August 8, 2024 • 29 mins
Disclaimer: This Episode contains discussions of physical and sexual abuse. To skip past these discussions skip to (4:54)
There is no shortage of innovators in Hip-Hop, though for the most part the genre has been a world dominated by male artists. But from her mind-bending, award-winning music videos to her experimental approach to producing, Missy Elliott has changed the game. She has been one of the most forward-thinking minds in hip-hop since she first made her debut in 1997 - regardless of gender.
In her early days as an artist, Missy would form a R&B group called Fayze with friends La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and Radiah Scott. Through her friend Melvin Barcliff, who rapped under the name Magoo, she met Timothy Mosley, a local DJ producer operating as Timmy Tim. He would produce some demos for Fayze, including a single called “First Move.”
Fayze would impress DeVante Swing, a producer, songwriter and singer for the rising R&B group Jodeci, after singing a cappella for him following a concert. Swing invited the group to record in New York City, along with their producer Tim, who Swing renamed “Timbaland” after the popular Timberland construction boots that were taking over hip-hop fashion.
Missy got her first gig as a songwriter, producer and rapper on a song called “That's What Little Girls Are Made Of,” the debut single by Raven-Symoné, the eight-year-old star of The Cosby Show. But Missy quickly learned the hard way that the music biz wasn’t ready to welcome her with arms wide open. Missy was blindsided though when they cast a smaller, lighter-skinned actress to lip-sync to her lines in the song’s music video. At that point, she realized that she would have to work even harder to be taken seriously as an artist.
Eventually Missy and Timbaland would become their own as a songwriting/production team. They co-wrote songs for artists like 702, Busta Rhymes and the debut album by Ginuwine, which Timbaland produced in full. But it was their work on One In A Million, the second album by teenage R&B sensation Aaliyah, that really opened the door for Missy as an artist.
Timbaland’s flickering, clap/snap sounds on One In A Million set Aaliyah apart from the rest of R&B, introducing a fresh and futuristic style that no one had ever heard before. And the duo would hit it big when the album’s lead single "If Your Girl Only Knew" topped Billboard’s US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while peaking at #11 on the Hot 100. One in A Million would end up going triple platinum in the US, selling more than eight million copies worldwide, but the impact was immediate. Overnight, labels were scouring to offer Missy a record deal, but she was quick to see right through them.
Through her own label, distributed by Elektra records - Missy Elliot would release the albums Supa Dupa Fly and Miss E... So Addictive - which gave her mainstream exposure as an artist - with her and Timbaland pushing their production into new territory.
By 2001, Missy would release the seminal Miss E... So Addictive which not only included lead single "Get Ur Freak On", but her most popular song of all time...
This is the story of Missy Elliot's "Work It" with newly unearthed audio from Missy Elliott herself!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dive into the behind the scenes world of your favorite artist,
interviews with us, Shannon Burns, producer Jess and the entire
iheartradio team on the Filter podcast. Grab your headphones, new
episodes land every week wherever you get your podcasts,
this is encore. The stories behind the songs. Here's Ihe
(00:21):
Radio's Miles Galloway.
It's your
Speaker 2 (00:25):
ver me, am I right? I'm Miles Galloway. And this
is the story of Missy Elliott's work. It,
hip hop is a genre that seems to have no boundaries.
What started with a record scratch by DJ Kool Herc
in 1973 has evolved into not only the most influential
genre in music, but one of the most influential cultural
(00:49):
movements the world has ever seen. There is no shortage
of innovators in the game though, for the most part,
hip hop has been a world dominated by male artists,
but from her mind bending award-winning music video
to her experimental approach to producing Missy has changed the game.
She's been one of the most forward thinking minds in
(01:10):
hip hop since she first made her debut in 1997
regardless of gender. Missy's commitment to rapping about issues that
matter such as gender equality and body positivity have made
her an outlier in the industry and that has worked
in her favor helping her navigate a career that made
her a favorite amongst fans, critics and fellow rappers.
