After an epic Super Bowl performance alongside headliner Katy Perry, Missy Elliott is all the talk on blogs, social media and even top news sites. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott shut down the stage with a medley of some of her biggest hits, including “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It” and “Lose Control.” Fans on the field, and in their living rooms, screamed and cut more than two steps when Elliott took to the stage. The artist has been a mega force in entertainment, transcending all barriers and multiple genres during her 20-plus career span. Still floating from the surreal moment, we recall seven of the “All n My Grill” hitmaker’s Supa Dupa Fly career moves. Read onto the next pages and follow Missy’s lead.
She Never Lost Sight of Her Dream.
As children, we allow our imaginations to run free from the arrests of worry and fear. We dream about all that we’ll do and become, and we convincingly proclaim it to others. Somewhere, however, on our journey into adulthood, many of us lose hold of that childlike imagination and our once vivid dreams too. But not Melissa Arnette “Missy” Elliott. Since a kid, she would perform for family friends and knew then that she wanted to be a star. Now 43-years-old, she’s still performing, but for much larger audiences, and is credited among entertainment’s most innovative and groundbreaking artists.
She Didn’t Take “No” for an Answer.
Like all of us, Missy endured rejection on her professional climb. In the early 90s, she and a few girlfriends formed a group called Fayze. Jodeci’s DeVante Swing caught wind of the group and signed them to his imprint Swing Mob under Elektra, changing the group name to Sista. Sista was never able to release an album, however, and disbanded after Swing Mob diminished. Elliott continued despite the collapse of her deal. She wrote and produced with her friend Timbaland, creating tunes for the likes of SWV, 702 and Aaliyah.
She Embraced Professional Partnerships.
Two heads are better than one. Missy embraced this cliché and conquered some of her most monumental feats while partnering with Timbaland. The pair co-created nine tracks on Aaliyah’s One in a Million album, which went double-platinum. After such success, they quickly became the go-to duo for charting hits. When Elliott emerged from behind the scenes and started releasing her own records, she tapped Timbaland to produce.
She Utilized Every Talent.
Elliott is indeed a woman of many talents, and she uses every single one of them. She’s played the background as writer and producer for some of the world’s greatest, including Beyoncé and Whitney Houston. She’s also taken center stage as a headlining performer giving what appears to be supernatural energy into each show. The multi-talented artist sets her mind
free to create some of the most unique and memorable sounds in music history. Additionally, she puts that same avant-garde edge into fashion and has stolen the world’s attention in her fierce getups, one of which was a black garbage bag. The record-setting singer/rapper even partnered with brands like Adidas to release her own collection.She Created Her Own Lane.
No one can remotely imitate Missy’s impression on the game. In an industry where women artists are marketed to look a very specific way, “Misdemeanor” violated all the rules. She experimented with new sounds, storytelling music videos and a never before seen style sense. She filled a void in the industry that no one even realized was missing until she appeared. While her peers, particularly female hip-hop artists, were taking a more sensual approach, Missy covered head-to-toe in baggy yellow ‘fits and released videos with buzzing bees swarming her face.
She Made History.
Missy Elliott is arguably hip-hop’s most prominent woman. After the double-platinum Supa Dupa Fly, her Under Construction album, also double-platinum, set sales records for a female-headed rap album with 2.1 million copies in the U.S.
She’s Resilient.
In an enlightening Behind the Music episode on VH1, Missy shared some of her life’s most vulnerable moments. As a child, she witnessed her mother suffer abuse every day at the hands of her father until she and her mother escaped. The singer also explained her career hiatus, attributing it to a scary encounter with Graves’ Disease. The thyroid condition affected Elliott’s muscle control, at one point making it impossible for her to write with a pen. The superstar is back on the scene, though, doing what she does best as a creator.
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