Missy Elliott | |
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 Elliott in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
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| Born | Melissa Arnette Elliott (1971-07-01)July 1, 1971 (age 54) Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Works | |
| Years active | 1988–present |
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| Website | missy-elliott |
Melissa Arnette "Missy"Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known asMisdemeanor,[3][4] is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of theR&B girl groupSista during the 1990s, who were part of the larger musical collectiveSwing Mob—led byDeVante Swing ofJodeci. The former group signed withElektra Records to release their debut album,4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994), which was critically praised but commercially unsuccessful. She collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohortTimbaland to work insongwriting and production for other acts, yielding commercially successful releases for702,Aaliyah,SWV, andTotal.
Elliott re-emerged as a solo act with several collaborative efforts and guest appearances by 1996. The following year, she released her debut solo album,Supa Dupa Fly, which peaked at number three on the USBillboard 200 and toppedBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It spawned theBillboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me" (featuringDa Brat).[5] Her second album,Da Real World (1999), produced the singles "She's a Bitch", "All n My Grill" (featuringBig Boi andNicole Wray), and "Hot Boyz" (remixed featuringLil' Mo,Nas,Eve andQ-Tip). The latter song set a 19-year record for most weeks atop theHot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and spent 18 weeks atop theHot Rap Songs chart.
Elliott's third and fourth albums,Miss E... So Addictive (2001) andUnder Construction (2002) made her the sole recipient of bothGrammy Awards for Best Female Rap Solo Performance with their respective songs "Scream a.k.a. Itchin" (featuring Timbaland) and "Work It". Furthermore, the albums peaked at numbers two and three on theBillboard 200, respectively, while "Work It" peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100. Her fifth and sixth albums,This Is Not a Test! (2003) andThe Cookbook (2005), followed thereafter; the latter matchedUnder Construction on theBillboard 200 and spawned theBillboard Hot 100-top three single, "Lose Control" (featuringCiara andFatman Scoop).[6] Following a long-term hiatus, her debut extended play,Iconology (2019) marked her first release in 14 years.
Elliott has receivednumerous accolades, including fourGrammy Awards.[7][8][9] Heroverall discography has sold 40 million records worldwide,[10] making her the best-selling female rapper inNielsen Music history according toBillboard.[11] She was the first female rapper to be inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame, and received the MTV VMAsMichael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her impact on the music video landscape.[12][13] In 2020,Billboard ranked her at No. 5 on their list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time.[14] In 2021, she was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame. In 2023, she became the first female rapper to be nominated and inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[15][16][17] In 2024, Elliot was honored as the 2022 recipient of theNational Medal of Arts.[18]
Melissa Arnette Elliott[19] was born on July 1, 1971,[20] atNaval Medical Center Portsmouth inPortsmouth, Virginia,[5][21] the only child of power company dispatcher Patricia and formerMarine Ronnie Elliott.[19][22][23] She grew up in an active church choir family, where singing was a normal part of her youth. At the age of four, she wanted to be a performer, with biographer Veronica A. Davis later writing that she "would sing and perform for her family". In later years, she feared no one would take her seriously because she was always theclass clown.[24] While her father was an active Marine, the family lived in a manufactured home community inJacksonville, North Carolina.[24][21] She blossomed during this part of her life, enjoying school for the friendships that she formed even though she had little interest in schoolwork. When her father returned from the Marines, the family moved back to Virginia, where they lived in extreme poverty.[22]
Life in Virginia saw many hardships, and Elliott has talked about seeing her mother sufferdomestic abuse at the hands of her father; she refused to attend sleepovers at her friends' homes out of fear that she would find her mother dead upon returning home.[25] When she was eight, she wassexually abused by a cousin. In one violent incident, her father dislocated her mother's shoulders; during another, Elliott herself was threatened by her father with a gun.[25] When Elliott was 14, her mother decided to end the situation and fled with Elliott on the pretext of taking a joyride on a local bus. In reality, the pair had found refuge at a family member's home, where their possessions were stored in a loadedU-Haul truck.[22] Elliott told her mother that she feared her father would kill them both for leaving.[24] She later stated, "When we left, my mother realized how strong she was on her own, and it made me strong. It took her leaving her home to be able to realize that."[22][24] She and her mother lived in the Hodges Ferry neighborhood of Portsmouth,[21] where Elliott graduated fromManor High School in 1990.[19][26] She later said that she occasionally speaks to her father, but has not forgiven him for abusing her mother.[22][24]
In 1988, Elliott formed an all-womenR&B group called Fayze (later renamed Sista)[27] with friends La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and Radiah Scott.[28] She was introduced to her neighborhood friendTimothy Mosley (Timbaland) byMelvin Barcliff (Magoo) who was trying to recruit Timbaland to be the group'sproducer and began making demo tracks, among them included the 1991 promo "First Move".[29] Later in 1991, Fayze caught the attention ofJodeci member and producerDeVante Swing[19] by performing Jodeci songsa cappella for him backstage after one of his group's concerts. In short order, Fayze moved to New York City and signed toElektra Records through DeVante'sSwing Mob imprint and also renaming the group Sista. Sista's debut song was titled "Brand New", which was released in 1993[30] Elliott took Mosley & Barclif whom DeVante re-christened the duo asTimbaland & Magoo.