(01:31):
Her resume is extensive, a four time grammy winner, the
best selling female rapper of all time and the first
female rapper to be inducted into both the songwriters hall
of Fame and the rock and roll hall of Fame.
But in order to reach these highs, Missy had to
survive a childhood of lows. Melissa Arnette Elliott was born
(01:52):
on a naval base in Portsmouth, Virginia on July 1st,
1971 to Patricia and former Marine Ronnie Elliott.
As an only child, Missy would regularly feel alone as
she was forced to watch her father physically abuse her
mother on a daily basis. She would tell the guardian
that while her father would only hit Missy once he
(02:13):
did pull a gun on her and her mother and
force them both outside naked. She admitted to living in
fear at the age of eight. She was sexually
abused by her 16 year old cousin, Missy would relive
the experience speaking to VH ones behind the music saying
each day he wanted me to come to the house
after school, it became sexual which for me at eight
(02:34):
years old, I had no clue what that was, but
I knew something was wrong, being molested, it don't disappear.
You remember it as if it was yesterday
from an early age, Missy sought comfort in performing Jackson
five songs for anyone who would listen along with concerts
for her doll collection. Her dream was always to be
(02:55):
a superstar and it never wavered as a military brat.
She was relocated from time to time in school. She
chose being the class clown over an academic. She was
an underachiever and her grades would show it. But despite that,
she was tested for her IQ which showed above average
intelligence that of a genius. Even
they tested her again to make sure. And yet Missy
(03:17):
was a bona fide genius. She would tell the guardian.
I didn't wanna be a genius. That ain't cool. I
wanted to goof around, they wanted to mount me in
the trophy cabinet. I wasn't that kind of girl. I
was a joker. The school skipped her ahead two grades,
but Missy purposefully failed all of her classes to get
sent back to the same grade as her friends. Things
weren't getting any better at home either.
(03:38):
After her dad returned from the navy, the family was
now living in squalor inside a rented shack heated by
propane with no running water and vermin everywhere the abuse
from her father would continue. But Missy found some solace
in writing letters to her musical heroes like Michael and
Janet Jackson asking them to save her.
She checked the mailbox every day waiting for a letter
(04:00):
from them, but they never wrote back then when Missy
was 14, things came to a head when her father
pulled out a pistol and threatened to kill her and
her mother on behind the music. Missy's mum, Patricia recalled.
My husband said this is it, I'm gonna kill you.
It's over.
I was so tired of being beaten over and over
and I just said, fine, just do it. Thankfully, her
(04:21):
uncle who lived next door managed to step in and
diffuse the situation, but Missy has since called it the
scariest moment of my life. But that was the final straw.
One day after Ronnie Elliott left for work. Patricia. Missy
loaded up the U haul truck with all of the
family's possessions and drove off for good. Missy would tell
the guardian we left my father with a fork, a
(04:42):
spoon and a blanket.
Oh, that was the scariest time of my life. I
thought he would find us and he would kill us.
I lived in fear for a long time. Fortunately, Missy's
luck was about to change,
Missy and her mum went back to Portsmouth, Virginia. But
times were tough to start. Patricia found it hard to
support the two of them with whatever work she could find. Missy, however,
(05:03):
was making the most of her new situation.
She formed an R and B group called phase with friends,
Lashaun Shellman Chitta Coleman and Radi Scott through her friend,
Melvin Barf who rapped under the name Magoo. She met
Timothy Mosley a local DJ producer operating as Timmy Tim,
he would produce some demos for Phase, including a single
(05:25):
called First
Move Phase would impress Devote Swing, a producer, songwriter and
singer for the rising R and B group Jodey. After
singing a cappella for him following a concert, Swing, invited
the group to record in New York City along with
their producer, Tim, who Swing renamed Timberland after the popular
Timberland construction boots that were taken over hip hop fashion.
(05:46):
Once they were in New York, the group changed their
name to Sister and began working on an album for
Swing's record label Swing Mob Records. Swing Mob wasn't just
a label though. It was also a full on collective
named Debasement crew that consisted of some 20 odd rappers, singers,
instrumental
and producers who wrote, produced and performed music despite recording
(06:09):
a full album titled for all the sisters around the world.
