"She's a Bitch" is a song recorded by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott

Missy Elliott

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...

 for her second album, Da Real World

Da Real World

Da Real World is the second studio album by American rapper by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. The album is noted for adding a raunchier and darker style to Missy's music, as well as the repetitive usage of "bitch" in a majority of her songs...

(1999). Produced by Timbaland

Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

, it was released as the album's debut single, and despite an expensive music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 directed by noted video director Hype Williams

Hype Williams

Harold "Hype" Williams , previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director of African-American and Honduran descent. His nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child....

, the song peaked only at number 90 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, with Da Real World's other singles "All N My Grill

All n My Grill

"All n My Grill" is the second single from Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's 1999 album, Da Real World. The song featured Big Boi of Outkast and vocal ad-libs from her former protege, Nicole Wray. The song had more success than the first single, "She's a Bitch".-Music video:The video was directed by...

" and "Hot Boyz" going on to greater chart success.

Overview

Written by Missy Elliott and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, "She's a Bitch" set the darker tone of Da Real World, featuring Elliott's angry lyrics and an ominous soundscape courtesy of Timbaland. The song made heavy use of the word "bitch" as a double-edged commentary on its different meanings. It is used in both the negative sense that Elliott's critics would label her as a "female dog", and also in a sense intended by Elliott to be self-empowering.

The "She's a Bitch" video was directed by Hype Williams

Hype Williams

Harold "Hype" Williams , previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director of African-American and Honduran descent. His nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child....

; similar to his other clips for Elliott, Williams makes extensive use of unique effects, costuming, and sets. Highlights of the video include Elliott and her dancers being raised from underwater on a giant hydraulic "M", and also a complete set made from Electro Luminescent lighting. Although EL lighting is cheap and readily available today, in 1999 it was not. Experts had to be flown in from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 to construct the set, which even included an EL costume.

Costuming for the video was also unconventional. For much of the video, Missy Elliott and her dancers can be seen dressed in rubber suits with bald heads. The production cost of the video was over $2 million, making it one of the most expensive videos of all time.

UK single

12" Promo
Side A

1. "She's a Bitch" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "She's a Bitch" (Clean Version) - 3:27

Side B

1. "She's a Bitch" (Instrumental) - 4:00
2. "She's a Bitch" (Acapella) - 3:48

US single

12" Promo
Side A

1. "She's A Bitch" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "She's A Bitch" (Clean Version) - 3:27

Side B

1. "She's A Bitch" (Instrumental) - 4:00
2. "She's A Bitch" (Acapella) - 3:48

CD Promo

1. "She's A Bitch" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "She's A Bitch" (Clean Version) - 3:27
3. "Audio Bio" - 1:25

Europe single

CD Promo

1. "She's A Bitch" (Radio Edit) - 3:27
2. "She's A Bitch" (Clean Version) - 3:27

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	90
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	30

Personnel

• All vocals by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Timbaland
• Produced by Timbaland
• Co-produced by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
• Engineer: Senator Jimmy D (Jimmy Douglass)
• Assistant engineer: Drew Coleman
• Mixed by Timbaland and Jimmy Douglass at Manhattan Center Studios, New York, New York.
• Assistant mixing engineer: Darren S. Moore