All 20-plus members of the Swing Mob—among them future stars such asGinuwine,Playa, andTweet[31]—lived in a single two-story house in New York and were often at work on material both for Jodeci and their own projects.[23] While Elliott wrote and rapped onRaven-Symoné's 1993 debut single, "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" which was her first big musical breakthrough, peaking at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[4] she also contributed, credited and uncredited, to the Jodeci albumsDiary of a Mad Band (1993) andThe Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995). Timbaland and DeVante jointly produced a Sista album, entitled4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994). Though videos were released for the original and remix versions of the single "Brand New", the album was shelved and never released.[29] One of the group's tracks, "It's Alright" featuringCraig Mack did however make the cut on thesoundtrack of the 1995 motion pictureDangerous Minds but by the end of 1995, Swing Mob had folded and many of its members dispersed. Elliott, Timbaland, Magoo, Ginuwine, and Playa remained together and collaborated on each other's records for the rest of the decade as the musical collective The Superfriends.[32][33][34]
After leaving Swing Mob, Elliott and Timbaland worked together as a songwriting/production team, crafting tracks for acts includingSWV,702, and most notablyAaliyah.[31] The pair wrote and produced nine tracks for Aaliyah's second album,One in a Million (1996), among them the hit singles "If Your Girl Only Knew", "One in a Million", "Hot Like Fire", and "4 Page Letter".[30] Elliott contributed background vocals and/or guest raps to nearly all of the tracks on which she and Timbaland worked.One in a Million wentdouble platinum and made stars out of the production duo. Elliott and Timbaland continued to work together for other artists, later creating hits for artists such asTotal ("What About Us?"; 1997),Nicole Wray ("Make It Hot"; 1998), andDestiny's Child ("Get on the Bus"; 1998), as well as one final hit for Aaliyah, "I Care 4 U", before her death in 2001. Elliott also wrote the bulk ofTotal's second and final albumKima, Keisha, and Pam andNicole Wray's debutMake It Hot (both released in 1998). Elliott began her career as a featured vocalist rapping onSean "Puffy" Combs's Bad Boy remixes toGina Thompson's "The Things That You Do", (which had a video featuring cameo appearances by Notorious B.I.G and Puff Daddy),MC Lyte's 1996 hit single "Cold Rock a Party" (backup vocals by Gina Thompson), andNew Edition's 1996 single "You Don't Have to Worry". In 1996, Elliott also appeared on the Men of Vizion's remix of "Do Thangz" which was produced byRodney Jerkins (coincidentally the producer of the original version of "The Things That You Do").
Combs had hoped to sign Elliott to hisBad Boy record label. Instead, she signed a deal in 1996 to create her own imprint,The Goldmind Inc., withEast West Records, which at that time was a division ofElektra Entertainment Group, for which she would record as a solo artist.[31] Timbaland was again recruited as her production partner, a role he would hold on most of Elliott's solo releases. Missy continued to work with other artists and appeared onLSG's song "All the Time" withGerald Levert,Keith Sweat,Johnny Gill,Faith Evans, andCoko in 1997 on Levert Sweat Gill classic album. The same year, she rapped in "Keys To My House" with old friends groupLeVert. In the center of a busy period of making guest appearances and writing for other artists, Elliott's debut album,Supa Dupa Fly, was released in mid-1997; the success of its lead single "The Rain" led the album to be certified platinum.[30] Elliott wore an oversized trash-bag looking jumpsuit in the music video, and atLilith Fair, an outfit media articles have considered one of her most recognizable "fashion moments".[35][36][37][38]
The success was also a result of the music videos of her single releases, which were directed byHarold "Hype" Williams, who created many groundbreaking hip hop, Afro-futuristic videos at the time. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the1998 Grammy Awards, but lost toPuff Daddy'sNo Way Out. The year also saw Elliott perform live at theMTV Video Music Awards show on a remix toLil' Kim's "Ladies Night" with fellow rappersDa Brat,Angie Martinez andTLC-rapperLeft Eye. Elliott continued her successful career in the background as a producer and writer onTotal's single "Trippin'", as well as working with several others in the hip-hop andR&B communities. Elliott co-wrote and co-produced two tracks onWhitney Houston's 1998 albumMy Love Is Your Love, providing vocal cameos for "In My Business" and "Oh Yes". Elliott also produced and made a guest appearance onSpice GirlMelanie Brown's debut solo single, "I Want You Back", which topped theUK Singles Chart in Brown's native United Kingdom and is Elliott's only chart-topping song in that country.
