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Missy Elliott
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Missy Elliott is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. She was born in 1971 in Portsmouth, Virginia, and grew up in a family where they sang in the church choir. Her childhood was hard: there was violence at home, and at fourteen she fled with her mother. In 1988 she started the girl group Fayze, later Sista, with friends. Through a neighbourhood friend she got to know Timothy Mosley, the producer who would become known as Timbaland. Sista ended up with the collective of DeVante Swing of Jodeci, but the group's album was never released.
Music and breakthrough
From 1996 Elliott and Timbaland wrote and produced together for others, with the album One in a Million by Aaliyah as their greatest success. In 1997 came Elliott's own debut, Supa Dupa Fly. Da Real World (1999), Miss E... So Addictive (2001) with Get Ur Freak On, Under Construction (2002) with Work It, and The Cookbook (2005) with Lose Control followed. The beats of Timbaland and Elliott sounded different from all other hip-hop and R&B: stuttering, unexpected rhythms, strange sounds and a lot of space between the sounds. Elliott rapped and sang over them playfully and with great humour.
Influence
With her videos too she proved herself an innovator. She became the first female rapper in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2023 in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This makes her one of the few women in hip-hop who stood not only in front of the microphone, but also behind the controls.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1997Supa Dupa Fly
- 1999Da Real World
- 2001Miss E …So Addictive
- 2002Under Construction
- 2003This Is Not a Test!
- 2005The Cookbook
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black PlanetNL Reader
- Mixtape 10: Women in Pop MusicNL Reader