Sister fell apart releasing only one single called Brand New.
The album was shelved in most parts of the world
eventually getting a full release. Almost 30 years later, Missy
got her first gig as a songwriter, producer and rapper
on a song called That's What Little Girls Are Made
of the debut single by Raven Simone, the eight year
(06:32):
old star of the Cosby Show.
But Missy quickly learned the hard way that the music
biz wasn't ready to welcome her with arms wide open.
Missy was blindsided when they cast a smaller, lighter skinned actress.
To lip sync to her lines in the song's music video.
At that point, she realized that she would have to
work even harder to be taken seriously. As an artist, still,
(06:53):
Missy had found a musical soulmate in Timberland as part
of debasement crew. They began working together for Joy's second album,
Diary of a Mad Band.
The album would mark Missy's first recorded appearances rapping on
the songs, won't waste you and Sweaty, which she also
co-wrote Timberland also made an appearance while forming an official
(07:13):
partnership with his friend. The duo would record as Timberland
and Magoo
in an interview with Shannon Sharpe for the club. She,
she podcast Timberland remembered what was so special about first
meeting Missy Elliott. I had was doing just beats like
for the play to mix with, but Missy heard the
beats and like,
(07:35):
no, I'm about to sing over this and that was
the first time I got introduced to singing over hip
hop beats was through, Missy. I didn't know nothing about it.
I'm like you about to do what, what? And she
put them harmonies. My life changed. I was like, oh
my goodness, this is what I wanna do for the
rest of my life. And then it's like,
(07:57):
she just kept like giving me the encouragement like how
dope you was because then I just stopped, I kinda
stopped DJ and I start focusing on beats. So I
was like, because she introduced me to melodies harmonies. You
can write songs. You don't have to just rap on
these beats. I'm gonna write songs and I was sampling
Old Patrice Rushing and making them like dope break beats.
And she's like, uh we about to make this a
(08:19):
song and then she started singing and writing. I was like,
it was the first, it was, it was like, what
I was doing elevated to the next level
and Timberland would leave the basement crew and go out
on their own as a songwriting production team. They co-wrote
songs for artists like 702, Busta Rhymes and the debut
album by Genuine, which Timberland produced in full. But it
(08:41):
was their work on one in a million. The second
album by Teenage R and B Sensation Aiyah that really
opened the door for Missy as an artist. Cori eight
of the album's 17 tracks, Missy appeared on almost every
track she worked on
including the opening cut beats for the streets where she
introduces the album by waking up. Aiyah speaking to Rick
(09:03):
Rubin for his broken record podcast. Missy recalled that she
and Timberland weren't sure what to give Aiyah for the album.
So they gave her some old songs they'd been sitting
on when me and Tim got together. I'm like, Tim,
you know what are we going to do? Because she
was already a superstar. So I'm like, yo, let's just
(09:23):
give her our old sound.
Nobody never heard it. So it'll be like a new
sound because we, that sound was probably four years old
to us because we had been signed and no, you know,
(09:44):
the stuff didn't come out. So we have been on
that wave, that whole rhythm and I said,
let's just give her that. So Tim was like, you
sure I'm like, yeah, like dude that, you know, uh
we were still in a place of, of, we didn't
(10:05):
know what was hot or not. All we knew is
what we did.
You know this, this, this is hot, not knowing it
was really hot, but it was hot to us because
that's all we had been hearing. Timberland's flickering clap, snap
sounds on one in a million set, Aaliyah, apart from
the rest of R and B introducing a fresh and
(10:25):
futuristic style that no one had ever heard before
and the duo would hit it big when the album's
lead single. If your girl only knew Top Billboards Us.
Hot R and B hip hop songs while peaking at
number 11 on the hot 100
one in a million would end up going triple platinum
in the US selling more than 8 million copies worldwide.