Although a much darker album than her debut, Elliott's second album was just as successful as the first,[39] selling 1.5 million copies and 3 million copies worldwide. She remarked, "I can't even explain the pressure. The last album took me a week to record. This one took almost two months...I couldn't rush it the second time because people expect more."[39]Da Real World (1999) included the singles "All n My Grill", a collaboration withNicole Wray andBig Boi (fromOutKast), a remix to "Hot Boyz" and "She's a Bitch". Also in 1999, Elliott was featured, alongside Da Brat, on the official remix to a Mariah Carey single "Heartbreaker".[40] A music video was filmed for the remix, shot in black and white and featuring a cameo appearance by Dogg. The Desert Storm Remix is acclaimed by music critics and became a cult remix .[41]
Missy Elliott next releasedMiss E... So Addictive on May 15, 2001. The album debuted at number two in the United States and sold 250,000 copies in its first week.[42] It spawned the massive pop and urban hits "One Minute Man" (as to which MTV wrote: "Missy Elliott PlaysDr. Ruth On New Single"), featuringLudacris andTrina, and "Get Ur Freak On", as well as the internationalclub hit "4 My People" and the less commercially successful single "Take Away".[43] The double music video for "Take Away/4 My People" was released in the fall of 2001, shortly after the sudden death of Elliott's close friend Aaliyah on August 25 and the9/11 terrorist attacks. The "Take Away" video contained images of and words about Aaliyah, and the slow ballad acted as a tribute to her memory. The remainder of the video was the more upbeat "4 My People", contained scenes of people dancing happily in front of American flags and Elliott dressed in red, white and blue. Though "Take Away" was not a success on radio, "4 My People" went on to become an American and Europeanclub hit due to a popular remix byhouse music duoBasement Jaxx in 2002.
Tweet's appearance on Elliott's "Take Away" as well as her cameo at Elliott's house onMTV Cribs helped to create a buzz about the new R&B singer. Tweet's own debut single, "Oops (Oh My)", was co-written by Elliott and released through Goldmind in February 2002. The single was a top ten hit, thanks partially to Elliott's songwriting and guest rap, and to Timbaland's unusual production on the track. Elliott co-produced theChristina Aguilera,Lil' Kim,Mýa andPink cover of "Lady Marmalade" for the albumMoulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film,[44] which went to number one on theBillboardHot 100 in 2001.
For her next outing, Elliott and Timbaland focused on an old school sound, utilizing many old school rap and funk samples, such asRun–DMC's "Peter Piper" andFrankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus". Elliott's fourth album, 2002'sUnder Construction (see2002 in music) is known as the best selling women rap album with 2.1 million copies sold in the United States.[45] In 2002, Elliott won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "Get Ur Freak On".[4] In 2003,Under Construction received Grammy nominations forBest Rap Album andAlbum of the Year.[46]The New York Times designatedUnder Construction "this year's best hip-hop album".[47] Elliott released two singles off ofUnder Construction. The lead single, "Work It" reached No. 2 onBillboard's Hot 100 chart and won the "Video of the Year" award atMTV's Video Music Awards. The second single, "Gossip Folks" featuringLudacris, became a Top 10 hit onBillboard's Hot 100 chart, was one of the most-played music videos onMTV,MTV2,MTV Jams, andBET in 2003 and was embraced by the dance community, as well as the mainstream, due to aFatboy Slim remix.[48] A third single was never released, though a video was shot for "Back In The Day" featuringJay-Z[49] and Elliott was.
In between albums, Elliott produced the "American Dream Remix" (featuring Tweet's additional vocals) ofMadonna's single "American Life", was featured rapper on Timbaland & Magoo's return single, "Cop That Shit", and produced "Fighting Temptation" (featuring herself, Beyoncé,Free andMC Lyte) for the soundtrack to theCuba Gooding Jr. andBeyoncé Knowles movie of the same name. The track reached No. 1 in Japan but failed to chart in the U.S. Hot 100. Elliott was also featured onWyclef Jean's "Party to Damascus" andGhostface Killah's "Tush" singles, the latter of which became a minor 2004 dance hit, and had a pivotal role in the filmHoney.Gap approached Elliott later in the year to co-star in a commercial with Madonna, which received much media attention.[50] Elliott furthered her relationship with Madonna by performing the controversial 2003MTV Video Music Awards show opening alongside Madonna,Britney Spears andChristina Aguilera. Also in September 2003, Elliott performed the theme song "The Opposite Sex" for theUPN sitcomEve starring her good friend and fellow rapperEve. It lasted for three seasons.
