Entertainment

This Missy Elliot & H.E.R. Collab Is Already The Best Super Bowl Commercial Of 2020

Pepsi

Turn up the TV: another iconic Pepsi commericial has arrived, featuring one of the Queens of Rap herself. Missy Elliott and H.E.R. collaborated for Pepsi's 2020 Super Bowl ad, and truth be told, it's probably already the best Super Bowl commericial this year. And the big halftime show (who's actually watching the game?) is still five days away.

For the commercial, the iconic rapper and R&B sensation teamed up for a remix of the Rolling Stones' classic hit "Paint It Black," produced by none other than longtime Missy collaborator Timbaland, to celebrate the new matte black Pepsi Zero Sugar can (get it?). The music video-inspired ad starts off with H.E.R., holding a red Cola can in a red room, singing “I see a red door, and I want it painted black," before she breaks free into a black-colored paradise. (The Coca-Cola shade is real.)

Once she enters the Pepsi Zero Sugar world, Missy joins in to add her legendary flow and deliver some signature choreography. It's a visual feast, clearly inspired by the rapper's innovative music videos. And both artists were very excited to work with each other to create it. “I’ve been following H.E.R.’s career closely; her talent is undeniable,” Missy said in a statement obtained by Bustle. "Everything about this experience — from the music, to the shoot, to the collaboration with an icon like Missy — it was really special,” H.E.R. added.

In an interview with Billboard, Missy and H.E.R. opened up about collaborating with each other for the first time, a team-up fans have been waiting for. "I learned so much from Missy out of this experience," H.E.R. said. "She was telling me stories about being on the road and in the studio. Once we had that connection on a personal level, the song kind of just created itself." And if Missy has it her way, this won't be the last time they work together. "I most definitely want to do a record with H.E.R. Or two, or three!," she said.

In fact, Missy almost willed this collab into existence when she discovered H.E.R. years before other people joined the fandom. "I actually hit H.E.R. on Twitter a few years back, a friend of mine had put me on to H.E.R. music, and I was just like, 'Whoever this is, they gon’ blow up'," she said. "She didn’t have any pictures out, so I didn’t know who she was, I was just familiar with H.E.R. music. So when I found out it was going to be H.E.R., I was just like, 'Wow this is going to be fun.'" The only thing that could make this entire collab better is if it were available to stream or purchase in full — just sayin'.