The song was released to US radio stations on May 20, 1997, and the Hype Williams-directed video was released to video shows starting June 3, 1997.[2] The song entered the Hot R&B Airplay chart in mid-June, and peaked at number 6 the week of August 9, 1997. It peaked at number 51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart the following week. It was released as the album's lead single on July 2, 1997, and reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The song's moans are used as a sample in Method Man & Redman's "The ?"[citation needed]
Critical receptionedit
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Elliott commits more than a misdemeanor with her first solo single, "The Rain". Having scored a handful of hits writing and producing for such acts as Aaliyah, 702, SWV and Ginuwine, Elliott attempts to hide the fact that she was lazy with her own lyrics and depended on a Timbaland beat to save her. The result is a little of her infamous wordplay atop an ineffectual bass, snare, and drum beat. One can only hope that she puts more time and effort into her upcoming album, "Hit 'Em With The Heat", as we don't want to see such a rising star burn out so fast."[3]VH1 ranked the song 99th on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90s.[4] In 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 33 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[5] In 2000, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" was named the fourth-best single of 1997 by The Village Voice's annual-year end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[6]Stereogum and Paste ranked the song number three and number four, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Missy Elliott Songs.[7][8] In 2021, it was listed at No. 453 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[9]
^Flick, Larry (June 14, 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. p. 74. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^"Top 100 Songs of the '90s – | VH1 Blog". VH1. December 13, 2007. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
^"Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21 | Features". Pitchfork. September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
^Christgau, Robert. "1997 Pazz & Jop: The Year of No Next Big Thing". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
^Patrin, Nate (March 3, 2015). "The 10 Best Missy Elliott Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
^O'Brien, Jon (July 18, 2017). "The 10 Best Missy Elliott Songs". Paste. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
^"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
^"Missy Elliott - "The rain (Supa dupa fly)"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^"Missy Elliott Turns 40: 15 Videos Celebrating Her Career". The Boombox. July 1, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^"Lol it was never a trash bag it was a patent leather blow up suit and why was i in that? I don't know cuz I'm Missy". Twitter. July 16, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
^"The Argument: Missy Elliott Is The Decade's Most Important Video Artist". MTV. March 9, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^"Throwback Thursday: Missy Elliott "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (Video)". Refinedhype.com. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^"150 Best Rap Music Videos of All Time". August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.