A year after Elliott's most successful album to date was released, Elliott felt pressured by her label to release another album hoping to capitalize on her recent success.[51] Elliott's singles, "Pass That Dutch" and "I'm Really Hot", from her fifth album,This Is Not a Test! (released November 2003), both rose the urban charts. However, both were not as successful at pop radio in comparison to many of her previous efforts.This Is Not A Test sold 690,000 copies in the United States[51] and has beencertified Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Elliott has since stated that "the albumThis Is Not A Test came out extremely too quickly for me. I didn't want it to come out when it did."[52] In 2004, Elliott was featured onCiara's hit single "1, 2 Step", with her verse interpolatingTeena Marie's single, "Square Biz". Elliott premiered her own reality show on theUPN Network,The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott in 2005 even though it was not renewed for a second season. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, she sold more than 7.6 million copies in the United States, being a woman rapper with best-selling albums in the country, followed byLauryn Hill (seven million),Lil' Kim (four million), andEve (four million) at the time.[53]
Elliott wanted to "give people the unexpected" by utilizing producers other than Timbaland and a "more to the center" sound not asfar left as her other music.[52] Her sixth solo album,The Cookbook was released on July 4, 2005, debuted at number two on the U.S. charts and was later certifiedplatinum in 2022 by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. Elliott's work duringThe Cookbook era was heavily recognized. Elliott received 5Grammy nominations in 2005, including one for Best Rap Album forThe Cookbook. The album's first single, "Lose Control", won a Grammy for Best Short Form Video and was nominated for Best Rap Song. "Lose Control" also garnered Elliott six 2005 MTV VMA award nominations (winning Best Dance Video and Best Hip-Hop Video). Elliott won Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the 2005American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best International Female Artist at the2006 BRIT Awards.
"Lose Control" featuringCiara andFatman Scoop, became a Top 5 hit in the midyear (peaking at number three on theBillboardHot 100). The second single, Teary Eyed, did not chart, although the video charted on MTV'sTRL for a few weeks, andBET's106 & Park for a few days. The third single, "We Run This", was released with heavy airplay onVH1,MTV, and BET. It served as the lead single for the soundtrack to the gymnastics-themed filmStick It. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Rap Solo Performance category in 2006.Respect M.E., Elliott's first greatest hits album, was released outside the United States and Canada on September 4, 2006, only in South Africa, Australia, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. The collection became her second top ten album in the UK and her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seven there.
Elliott was an honoree of the 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors.[54] In honor of her career, many artists performed some of her biggest hits. Timbaland andTweet performed "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)",Eve andKeyshia Cole performed "Hot Boyz" and "Work It",Fatman Scoop andCiara performed "Lose Control", andNelly Furtado performed "Get Ur Freak On (The Remix)".[55] Since 2007, Elliott's seventhstudio album has had several different forms with extensive delays. In 2007, she worked with Timbaland,Swizz Beatz,Danja,T-Pain andDJ Toomp and planned to release an album at the beginning of 2008.[56] In January 2008, "Ching-a-Ling" was released as the lead single for theStep Up 2: The Streets soundtrack, which also featured "Shake Your Pom Pom" produced by Timbaland. Elliott released the song "Best, Best" in the same year[57] and renamed the albums previous titleFANomenal to its tentative titleBlock Party.[58] She later decided againstBlock Party and four years later, in 2012, Elliott released two Timbaland-produced singles ("9th Inning" and "Triple Threat") exclusively to iTunes.[59] Though the songs managed to chart onBillboard Hot Digital Songs,[60] in an interview with Yahoo's The Yo Show, Missy talked about her hiatus from making records: "Your brain needs time to refresh! Things happen in your life where you can then write something else instead of the same three topics. Like, how many times we gonna talk about the club? I gotta feel like what I'm giving the fans is 100 percent and that it's game-changing. I don't just throw out microwave records."[61]
In between the recording of her seventh album, Missy Elliott found success behind the scenes. Elliott's writing and production helped her reach No. 1 onBillboard'sHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs withKeyshia Cole's "Let It Go" (2007),Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad" (2008), andMonica's "Everything to Me" (2010). Since 2008, songs written and/or produced by Elliott forFantasia ("Free Yourself"),Jennifer Hudson ("I'm His Only Woman"),Monica ("Everything to Me"),Keyshia Cole ("Let It Go"), andJazmine Sullivan ("Need U Bad" and "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)") have all receivedGrammy nominations. Both Fantasia's "Free Yourself" (2005) and Sullivan's "Holding You Down (Goin' In Circles)" reached No. 3 onBillboard'sHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In mid-2010, Elliott embarked on a two-part tour with stops in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia,[62] while she also performed at VH1's "Hip Hop Honors: The Dirty South" in a tribute to Timbaland, performing "Get Ur Freak On" and"Work It". In 2008 she made an appearance in "Whatcha Think About That" byThe Pussycat Dolls, and performed live in different places with them. In 2011 and 2012, Elliott made guest appearances on "All Night Long" byDemi Lovato, "Nobody's Perfect" byJ. Cole, the remix of "Why Stop Now" byBusta Rhymes withChris Brown andLil Wayne, and a remix ofKaty Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" that helped catapult "T.G.I.F". to No. 1 on theBillboard Hot 100. She also producedMonica's singles "Anything (To Find You)" and "Until It's Gone".
