Missy Elliott

A rapper, singer, songwriter and producer from Portsmouth, Virginia, who made six albums between 1997 and 2005, most of them with Timbaland, and became the first female rapper in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Origin: Portsmouth, Virginia, United States
Years active: 1988-present
Genres: hip hop, R&B, dance, electronic
Labels: Elektra, East West, The Goldmind Inc., Atlantic
Also known as: Misdemeanor

Virginia to Swing Mob

Melissa Arnette Elliott was born on 1 July 1971 in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1988 she formed an all-women R&B group, first called Fayze and later Sista, and through a friend met the producer Timbaland. DeVante Swing of Jodeci heard the group, and they signed to Elektra through his Swing Mob label and moved to New York. Their album was shelved, and by the end of 1995 Swing Mob had folded.

Elliott went back to Virginia with Timbaland, and the pair became a songwriting and production team. In 1996 they wrote and produced nine tracks for Aaliyah's One in a Million, with Elliott adding background vocals or guest raps to nearly all of them. They went on to write hits for acts including SWV, 702, Total and Destiny's Child. That same year Elliott signed with East West to run her own imprint, The Goldmind Inc., with Timbaland as her production partner.

Supa Dupa Fly

Supa Dupa Fly came out on 15 July 1997. Timbaland produced all of it, and it was recorded at Master Sound Studios in Virginia Beach. It entered the Billboard 200 at number three, the highest debut for a female rapper at that time, and went platinum. The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), built on an Ann Peebles sample, introduced her with a Hype Williams video in which she wore an inflated suit. Sock It 2 Me, with Da Brat, followed and reached number 12 on the Hot 100.

In 1998 she became the first female rapper to perform at Lilith Fair. Her sets there, the first live performances of her career, began in Palm Beach, Florida, on 26 July. They ran about fifteen minutes with a live band, and she wore the Rain outfit. She also joined Jay-Z's Rock the Mic tour. Da Real World (1999), darker than the debut and first titled She's a Bitch, entered at number ten and also went platinum.

The peak

Miss E... So Addictive (2001) debuted at number two. Its lead single, Get Ur Freak On, was built on a six-note Punjabi melody played on a tumbi. It reached number seven in the United States and number four in Britain, her first solo top ten there. The Guardian later judged it, by a narrow margin, her greatest single.

Under Construction followed in November 2002, dedicated to Aaliyah and to the victims of the September 11 attacks. Elliott and Timbaland turned to old school hip-hop and sampled Run-DMC and Frankie Smith. Work It spent ten weeks at number two on the Hot 100, and its video won Video of the Year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Gossip Folks, with Ludacris, reached number eight. The album debuted at number three, went double platinum and was nominated for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year at the Grammys. Pitchfork's review called it a good record with some incredibly sick production work.

Later years

This Is Not a Test! (2003) came out, Elliott later said, extremely too quickly. For The Cookbook (2005) she used producers other than Timbaland, who made only two of its songs. Its lead single, Lose Control, with Ciara and Fatman Scoop, reached number three, and its video won a Grammy.

In 2015 she joined Katy Perry at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show for a medley of Get Ur Freak On, Work It and Lose Control. In 2019 she became the first female rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and released the Iconology EP. In 2023 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, introduced by Queen Latifah, who said she is avant-garde without even trying. Her first headlining tour, Out of This World, began in Vancouver on 4 July 2024.

Records

Supa Dupa Fly 1997 · The Goldmind, East West, Elektra
Her debut, produced entirely by Timbaland at Master Sound Studios in Virginia Beach.
Da Real World 1999 · East West, Elektra, The Goldmind
The darker second album, first titled She's a Bitch.
Miss E... So Addictive 2001 · The Goldmind Inc., Elektra
The third album, home to Get Ur Freak On and One Minute Man.
Under Construction 2002 · The Goldmind Inc., Elektra
The fourth album: old school hip-hop through Timbaland's production, with Work It and Gossip Folks.
The Cookbook 2005 · The Goldmind Inc.
The sixth album, with producers beyond Timbaland and Lose Control as its lead single.

Songs

The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) Supa Dupa Fly · 1997
Her first solo single, built on Ann Peebles, with the inflated-suit video.
Sock It 2 Me Supa Dupa Fly · 1997
The second single, with Da Brat, on a Delfonics sample.
Get Ur Freak On Miss E... So Addictive · 2001
A bhangra-based lead single and her first solo top ten in Britain.
Work It Under Construction · 2002
Ten weeks at number two, a reversed chorus and an old school sound.
Gossip Folks Under Construction · 2002
The second single from Under Construction, with Ludacris, set in a school.
Lose Control The Cookbook · 2005
The lead single from The Cookbook, with Ciara and Fatman Scoop.

Timbaland, Aaliyah, Lil' Kim, Ciara

Where to go next

Reference

Missy Elliott A career history from Sista to the Out of This World tour.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Missy Elliott The Hall's inductee page, with her own words on the inflated suit.
Supa Dupa Fly Recording, samples, charts and reception for the debut.
Under Construction Singles, charts and a long run of contemporary reviews.
Work It How the reversed chorus came about, with samples and chart runs.
Get Ur Freak On The bhangra sample, the video and covers.

Writing and criticism

Pitchfork on Supa Dupa Fly A 2018 Sunday Review of the debut.
Pitchfork on Da Real World A 2024 look at the second album and The Matrix.
Pitchfork on Under Construction The review from the month the album came out.
The Guardian: 10 of the best Ten tracks, one per era, with a paragraph each.
The Guardian: solo singles ranked Every solo single in order, from Take Away up to Get Ur Freak On.
The Guardian: Rock Hall induction The 2023 ceremony, with Queen Latifah's introduction.

Interviews

The Guardian: 2019 interview Elliott on Master Sound, Beyonce and the VMAs medley.

Live performance archives

The Guardian: Lilith Fair 1998 Her first live sets, in the inflated suit.

Sources

Missy Elliott, Wikipedia
Missy Elliott: Supa Dupa Fly, Pitchfork (2018-11-04)
Missy Elliott: Under Construction, Pitchfork (2002-11-21)
Missy Elliott: 10 of the best, The Guardian (2017-09-06)
Missy Elliott interview, The Guardian (2019-09-14)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Missy Elliott, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Missy Elliott's solo singles, ranked, The Guardian (2019-08-29)