The year 2001 saw superproducers Timbaland and The Neptunes expanding hip-hop into mainstream pop and a pair of robots from France breaking ground on the international EDM scene. But which massive hit are you still bumping a decade later?
Billboard let Missy Elliott and Timbaland’s freak flags fly at No. 1 with “Get Ur Freak On” on our 100 greatest songs of 2001 list. On Tuesday (April 6), Elliott recalled on Twitter how the lead single from her 2001 album Miss E… So Addictive almost didn’t make the cut. “My album ‘So Addictive’ was completed & be4 turning it in I told Tim i feel like I’m missing something. He said no ‘You good’ I said No pls I need 1 more,” she tweeted. “He was over me but he got on the ASR10 hit a key and I said F— thats it! It was ‘Get UR Freak On.'”
FunFact.. My album “So Addictive” was completed & be4 turning it in I told Tim i feel like I’m missing something. He said no “You good” I said No pls I need 1 more. He was over me😩😂 but he got on the ASR10 hit a key and I said Fcuk thats it! It was “Get UR Freak On🔥 https://t.co/qCjgkqzxIO
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) April 6, 2021
Next up on the list is Atlanta-based duo OutKast, who brought Southern rap to mainstream pop with their career-first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Ms. Jackson,” which flaunts André 3000 and Big Boi‘s brotherly yin-and-yang chemistry.
But which Billboard-selected 2001 hit is still your favorite in 2021? Vote from our top 10 picks below!