Throughout 2013, Missy Elliott was featured onEve's album cut "Wanna Be",[63] as well as international artists singles,Little Mix's "How Ya Doin'?" and "NiLiria" with K-pop musicianG-Dragon, which was named byComplex magazine as one of the "50 Best Songs of 2013".[64] Elliott also contributed to her protégéeSharaya J's two releases, "Banji" and "Smash Up The Place/Snatch Yo Wigs". In December 2013, Elliott received aGrammy nomination withFantasia andKelly Rowland for their song "Without Me".[65] As early as July 2013, Missy Elliott and Timbaland held recording sessions forKat Dahlia's debut,My Garden (2015).[66] In August 2013, R&B singerFaith Evans revealed that Missy Elliott would be featured on her sixth studio album, tentatively titledIncomparable.[67] In March 2014, Evans revealed one of the tracks was named "I Deserve It", featuring Missy and her protégéeSharaya J, in which Evans cited it as a "banger" and "feel good" record.[68] Evans also revealed that in total Elliott contributed three tracks to her album.[68] On July 7, 2014, fellow R&B singerMonica confirmed that Elliott would be a feature on her upcoming eighth studio album.[69] On July 29, 2014, a snippet of a Missy Elliott–produced song, nickname "I Love Him", premiered on Monica's officialInstagram account.[70]
In 2015, Elliott performed at theSuper Bowl XLIX halftime show withKaty Perry. Elliott performed a medley of "Get Ur Freak On", "Work It", and "Lose Control".[71] The performance was well-received,[72][73] and boosted digital sales of Elliott's work that week, with a twenty-five-fold increase in album sales (to 2,000 units) and a ten-fold increase in sales of the three songs she performed (to 71,000 units) compared to the week before. It also became the most watched Super Bowl halftime show in NFL history, receiving 118.5 million viewers in the United States.[74] On February 3, 2015, it was confirmed that Elliott would be a feature on the upcoming remix toDiplo andSkrillex's "Take Ü There".[75] On February 11, Elliott stated that she was still in the process of recording her seventh studio album,Block Party, with Timbaland.[76] On April 2, 2015,Pharrell Williams confirmed that he was working on Elliott's album during an episode ofThe Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.[77] On November 12, 2015, "WTF (Where They From)" and its music video were simultaneously released to digital outlets.[78] By November 19, the song and its video had been streamed 6.1 million times in the US alone, with an additional count of 16 million views per YouTube viewing.[79]
On February 7, 2016, the day of thefiftiethSuper Bowl, Elliott released a promotional single, "Pep Rally".[80] Later that month, Elliott reunited with former protégéeTweet and frequent collaborator Timbaland on the cut "Somebody Else Will" taken from the former's third studio album,Charlene.[81] By March 15, 2016, First LadyMichelle Obama proclaimed that she had assembled a collaborative track featuring vocals from Missy Elliott,Kelly Clarkson,Janelle Monáe andZendaya alongside production credit from pop songwriterDiane Warren and Elliott titled "This Is for My Girls".[82] TheiTunes-exclusive record will be used to both coincide with Ms. Obama'sSXSW speech and to promote her third-world educational initiativeLet Girls Learn.[82]
Following a surprise appearance withTLC on the 2016 televised specialTaraji's White Hot Holidays,[83] Elliott announced plans to release a documentary chronicling her impact on the production scene in both audio and video.[84] The midnight of January 27, 2017, saw the full-length release to a new Elliott single titled "I'm Better", featuring production and vocal assistance from recurring sidemanLamb and shared directing credit by Elliott and longtime colleagueDave Meyers.[85]
In July 2018, Missy Elliott teased fans by appearing on a snippet nicknamed "ID" bySkrillex,[86] released in 2023 as RATATA. One month later, Elliott appeared on theAriana Grande number "Borderline", taken from the singer's fourth studio albumSweetener (2018). In October 2018, Elliott announced that she is working on her new album, which would be released in 2019.[87] On March 20, 2019,Lizzo released a collaboration with Elliott titled "Tempo".
