance to Elliott's larger-than-life presence. Featured vocalists on rap songs sometimes find themselves relegated to the role of angel-voiced hypeman in videos, but Sum1 holds her own in "DripDemeanor," dancing seductively and providing the perfect counterpart for the Timbaland-produced slow jam.

Along with "Throw It Back," "DripDemeanor" is the second song off the four-track long Iconology EP that Elliott has promoted and filmed a video for. It's unclear whether she plans to release videos for the danceworthy "Cool Off" and the heartfelt "Why I Still Love You," but it shouldn't come as a surprise if she does; after all, Missy is known as much for her aesthetics as she is for her bars, and the end of the video hints that there's more to come from Misdemeanor.