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.[ 4] 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."[ 5] This Is Not a Test! placed on Slant Magazine 's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 87.[ 16]
This Is Not a Test! debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200 , selling 183,600 copies in the first week of release.[ 1] 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.[ 2] As of November 2015, the album has sold 705,000 copies in the US.[ 3]
This Is Not a Test! track listingTitle Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Baby Girl Interlude/Intro" (featuring Mary J. Blige ) 2:13 2. "Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch " 3:37 3. "Wake Up" (featuring Jay-Z ) 4:06 4. "Keep It Movin' " (featuring Elephant Man ) 3:39 5. "Is This Our Last Time" (featuring Fabolous ) 5:26 6. "Ragtime Interlude/I'm Really Hot " 3:30 7. "Dats What I'm Talkin About" (featuring R. Kelly )
Elliott
Stewart
Brockman
Kelly
4:48 8. "Don't Be Cruel" (featuring Monica & Beenie Man ) 4:33 9. "Toyz Interlude/Toyz"
Elliott
Timbaland
Brockman
2:52 10. "Let It Bump" 2:50 11. "Pump It Up" (featuring Nelly ) 3:05 12. "It's Real" 2:52 13. "Let Me Fix My Weave" 3:59 14. "Spelling Bee Interlude/Spelling Bee" 3:34 15. "I'm Not Perfect" (featuring The Clark Sisters ) 3:49 16. "Outro" (featuring Mary J. Blige ) 1:21
"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":
"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)
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
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^ a b "RIAA Certifications - Missy Elliott" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
^ a b Trust, Gary (November 22, 2015). "Ask Billboard: Missy Elliott's Career Album Sales" . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved November 22, 2015 .
^ a b "Reviews for This Is Not A Test! by Missy Elliott" . Metacritic . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ a b Bush, John. "This Is Not a Test! – Missy Elliott" . AllMusic . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Sinclair, Tom (November 24, 2003). "This Is Not a Test!" . Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Lynskey, Dorian (November 21, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test" . The Guardian . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Nichols, Natalie (November 23, 2003). "Elliott at the top of her class with 'Test' " . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ a b Martin, Dan (December 3, 2003). "Elliott, Missy : This Is Not A Test!" . NME . Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (December 3, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not a Test" . Pitchfork . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ "Missy Elliott: This Is Not a Test!". Q (211): 100. February 2004.
^ a b Sheffield, Rob (December 2, 2003). "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test!" . Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Pappademas, Alex (January 2004). "Booty call—for help?" . Spin . 20 (1): 95–96. Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Christgau, Robert (January 13, 2004). "Consumer Guide: MLK Fever" . The Village Voice . Retrieved February 13, 2016 .
^ Catucci, Nick. "Missy Elliott: This Is Not A Test Review" . Blender . Dennis Publishing . Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2008 .
^ "Best of the Aughts: Albums" . Slant Magazine . February 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2010 .
^ "Christian Bordal on Music: Best CDs of 2003" . NPR . December 31, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2023 .
^ "Albums of 2003" . The Observer . December 14, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2023 .
^ "Billboard Chart History - Missy Elliott" . Billboard . Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
^ "Australiancharts.com – Missy Elliott – This Is Not a Test!" . Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 2nd August 2004" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association (753): 16. August 2, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Pandora Archive .
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^ "Albums : Top 100" . Jam! . December 18, 2004. Archived from the original on November 21, 2004. Retrieved February 23, 2023 .
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