On June 13, 2019, Elliott was inducted to theSongwriters Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rapper to receive this honor.[88] Elliott received anhonoraryDoctor of Music degree fromBerklee College of Music,[89] and theMichael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.[90] She was also the first female rapper to receive the award.[91] Elliott received theWomen's Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2019 in recognition for her achievements in music and being a leader. This award was placed in the Congressional Record.[92]
Elliott released her firstextended play on August 23, 2019, titledIconology. The five-track EP features a variety of musical genres that cover the breadth of her career as an artist and has received favorable reviews from critics. Upon release of the album, she also released the lead single, "Throw It Back", with a music video featuringTeyana Taylor. Musically,Iconology is apop,hip hop andR&B EP reminiscent of Elliott's previous work. The opening track, "Throw It Back" contains "trap snares and a serpentine bassline", which along with the second track, "Cool Off", were described as "woozy, futuristic romps" containing "distorted bass lines and frenetic production". Lyrically, "Throw It Back" contains references to Elliott's history, as well as previous collaboratorsTweet andHeavy D. Maura Johnson ofEntertainment Weekly described "Cool Off" as calling "back to hip-hop's two-turntables-and-a-mic early days". "DripDemeanor" has been described as a slow jam that explores Elliott's "sensuous side". Musically, it contains "plush synths [that] skip-step underneath" the song's beat. "Why I Still Love You" is adoo-wop song withgospel influences and jazz influence that lyrically chronicles the singer's "conflicted emotions about holding on to a cheating lover". The EP closes with ana cappella version of "Why I Still Love You".
Elliott was motivated to write uplifting music to counter mainstream trends and encourage moredance music to feel good. "DripDemeanor" was released as the album's second single on October 22. "Why I Still Love You" was released as the third single on January 17, 2020. "Cool Off" was released as the fourth and final single from the EP on April 21, 2020. On June 26, 2020, Elliott appeared on the official remix toToni Braxton's single "Do It".Elliott co-produced the track alongside Hannon Lane.[93] On August 13, 2020, Elliott appeared on the remix single "Levitating" byDua Lipa which also featuredMadonna. The remix was produced bythe Blessed Madonna. Unlike Madonna, Elliott appeared in the video. The music video was directed by Will Hooper.[94]
On January 11, 2021, Elliott appeared on the single "ATM" byBree Runway.[95] She directed the music video for "Twerkulator" by theCity Girls in July 2021.[96]
On February 17, 2023, Elliott appeared on the track "RATATA" produced bySkrillex andMr. Oizo, the second track on Skrillex's LP "Quest For Fire".[97] This release confirmed rumors from 2018 regarding this collaboration,[86] rumors that resurfaced in the months before the track's release as both Skrillex and Elliot teased the track on social media.[98] On 23 March 2023, British groupFlo released the single "Fly Girl", featuring Elliott; the song interpolates Elliott's "Work It", plus new rap section.[99][100]
On April 8, 2024, Elliott announced “Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience Tour,” the rapper's first headlining tour of her career. The tour began on July 4 inVancouver, Canada and featuredTimbaland,Busta Rhymes andCiara as its opening acts.[101]
In 2005, there were plans to make a biographical film about the life story of Elliott.[102] It was to be co-produced byRobert De Niro andJane Rosenthal, and written by Diane Houston.[103] In mid-June 2007, Elliott said she was still working on the script with Houston in order "to come up with the right stuff 'cause I don't want it to be watered down. I want it to be raw and uncut the way my life was."[103] Initially, it seemed Timbaland would not be a part of the movie. When Missy asked him, he refused, believing this dramatized his character; "the movie is about her life, her story, that goes deeper than putting me into the movie".[104]
In 2002, Elliott wrote a letter on behalf ofPETA to the mayor of her hometown Portsmouth, Virginia, asking that all shelter animals beneutered/spayed before being adopted.[105] For thereality TV showThe Road to Stardom, there was a contest for viewers to create a public service ad for the Break the Cycle fund.
In 2004, she joined forces withMAC Cosmetics to promote their "Viva Glam" campaign. In addition to the ad campaign, Elliott promoted the MAC Viva Glam V lipstick from which 100% of the sale goes to the MACAIDS Fund.
In 2007, Elliott appeared on anABC'sExtreme Makeover and awarded four scholarships for a weight loss program to four underprivileged teens.