(10:46):
But the impact was immediate overnight. Labels were scouring to
offer Missy a record deal, but she was quick to
see right through them remembering how they had rejected her
because of her size. Missy knew the only way she
could launch a solo career was under her own terms.
She told the Guardian those labels said I could sing,
I could write but that I looked wrong. That was
(11:07):
the lowest thing you could say. I didn't forget
while Missy had established herself as a writer and producer,
she was keen to become a recording artist too, appearing
on MC Light's hit called Rock a Party. She was
proving herself as an MC and Elektra records took notice
after turning down an offer from Puff Daddy to sign
with his bad boy label, Missy signed a deal with
(11:29):
Electra that allowed her to release music through her own label,
the Gold Mine Inc and
have full control over everything from her music and image
to whatever artist she wanted to sign. Missy would tell
much music's Nam Kiwanuka about what it was like running
a label. The label thing is a whole another world
that's like, you know, somebody from the music industry going
into the movie world, you find out that it's totally different.
(11:52):
Um A lot of things that I thought I knew.
I didn't know like I'm just now really, really knowing
what I'm talking about, you know, I was going in
the meetings like, yeah, whatever, OK? And then it's like,
you know, at the end of the day where my checking,
you ain't got no check. You, you gotta remember, you
are signed to your own label. So, you know, Missy
Elliott has signed a gold mine. And so when you
wanted of those 30 people to go with you overseas.
(12:15):
Um you know, gold mine took that but also you
got a distributor which is a lecture and a
lecture recoups from that. It's, it's, you know, it's so
difficult that people don't understand. It's not something that you
could just say I want and know it. You have
to learn. Missy would continue writing and producing for artists
such as Mariah Carey Puff Daddy in the family and SWV.
(12:38):
But she was also working on her solo career to
help solidify her identity. She took on the nickname misdemeanor,
which she would reveal in 2023 was given to her
by Magoo.
He christened her with it, explaining it's a crime to
have that many talents becoming a solo artist. Wasn't just
necessarily what Missy wanted. It was what her label wanted.
(12:59):
Recording an album was a condition she agreed on with
Electra in order to get her own label. So that's
what she gave them. Co-produced with Timberland. Super Duper Fly
was released on July 15th, 1997 and featured guest appearances
by Timberland Busta Rhymes. Genuine seven
02, Magoo de Brat, Lil Kim and Aliyah responding to
(13:21):
a 2019 Twitter thread asking people to tweet your most
random music. Fact, Missy would reveal that she and Timberland
recorded Super Duper Fly in just two weeks. The album
topped the US top R and B hip hop albums
chart and reached number three on the billboard 200 album chart.
Just like that. Missy Elliott was a chart topping rapper
(13:41):
and the hottest star in hip hop
recognized for its avant garde visionary production and ability to
change how women were represented in hip hop culture. According
to Missy Super duper Fly wasn't as calculated as people
assumed she would tell grammy.com when we did that album,
there wasn't really much thought there. We really just came
(14:02):
out with a sound that we'd been doing for some time,
but we had no clue that it would be game changing,
that we would change the cadence, the sound of what
was happening at that time.
The video for her first single, the Rain would go
on to become one of hip hop's most iconic moments
of the decade directed by Hype Williams. The video starred
Missy in an inflatable patent leather blow suit posing and
(14:23):
flexing in front of a fish eye lens while it
would lose to notorious Bigs hypnotized at the 1997 MTV video. Musical.
The video would lay a top rolling Stone's list of
the 150 greatest hip hop videos of all time. In
2023 Missy would reveal a fun fact on Twitter that
she had to go to a gas station in Brooklyn
(14:44):
to get air in to blow up the suit. But
then the suit blew up so big she couldn't fit
in the car, so she had to walk back to
set down the street in the outfit. And that because
of
they were on a budget, they kept in the scenes
where the suit was deflated even with the successes of
her solo career. Missy continued to flex her muscles as
an in demand writer and producer. In 1998 alone, she
(15:04):
was credited for songs by Whitney Houston. Destiny's Child Melby
of the Spice Girls and Aliyah's hit. Are you that
somebody from the Doctor Dolittle soundtrack?
