Missy and Timbaland have played a well-documented role in leading hip hop's musical direction over the last half decade.
Along the way they've revolutionised the positioning of the humble snare and kick drum and brought previously alien elements into the mix.
They're associated with musical progression, the breeching of taboos and burning of the rulebook.
But now, it seems, the juggernaut has stopped. And it's Missy who's pulled the brakes.
"Under-construction simply states that I'm a work in progress," explains Missy. "Ever since Aaliyah passed I look at life in a more valuable way. You realise in the blink of an eye that you're walking down a church aisle that was meant for weddings and happiness, but realising those same church aisles are used to view a loved-one for the last time."
Musically this means the normally progressive production duo have looked back to hip hop's age of innocence, before the murders of Biggie Smalls and Tupac.
That said this is far from a retro album. After a distinctly old-school intro, 'Go To The Floor' is every bit as much a tabla experience as 'Get Your Freak On' - with Timbaland rolling the beats fluidly around a stabilising rim shot.
Tracks such as 'Bring The Pain', featuring Method Man, and the industrial funk of 'Slide', are more self consciously old-school, with samples being given greater prominence alongside Timbaland's programming, while 'Back In The Day', featuring Jay Z, is the full-on retro-celebration of hip hop's less violent past.
'Funky Fresh Dressed' consists of stripped back raw beats which get reversed through the reel to reel for Ms Jade's guest appearance (an old analogue trick if ever there was one), 'Pussycat' rocks on Eighties soul hand claps and 'Hot' is pure party breaks.
And Missy's message/ tribute to Aaliyah and Lisa Left Eye, 'Can You Hear Me', sung with the remaining members of TLC, will no-doubt prove an irresistible single.
But this is a mixed package and the most obviously commercial collaboration here, 'Nothing Out There For Me' featuring Beyonce Knowles, is a disappointingly lightweight affair.
While 'Under Construction' isn't a retro LP, in as much as it's informed by both new and old, it isn't beyond question whether the return to roots simply conceals a lack of direction.
And, despite "looking at life in a more valuable way", Missy still appears on the back cover draped in animal fur.
