Let me say up front that this video uses some words that you may not want to have said with children around. It’s not heavy, but it’s there, and I would advise against playing this with kids nearby.

I wanted to post this not because I’m a huge fan of Missy Elliott, but because this new video of hers (her first in three years) is one of the most interesting music videos I’ve seen in a long time. Not only is there impressive breaking going on, but there’s some genuinely creative stuff.

First, the spinning. Did you catch the spinning at 1:19, where she doesn’t make a full turn? As she spins, her back should be coming around to the front, but it doesn’t. It’s another front. It’s almost like she has two fronts. In the meantime, the breakers in the back never cut, so it’s cleverly edited, without you realizing that they are not actually in the camera with her.

Second, the puppets! I love the puppets! This is where Pharrell Williams makes an appearance, as a puppet at about 1:34. I never thought I’d see puppetry that looks gritty, but they’ve done a very good job at continuing the look and feel of the rest of the video. And I really like his line, “Lyrically, I am Optimus Prime.”

Third, I enjoy watching the usage of the “hover boards” at the end (I hate calling them that!) as I’ve definitely not seen that before.

Taken altogether, Missy Elliott has put together a rather impressive video, which she co-directed. What’s interesting is that I’m not sure I would have liked the song had I just heard it, but since I have watched the video, I actually quite like the song. I have to admit that it’s catchy.

The new release has definitely raised hopes across the Internet that a new album from the media mogul is forthcoming. Her last appearance was this year at the Super Bowl, but it had been two years prior to that that she produced any work.