At the same time, Missy was working on the follow
up to her debut album which dropped on June 22nd,
1999 in the form of De Real World. Whereas super
duper Fly was laid back, cool and full of head nodding.
(15:26):
Hip hop. De Real World saw Missy take a more
serious tone with tracks like she's like a bitch and
all in my grill, but it also found her and
Timberland taking even more chances to push their production into
new territory.
The album also featured some of hip hop's biggest names
including Eminem before he was famous. Aiyah Big boy from
Outkast and Beyonce who had yet to go solo. The
(15:49):
album was another hit for Missy but it didn't come easy.
She would tell variety in 2024. That was my most
stressful album and I appreciated that album later.
It was the most stressful because if you know anything
about the periods of albums and the second album, we
call it the sophomore Jinx. And so especially if you
have a successful first album, you are stressed out because
(16:10):
you're chasing trying to be that first album. So that
album was successful for me that first album. So I
was trying to find something that was
gonna be bigger than the rain visually. And sonically years later,
I look back on that and that was probably one
of the most creative periods because it was theatrics mixed
in with hip hop. If you listen to a lot
of the songs, it's a lot of strings. I don't
(16:30):
wanna say dark strings, but very theatrical, very dramatic strings
happening
as she was releasing her sophomore album, Missy was also
thriving as a songwriter. She wrote and rapped on a
song from the highly anticipated second album by Destiny's Child,
the Writings on the Wall and had a massive hit
with 70 two's where my girl's at, which reached number
four on the Billboard Hot 100 would remain in the
(16:51):
top 20 for 30 weeks. 2001 proved to be a
pivotal year in Missy's life. She wrote and feed
on the debut single by a new Southern rapper by
the name of Bubba Sparks produced by Timbaland. The song
ugly became an unexpected hit for Missy even bigger was
the cover version she produced of labelle's 1974 Classic Lady
(17:12):
Marmalade for the Blockbuster hit film Moulin Rouge featuring an
all star cast of Christina Aguilera Maya Pink and Lil
Kim the song sat atop the billboard hot one
100 for five straight weeks. Make it one of the
year's biggest songs, Missy would tell Cosmopolitan that it was
a song we had all loved growing up and we
saw it as a kind of honor to put our
(17:32):
own spin on it. We wanted to showcase each of
the four badass chicks from the Moulin Rouge, bringing together
their different skills and personas into a true celebration of diversity, talent,
and female unity.
That same year she released her third album, Miss E
So Addictive, which saw her branch out and invite more
(17:52):
collaborators into her process. The album was sexier and more
provocative demonstrating Missy's desire to push the envelope even further.
The album once again sold millions. Thanks in part to
its lead single, Get Your Freak on which incorporated Taba
the drums and sitar pushing a Bangor influence that was
virtually unheard of in hip hop at the time.
(18:13):
The song wasn't only a hit reaching number seven on
Billboard's Hot 100. It also earned Missy her first Grammy
for best rap solo performance. Not bad for a song
that almost didn't make the album while Missy was riding
a professional high. Her personal life would suffer a great loss.
Aliyah had readied her third album for release featuring a
(18:34):
few songs produced by Timberland and only one collaboration with Missy,
a song she co-wrote called I Care For You, which
was originally played
and for one in a million. The self titled album
was released on July 7th 2001 and it arrived with
a lot of hype and expectations. However, just one month later,
Aliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash as she
(18:54):
was leaving the Bahamas after finishing a video shoot for
her song, Rock the Boat.
Her death shocked the world. Missy had lost one of
her closest friends and collaborators in an interview. She would
tell AOL about the impact Aaliyah's death had on her.
