Baby, look at you shine!

My girl Missy Elliott put out her latest CD yesterday. I, being one of those impatient ones who has to be one of the first in on everything, picked it up immediately. (And of course, it is advertised as 5 dollars less starting Friday, trust that I will get a price adjustment. I should have done that for all the other CDs I've ever bought on release day. Imagine all the 5 dollars I would save.) I figure I'll pick up TLC (which was also released yesterday) on Friday after I've savored Missy's Under Construction a little while longer.

However, what I wanted to discuss with regards to her new CD is not how sweet her music is but rather how great she looks in the CD liner.

I had heard rumors before the release that Missy had lost even MORE weight this time around...one source quoted 50 pounds. Flipping through the CD liner I was quite impressed with the transformation.

"Girl, look atcha! You done good!"

Not that she doesn't know that already.

I must admit that I wasn't with her in the beginning, although I do own all 4 CDs. When she first came out I liked her first single but was kind of caught up in her size (shallow moment no. 5498). It was the era of Lil Kim and Foxy Brown back then. Women who flaunted their sexuality and their skanky side. How was a "bigger" girl supposed to emulate that without turning off a huge audience? Luckily, she didn't have to. After I heard her second single I admitted to myself that what she had there, as she put it so aptly herself, was a Gold Mind. And clearly I wasn't the only one she proved herself to. Look at all the work she's put out...all the artists she's collaborated with. Where's Foxy Brown now? People are getting sick of Lil Kim, she's old and tired. (Apparently, Christina did not learn any lessons from Lil Kim's dying trend.) And who's left to shine? My girl, Missy.

No doubt she's looking good. From the latest pictures it looks like she's pretty close to my size now, which inspires me to go for the style I've always been looking for (money taken into consideration). She's become more feminine, yet maintaining her street edge. It's her moment and heaven help the haters who try and take it away from her. It's a shame that it's probably her weight-loss that will gain her more fans as she goes along and not her talent. But if that's what it takes to get the world to hear her, and it doesn't make her bitter, then all the power to her.