"Gossip Folks" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring fellow American rapper Ludacris, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, Under Construction (2002), on December 9, 2002. Written alongside producer Timbaland, it peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

The song is Missy's response to different rumors about her (e.g., her sexual orientation, her weight), and essentially tells those who spread these rumors to mind their own business. The refrain of "Gossip Folks" samples the 1981 song "Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith.

Music video

The music video for "Gossip Folks" was directed by Dave Meyers. In the beginning Elliott is walking through the hallway when students start announcing her entrance and begin to start rumors about her. As Missy's verse starts, Missy and the students begin dancing through the chorus. The second verse starts in the cafeteria where Missy has her group of students have a food fight with another group. Also in the cafeteria are Tweet, Eve, and Trina impressing while sitting on a cafeteria table. In the middle of the video a clip of "Funky Fresh Dressed" featuring Ms. Jade was played. The "Funky Fresh Dressed" segment of the video features Elliott and Ms. Jade with their green shades in a classroom. Missy begins to aggravate the teacher Faizon Love while Ms. Jade takes over the class with a yardstick as a symbol of power. Ludacris's verse begins directly after the "Funky Fresh Dressed" segment. He appears to be the principal. The bus driver who appears in the last 10 seconds is Darryl McDaniels (DMC of Run-DMC). Toward the end of the video a mural dedicated to the late R&B/hip hop stars Aaliyah (1979–2001), Lisa Lopes (1971–2002), and Jam Master Jay (1965–2002) is shown. The video features several young dancers, including Monica Parales of former girl group School Gyrls and Alyson Stoner of The JammX Kids. Monica Parales auditioned for the role of Lead Kid Dancer in "Work It", but lost the role to Alyson Stoner. Monica eventually co-starred with Alyson in "Gossip Folks" and "I'm Really Hot". The music video also stars dancer and actress Jenna Dewan from Step Up.

Tributes in the end of the video

Track listings

US 12-inch single UK CD single UK 12-inch single European CD single 1 European CD single 2 Australian CD single

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history