Missy Elliott has damaged down nearly each barrier there’s.
Born an solely little one in 1971 in Portsmouth, Va., Elliott grew up singing in church choirs and knew from the time she was small that efficiency was her future.
When she was 20 years outdated, she shaped an all-female R&B group with pals referred to as Fayze, which was later renamed Sista. One other neighborhood pal, Timothy Mosley, often known as Timbaland, got here on as their producer. Throughout the similar yr, they’d caught the eye of Elektra Data and signed a deal as a part of their Swing Mob hip-hop collective. She excelled as a producer and author for different artists (together with Raven-Symone, Aaliyah and Busta Rhymes), earlier than breaking out on her personal as a wildly standard solo star.
From the mid-’90s onward, Elliott not solely paved the way in which as probably the most profitable feminine rappers, producers and writers but additionally successfully modified the way in which hip-hop, pop and R&B might look and sound for all. Listed below are 5 Causes Missy Elliott Ought to Be within the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame.
She Modified the Face of Hip Hop With ‘Supa Dupa Fly’
It is not fairly often that an act impacts the complete sound of a style with their debut album, however that is exactly what Elliott did with 1997’s Supa Dupa Fly, which included the hit single “Sock It 2 Me.” Timbaland’s futuristic manufacturing fashion mixed with Elliott’s epic character on an revolutionary album not like anything in hip hop. The LP additionally pulled components of digital music and soul and was unafraid to make the most of jarring rhythms and digital-heavy patterns that blew away critics and listeners. There are two classes of hip hop: Earlier than Supa Dupa Fly and after.
She’s Additionally a Prolific Producer and Based a File Label
Earlier than releasing Supa Dupa Fly, Elliott targeted totally on a profession working with others, each writing and producing, making her one of many uncommon Black feminine producers within the business. She has continued this work all through her whole profession, whereas additionally typically contributing vocals to quite a lot of different artists’ albums. Here’s a quick record of a few of her most notable collaborations: Mariah Carey, 1997’s Butterfly, Puff Daddy & the Household, 1997’s No Means Out, Melanie B of the Spice Ladies, 1998’s Scorching, Whitney Houston, 1998’s My Love Is Your Love, Future’s Little one, 1999’s The Writing’s on the Wall, Mary J. Blige, 2002’s No Extra Drama and Beyonce, 2003’s Dangerously in Love, amongst many others. Elliott has additionally co-produced all six of her albums and launched her file label, the Goldmind Inc., in 1997.
She’s One of many Most Profitable Feminine Rappers of All Time
Let’s discuss numbers, beginning with Supa Dupa Fly. The LP debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 3 — the very best debut for a feminine rapper at the moment — and stayed on the chart for 37 weeks. Supa Dupa Fly bought 129,000 copies within the first week alone and was licensed platinum two months later. She’s received 4 Grammys, eight MTV Video Music Awards, two American Music Awards and 6 BET Awards. All six of her albums have landed within the High 15. All of them earned platinum standing no less than as soon as, and a few two instances over. In 2019, she turned the primary feminine rapper inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame, and her 2023 nomination for the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame additionally makes her the primary feminine rapper to be so honored. There is a motive she’s been dubbed the “Queen of Rap.”
Her Music Movies Are Unmatched
Even Elliott herself form of cannot consider the innovation of her music movies, which turned recognized for his or her experimental, off-kilter fashion, full with myriad dancers, vibrant colours and daring style statements. “On the time I used to be doing it, these movies, I did not suppose a lot of it,” she advised Billboard in 2016. “I assumed they have been sizzling, however I did not critique it or go into element or say, ‘Oh, that is some next-level [stuff].’ … However the different day once I checked out them, I used to be like, ‘These movies are insane.'” In 2019, she was the primary feminine rapper to obtain the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from MTV and got here in at No. 5 in 2020 on Billboard‘s record of 100 Biggest Music Video Artists of All Time.
She Paved the Means for Artists Like Beyonce, Lizzo and Others
There may be an countless variety of up to date artists who’ve been influenced by Elliott, each musically and visually, each female and male, from Cardi B to Janelle Monae and Tyler, the Creator to Anderson.Paak. (Beyonce’s “Indicators” was co-written by Elliott and options her vocals.) Lizzo maybe summed it up finest in 2021 when Elliott was granted a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame. “You haven’t any thought what you may have finished for therefore many Black women,” Lizzo mentioned. “We do not deserve you. We do not deserve Missy Elliott, and nonetheless, you proceed to provide to us and you have given along with your coronary heart, your genius. Let me simply drop some phrases: Genius! Icon! Queen of hip-hop! Visionary!”
137 Artists Not within the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame
Many have shared their ideas on doable induction.