In August 2017, a 27-year-old Virginia man named Nathan Coflin began aChange.org petition that gained over 30,000 signatures in support of a statue to honor Elliott's philanthropic endeavors to be erected in her hometown ofPortsmouth, Virginia.[106] On the petition's proposed site for this statue aConfederate Monument previously stood. This led to widespread media coverage in several national publications includingThe Washington Post,[107]HuffPost,[108]Newsweek[109] andTime Magazine.[110]
In October 2022, a portion of McLean Street in Portsmouth, Virginia was renamed "Missy Elliott Boulevard".[111]
Elliott has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap",[112][113] the "Queen of Hip Hop",[114] and the "First Lady of Hip Hop"[115] by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time.[116] Her catalogue of songs have included themes offeminism,gender equality,body positivity andsex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers.[117]The Guardian andThe Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.[112][22]The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" tourbanBlack music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album,Supa Dupa Fly.[22]Destiny's Child,Eve andMacy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers.[22]The Recording Academy andEvening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".[118][119]The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap whatPrince was toR&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it".[120]
The New Yorker stated that Elliott became the first Black female rapper to reach the mainstream inMiddle America.[121] An article fromVibe credits Elliott's debut albumSupa Dupa Fly for "changing the rap game for women", noting the rapper's "refusal to be pigeonholed" with her image, and instead, embraced "the complexities inherent with Black womanhood", with the author commenting that female rappers tend to be placed into one of two categories: androgyny or hyper-sexualization.[122]The New York Times andThe Bulletin have called her the "Queen of the Beats".[123][124] Jem Aswad ofVariety commented that Elliott and longtime collaboratorTimbaland "reshaped the sound of hip-hop", as they made songs "out of pings and bips and bloops (both vocal and electronic) that quickly became part of the foundation of virtually all that followed."[125] Similarly, Doreen St. Félix ofThe New Yorker wrote that her debut album "expanded the definition of rap" and "defined a new hip-hop aesthetic", with Elliott and Timbaland developing a grammar by "collecting extra-musical noises", "crafting" a new R&B sound, and incorporating a "singsong technique" in her flow. The author noted that, a generation later, the majority of rappers "are also vocalists".[126] ForLos Angeles Times writer Gerrick D. Kennedy, Elliott "ushered in a new era of creatively ambitious music videos".[127] The aesthetic for the music video for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" inspired several others released afterward.[121][128] Commercially, Missy Elliott led female hip hop album sales during the late 1990s and early 2000s.[53] Missy Elliott in addition to Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and The Clipse are considered to have an intricate part of establishing Virginia as one of the East Coast's strongholds in hip hop.[129] As of 2015, she has remained the best selling female rap album artist in the US.[130]ABC website editor Gab Burke expressed that Elliott "railed against the male-dominated mainstream rap scene throughout her career, constantly pushed the boundaries, and cemented a place for women in hip hop".[131]
Elliott has influenced various musicians, both visually and vocally.[132] Her work has been cited as an inspiration by acts such asCardi B,[133]Lil Wayne,[134]Lizzo,[135]Tyler, the Creator,[136]Solange Knowles,[137]Chloe Bailey,[138]M.I.A.,[139][140]Janelle Monáe,[141]Anderson .Paak,[142]Rapsody,[143]Ciara,[144]Bree Runway,[145]Doja Cat,[146]Ivy Queen,[147]Ari Lennox,[148]Tayla Parx,[149]Sean Bankhead,[150]ASAP Ferg,[151]Leikeli47,[152]Tierra Whack,[153][154]Noname,[155][156]Okenyo,[131]Little Simz,[157]Coda Conduct,[131]Dawn Richard,[158]Banks,[158]Rich the Kid,[159]Crystal Caines,[160]Coi Leray,[161]Lady Leshurr,[162]Stefflon Don,[163]Flo Milli,[164]Krept and Konan,[165]Rye Rye,[166]Le1f,[167]Qveen Herby[168] andErica Banks.[169]
Elliott has won fourGrammy Awards, eightMTV Video Music Awards, twoAmerican Music Awards, sixBET Awards, and aBillboard Women in Music award for Innovator. On June 13, 2019, Elliott was inducted to theSongwriters Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rapper to receive this honor, and the third overall, followingJay-Z andJermaine Dupri.[120][88][170] Also in 2019, Elliott received anhonoraryDoctor of Music degree fromBerklee College of Music,[89] and became the first female rapper to receive theMichael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at theMTV Video Music Awards.[90][91]
In 2018, Elliott receivedEssence magazine's Black Women In Music honor,[171] and in 2019, she was presented with theWomen's Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations.[92] In 2020,Urban One presented her with the Music Innovation Award.[172]
