This Is Not a Test!

For other uses, see This Is Not a Test (disambiguation).

This Is Not a Test! is the fifth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 25, 2003, in the United States. It was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production from Craig Brockman, Nisan Stewart and Elliott herself.

This Is Not a Test!
Studio album by Missy Elliott
Released	November 25, 2003 (2003-11-25)
Recorded	April–August 2003
Studio	The Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, FL)[1] Skip Saylor Recording (California)[1]
Genre	Hip hop dancehall R&B
Length	56:05
Label	Goldmind Elektra
Producer	Timbaland Missy Elliott Craig Brockman Nisan Stewart Soul Diggaz
Missy Elliott chronology
Under Construction (2002) This Is Not a Test! (2003) The Cookbook (2005)
Singles from This Is Not a Test!
"Pass That Dutch" Released: October 14, 2003 "I'm Really Hot" Released: March 23, 2004

The album received generally favorable reviews from critics. The album debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200, selling 183,600 copies in the first week of release.^[2] It has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold 705,000 copies in the United States.^[3][4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[6]
The Guardian	[7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[10]
Q	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	A−[13]
The Village Voice	A[14]

This Is Not a Test! was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 21 reviews.^[5] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars, saying, "Why anybody would choose to spend their life without a copy of This Is Not a Test! is a mystery."^[12] Dan Martin of NME gave the album eight out of ten stars, saying the album was "all about the beats" and "not a right lot else", adding it was "Missy's most uncompromising work yet".^[9] Nick Catucci of Blender gave the album three out of five stars, saying the album "lacks feeling" and asked, "besides beats, what else does she care about?"^[15] John Bush of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, saying the album "is an effective argument for song-by-song downloads."^[1] This Is Not a Test! placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 87.^[16]

Year-end lists

Appearances on year-end lists for This Is Not a Test!

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
NPR	Best CDs of 2003	26	[17]
The Observer	Albums of 2003	8	[18]

Commercial performance

This Is Not a Test! debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200, selling 183,600 copies in the first week of release.^[2] The album stayed on the chart for a total of 19 weeks.^[19] On December 17, 2003, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over one million copies in the United States.^[3] As of November 2015, the album has sold 705,000 copies in the US.^[4]

Track listing

This Is Not a Test! track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby Girl Interlude/Intro" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	Melissa Elliott Timothy Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	2:13
2.	"Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:37
3.	"Wake Up" (featuring Jay-Z)	Elliott Mosley Shawn Carter	Elliott Timbaland	4:06
4.	"Keep It Movin'" (featuring Elephant Man)	Elliott Mosley O'Neil Bryan	Elliott Timbaland	3:39
5.	"Is This Our Last Time" (featuring Fabolous)	Elliott John Jackson Karriem Mack Shaun Owens	Soul Diggaz	5:26
6.	"Ragtime Interlude/I'm Really Hot"	Elliott Mosley Craig Brockman	Elliott Timbaland	3:30
7.	"Dats What I'm Talkin About" (featuring R. Kelly)	Elliott Nisan Stewart Brockman	Elliott Stewart Brockman Kelly	4:48
8.	"Don't Be Cruel" (featuring Monica & Beenie Man)	Elliott Mosley Anthony Davis	Elliott Timbaland	4:33
9.	"Toyz Interlude/Toyz"	Elliott Mosley Brockman	Elliott Timbaland Brockman	2:52
10.	"Let It Bump"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	2:50
11.	"Pump It Up" (featuring Nelly)	Elliott Mosley Cornell Haynes	Elliott Timbaland	3:05
12.	"It's Real"	Elliott Brockman	Elliott Brockman	2:52
13.	"Let Me Fix My Weave"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:59
14.	"Spelling Bee Interlude/Spelling Bee"	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	3:34
15.	"I'm Not Perfect" (featuring The Clark Sisters)	Elliott Stewart Brockman	Elliott Stewart Brockman	3:49
16.	"Outro" (featuring Mary J. Blige)	Elliott Mosley	Elliott Timbaland	1:21

Sample credits

• "Pass That Dutch":
  • 'The Rapper' by The Jaggerz (1970)
  • 'Magic Mountain' by Eric Burdon and War (1970)
  • 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' by Santa Esmeralda (1977)
  • 'Potholes in My Lawn' by De La Soul (1989)
  • 'Scenario' by A Tribe Called Quest feat. Leaders of the New School (1991)
• "Keep It Movin":
  • 'I Know I've Been Wrong' by Mashmakhan (1970)
• "Is This Our Last Time":
  • 'The Second Time Around' by Shalamar (1979)
• "I'm Really Hot":
  • 'Buffalo Gals' by Malcolm McLaren (1982)
  • 'Release Yourself' by Aleem (1984)
  • 'Hot Music (Jazz Mix)' by Soho (1989)
  • 'Doin It' by LL Cool J (1995)
• "Don't Be Cruel":
  • 'Push It' by Salt-N-Pepa (1986)
• "Let It Bump":
  • 'I Cram to Understand U' by MC Lyte (1988)
• "Pump It Up":
  • 'Please, Please, Please' by James Brown and The Famous Flames (1956)
• "Let Me Fix My Weave":
  • 'Please Understand' by MC Lyte (1989)

Personnel

• June Ambrose – stylist
• Carlos "El Loco" Bedoya – engineer
• Beenie Man – vocals, guest appearance
• Ian Blanch – engineer
• Bless – scratching, group member
• Mary J. Blige – vocals, guest appearance
• Stacy Boge – photo production
• Anita Marisa Boriboon – art direction, design
• Craig "Boogie" Brockman – keyboards, producer
• Jay Brown – executive producer
• Suzanne Burge – product manager
• Demacio Castellon – mixing assistant
• Vadim Chislov – mixing assistant
• The Clark Sisters – vocals, guest appearance
• Annette Coleman – hair stylist
• Jimmy Douglass – engineer
• Elephant Man – vocals, guest appearance
• Missy Elliott – vocals, producer, executive producer
• Fabolous – vocals, guest appearance
• Roberto Fantauzzi – photo production
• Linda Fields – background vocals
• Andre Johnson – coordination
• Claudine Joseph – product manager
• R. Kelly – vocals, guest appearance
• Michael Kennedy – prop design
• Scott Kieklak – mixing
• Safiya Lewis – coordination
• Nelly – vocals, guest appearance
• Lili Picou – design
• Herb Powers – mastering
• Chris Puram – engineer
• Senator Jimmy D – mixing
• Nisan Stewart – producer
• Timbaland – producer, executive producer
• Alonzo Vargas – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for This Is Not a Test! Chart (2003–2004) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 39 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[21] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] 67 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 32 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 75 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[25] 41 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[26] 7 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 44 French Albums (SNEP)[28] 63 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 37 Italian Albums (FIMI)[30] 60 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31] 22 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 35 Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 69 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 50 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 47 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[37] 10 US Billboard 200[38] 13 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[39] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for This Is Not a Test! Chart (2004) Position Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[40] 17 US Billboard 200[41] 110 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[42] 41

Certifications

Certifications for This Is Not a Test!

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[43]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[44]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[45]	Gold	7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[47]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

This Is Not a Test! release history

Region	Date
Germany	November 24, 2003
United Kingdom
Canada	November 25, 2003
France
Japan
United States