Missy Elliott works it in Tampa on first headliner tour

Thank goodness Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott took the stage on Wednesday at Amalie Arena — dripping in Swarovski crystals, looking supa dupa fly — because any local will tell you Tampa Bay isn’t built for someone who can’t stand the rain ‘gainst her window.

The rap icon’s Out of This World tour finally landed at Amalie Arena after she postponed the tour to care for her elderly dog. Elliott assembled a stellar opening lineup of collaborators, including Timbaland, Ciara and Busta Rhymes. After nearly 30 years in the industry and six albums, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee had a lot of ground to cover on her first-ever tour as a headliner.

Sometimes a singer, other times a rapper, Elliott has a catalog that shows off her legendary fusion of hip-hop and pop music that pioneered the genres as we know them today. The audience spanned generations, with mother-daughter duos clad in leopard print and metallic latex.

The otherworldly performance transcended time and space, feeling far from nostalgic. Elliott, 53, put her thang down, flipped and reversed it.

Timbaland, a high school friend of Elliott’s, kicked things off. He delivered today’s club classics from “Promiscuous” to “Drunk in Love,” before being joined by his son and tour DJ, Demetrius.

Ciara and her unbelievable backup dancers kept things automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky-fresh. CiCi was right there with them. She split, straddled and strutted with astonishing flexibility for someone who had her fourth baby in December.

“Going every night back to back is never the easiest sometimes ... and plus I got my precious babies rolling in the back,” said Ciara. “But I say this to say, you guys, I’m so grateful for this love, I would never take it for granted.”

The concert transformed for what Busta Rhymes, joined by hip-hop hype-man Spliff Star, declared “a party.” There was Champagne. Not a soul dared disobey. When he said “hands up,” everybody’s hands went up. (Up, down! Up, down! Up, down!) When he said “clap,” the jam-packed arena erupted in thunder.

Busta’s act bordered on stand-up with a side of lyrical assault. It was just him and Spliff on stage with a palpable chemistry with the audience. “We don’t need special effects ... because we are the special effects,” boomed Busta Rhymes.

Just before 10 p.m., the arena braced itself to blast off with Misdemeanor. Dazzling screens featured 3D effects of different cartoonish Elliott bobbleheads. Spaceship 757 promised to serve “creativity, talent and, for dessert, originality,” narrated an alien voice.

Then, all 5 feet, 2 inches of Elliott emerged from a futuristic spaceship, glittering in an orange and white spacesuit.

Her performance revolved around four acts — each with a different costume, all equally extravagant. During “She’s a Bitch,” a billowy black cape briefly swallowed Elliott. She recovered before boarding a platform that floated over the venue.

Tap dancers, break dancers and ballerinas smoothly transitioned between numbers with Elliott, from “Throw It Back” to “Cool Off” to “We Run This.”

The 26-song set list crescendoed to “Work It,” where Elliott descended from the stage in a neon graffitied costume, crowned with a furry lime green bucket hat, and paraded around the arena’s floor. Wisps of green fuzz could barely be seen above the concertgoers as she carved her way back to stage, hugging fans and rapping into outstretched phones.

Decades of camaraderie crystallized before the audience as Elliott invited each opener back on stage to perform with her: “Up Jumps Da Boogie” with Timbaland, “Touch It” with Busta Rhymes and “Lose Control” with Ciara. They all hugged before it was time for Elliott to board her spaceship.

Thousands of fans waved goodbye as the hip-hop icon ascended into the air before disappearing into an illusion of smoke. The earthlings were reunited with reality.