No one really knows how it feels to lose somebody
until you lose somebody that close. And I've never felt
(19:16):
that until Aaliyah. I've lost people in my family, but
they've been older and we've expected them to go. So
and losing Aaliyah is almost like
if I can't tell you anything else, this is just
me saying I miss you and
you know, dedicating her record to her saying I haven't
forgot you, you gonna always be here and I'm gonna
(19:38):
keep your legacy for her fourth album Under Construction. Missy
paid tribute to her friend on the song. Can You
Hear Me? Which featured TLC, one of the last recordings
by member Lisa left Eye Lopez before she had passed
away just months before other collaborators on the album included
Ludicrous
Beyonce and Jay Z Under Construction debuted at number three
(19:59):
on Billboard breaking sales records for a female led rap
album with more than 2.1 million copies sold in the US.
Missy explained the album's title to much music's Nam Kuka
and how it reflects her never ending drive to keep working.
I mean, I, I think I'm, I'm a work in progress, mentally, lyrically, musically,
(20:19):
uh health wise, everything. I, I decided to name my
album that because after Aaliyah passed, I realized a lot
of things that I paid attention to a lot of
negative things that were not that important, but I, I
focused on was no longer there no more. It was
just like, you know, uh when 911 happened, everything was
like a freeze frame and that's how it was with
(20:40):
Aaliyah pass. And it was just like,
this is a wake up call. Like I need to
change a lot of things about me cause I don't
know how long I'm gonna be here. Um Aaliyah didn't
get murdered or she wasn't sick. This was just like
just like that, you know, uh or 911 times where
we uh may argue with somebody and say, hey, you know,
half of those families might have went about their day,
(21:01):
you know, we're arguing and like I'll talk about it later, we'll,
we'll patch it up later and then you realize you
don't get to see them no more. So,
um it was most definitely about me and my family
about just me, you know, working with myself and musically just,
just trying to stay around just, you know, while Missy
and Timberland were always known for their forward thinking cutting
(21:24):
edge music. The albums
first single work it, flip that script. Instead going old
school sampling. Run DM CS Peter Piper, rock master Scott
and the Dynamic Three's Request line and Blondie's heart of
glass packed a pounding beat. But it was Missy's lyrical
flair that made it such a landmark moment for the
rapper
(21:44):
with work it, Missy turned the tables on male rappers
and they often sexist descriptions of women issuing her own
raunchy sex obsessed song that chose to be both playful
and suggestive. The song might just be the only one
in hip hop known for using the sound of an
elephant trumpeting as a hook.
Yep. You heard that right? For the line. If you
got a big blank, let me search it. She cleverly
(22:07):
inserted the sample of an elephant's tr to replace a
dirty word. What dirty word you ask? Well, whatever word
you wanna use for a man's junk, what's cool about
the self censorship? Is that both the clean and dirty
versions of the song feature the elephant,
Missy also had some fun by adding refrains after her
verses that she sung in reverse. For example, when she raps,
(22:27):
I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it.
She follows that up with it's your, did I say
that right? As cool and inventive as it was. Unfortunately,
the reverse lyrics weren't actually intended. But thanks to her engineer,
the song was immortalized all because of an accident.
She would tell the associated press the reverse thing. That
(22:49):
was a mistake. The engineer happened to hit something and
it just went backwards and I was like, oh, that's
kind of crazy because it went backward on the beat.
So after that happened, I said, yo, keep that in
there and I'm gonna write around it. They thought I
was saying all kinds of nasty stuff. No, actually, I'm
not this time. All in all work. It, it's just
a fun song that has proven to be a popular
choice at Carry
(23:09):
bars. Who doesn't love to yell out words like ba bump, ba,
bump Bump or Badonkadonk, Donk or Gadon G dunk Onomatopeia
are fun kids. But serious that reverse thing is hard.
The song also received a remix by 50 Cent who
at the time was tearing up the charts with his
hit in the club. Shameless plug, check out our episode
of 50 Cents in the club from season one of
(23:29):
Encore available from wherever you downloaded or streamed this episode
work. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
likely would have topped it if it weren't for Eminem
and his chart hogging hit, lose yourself. But it did
stay at number two for an impressive eight straight weeks,
which is almost as good as having a number one, right?