In May 2021, Elliott was among the inaugural inductees for theBlack Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.[173] In November 2021, Elliott was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[125]
In December 2022, Elliott received a second honorary doctorate, this time fromNorfolk State University, who also helped rename a Portsmouth street after her.[174] She was also presented with a key to the city of Portsmouth.[175]
In 2023, she became the first female hip-hop artist to receive a nomination for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, when she was nominated in her first year of eligibility.[176][177] In November 2023, Elliot became the first female rapper in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[178]Billboard ranked her at number 40 on its 2025 "Top 100 Women Artists of the 21st Century" list.[179]
Elliott said in 2008 that she wanted to start a family but wasafraid of giving birth, stating, "I don't know if I can take that kind of pain. Maybe in the year 2020 you could just pop a baby out and it'd be fine. But right now I'd rather just adopt."[180]
In June 2011, Elliott toldPeople magazine that her absence from the music industry was due to havingGraves' disease, with which she was diagnosed after she nearly crashed her car from having severe leg spasms while driving.[181] She experienced severe symptoms from the condition and could not even hold a pen to write songs. After treatment, her symptoms stabilized.[182]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Pootie Tang | Diva | |
| 2003 | Ultrasound: Hip Hop Dollars | Herself | Documentary |
| Honey | |||
| 2004 | Fade to Black | Documentary | |
| Shark Tale | Missy | Voice role | |
| 2005 | Just for Kicks | Herself | Documentary |
| 2024 | Piece by Piece | Voice role | |
| — | Golden | — | Unreleased |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | All That | Herself | Episodes: "702", "MC Lyte" |
| Family Matters | Episode: "Original Gangster Dawg" | ||
| 1998 | The Wayans Bros. | Episode: "The Kiss" | |
| 2003 | Eve | Episode: "Private Dancer" | |
| Punk'd | Episode: "Missy Elliott" | ||
| 2005 | The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott | Reality series | |
| 2008 | Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme | Reality series | |
| My Super Sweet 16 | Episode: "Demetrius" | ||
| America's Best Dance Crew | Judge assistant | Season 2 | |
| 2009 | Party Monsters Cabo | Herself | Episode: "Missy Elliott" |
| 2010 | What Chilli Wants | Episode: "What Chilli Wants" | |
| 2015 | The Voice | Mentor assistant | Season 9 |
| 2016 | American Dad! | YoYo | Voice role; episode: "Stan-Dan Deliver" |
| Taraji P. Henson's White Hot Holidays | Herself | FOX television special | |
| 2017 | Star | Pumpkin | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Craig of the Creek | Carla Frazier | Voice role; episode: "The Jump Off" |
Headlining
Co-headlining
| Special guest
Opening act
|
She's the unrivalled queen of rap and the first black music mogul, so it's no surprise that Missy Elliott has a reputation as the diva you cross at your peril.
Che cos'hanno in comune la regina del pop e la regina del rap? Entrambe hanno influenzato Dua Lipa.
Missy Elliott for WTF, the queen of rap whose videos have always..
Missy Elliott pendant son duo avec Katy Perry au Superbowl en février dernier, sans se douter qu'elle était la reine du rap
La reine du rap
she used a Missy instrumental and was thrilled to see that the queen of rap herself had liked the tweet.
Missy Elliott, reigning queen of rap, releases five albums in only six years, earns two Grammys, the 2003 American Music Award, and MTV's 2003 Video of the Year.
From Run DMC vs Jason Nivens' classic New York battle, to the queen of rap - Missy Elliot.
Queen of rap Missy Elliott...
Widely regarded as the queen of rap music, Missy Elliott is an icon of girl culture because of her innovative style and ability to succeed in the music industry without objectifying herself.
and to the queen of rap herself, Missy Elliott
La reine du rap
queen of rap is back
the unimpeachable queen of rap
Her new album confirms her position as the queen of hip-hop.
Beyond being the best-selling female hip hop artist to date, and often referred to as the queen of hip hop, what separates Missy Elliott is her ability to allow her aesthetic to speak for itself. She uses her artistry to transcend cultural norms in hip hop and in the music industry.
the queen of hip-hop is likely the reason you bought...
Missy Elliott – the long-reigning queen of hip hop
shows de la reine du hip-hop: Missy Elliott
often called the Queen of Hip-Hop
Missy Elliott, the first lady of hip-hop, grew up in Virginia Beach and has recorded and produced there periodically since her star rose.
Significantly, he also duetted with Missy Elliott on the brilliant,Timbaland-produced, 'Busa Rhyme' on herDa Real World album.Eminem makes no attempt to tone down the misogynistic elements of Slim Shady in the face of the 'First Lady Of Hip Hop.'
The GRAMMY-winning hip-hop icon