I suppose the consolation prize was that it did top
(23:51):
the Billboard Hot R and B hip hop songs chart
for five weeks. Naturally work. It was accompanied by another
jaw dropping music video directed by Dave Myers, featuring next
level choreography and a touching tribute to Aliyah and Left Eye.
The video was yet another example of just how important
visuals were to Missy's music. It would go on to
(24:11):
win video of the year at the 2003 MTV video
Music awards. She would tell MTV News
when I, when I did work it uh video, I
just pretty much did that video the way I do
all the rest of my videos. It's just,
I guess I don't even think regular is just, even
(24:33):
when I say, well, let me just get a bunch
of dancers is just too regular. So I always gotta
come up with something else, but it wasn't that I
tried to outdo the last video or the video before
that this is just the way my mind you are too,
have been as consistent when it comes to artistic expression.
As Missy, since she began the music video has been
(24:56):
just as important as writing or producing. She would explain
the importance of giving her song a visual identity in
her interview with much music's Nam Kanoka innovative and something
that's not stereotypical.
Um Yeah, I think it's very important to put out
some innovative. I, I never, I've always been, if you
told me to come to the party like Puffy say,
(25:18):
you know, I'm having a white linen party. Everybody gotta
wear white. I'll come in with purple. It's like I
always got in. He like, Lord, like, can you ever
just follow directions? It's like I, I always wanna do
something that's, that's different.
Um And hip hop from my time was always original
and creative and I feel like right now we getting
(25:40):
so stuck
in one format is like you got the hot beat
but give me 20 girls and some champagne and we good,
we shoot a $50,000 video and sometimes people feel like,
you know what, that's too much money that you're spending
uh um for these videos, but I feel like I
got fans and, and I wanna give them something
(26:02):
and I, you know, they go out and they support
Missy Elliott, they buy Missy Elliott and stuff. So I
don't wanna just feel like because I'm Missy, I can
give you anything. I don't wanna just give you, you know,
b whatever, no bullshit. Excuse me bleep it out. But
um I, I wanna give them something that they be like,
uh it's worth going to get a Missy Elliott album
or it's worth voting.
(26:24):
Missy has so many hits in her catalog but none
of them out do work. It, check the youtube views streams,
chart numbers. They don't lie. It's her biggest hit which
just goes to show you how an artist known for
mind bogglingly experimental work can so masterfully kick it old
school and deliver an absolute banger, like, work it. How
(26:45):
does she do it? Well, she laid it all out
for much music as far as, you know, me as
a writer,
I think, I think that keeps me, um,
somewhat, you know, on top of surface just with being
able to write for other artists, um, write for myself
and also keep my own money. You know, like if
I'm writing for myself, I, I get, you know, my royalties,
(27:07):
everything is, is good. Like I'm living comfortably and you know,
as a producer, that's just something that II I love
to do and that's important
um to me and what I do cause I, when
I do my albums, I don't have to worry about this.
Tim giving me something because I produce too. I can
tell him like this is what I see for this album.
(27:29):
And so it's important when you got that, that ear
for music that when you do yours, you, somebody's just
not giving you what they want to give you and
making a style up for you. This is Missy, when
you hear uh my, my albums is, you know,
Timberland is the, the man behind the music, but this
is Missy, like given, this is what I wanna do.
(27:50):
So producing is important, you know, the, the, as a
artist period that's important because that makes me Missy Elliott
since its release in 2002 work. It has continued to
keep its relevancy in her cameo during the Super Bowl
49 halftime show, Missy, not only performed work it, but
she was joined by the headliner Katy Perry for the chorus.
(28:11):
No, Katie did not try and sing. It's your, I
guess not. Everyone is as talented as Missy and myself.
The song was also the centerpiece in her performance at
the 2023 rock and roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony
in which Missy received her deserved spot in the hall.
And of course, there have been tiktok dances that have
(28:31):
gone viral, but none have been as big as Mary
Halsey's karaoke performance that blew up Facebook in 2018,
the Rhode Island Woman's performance at the Cool Cat karaoke
party blew up the internet earning the title of Missy's
Funky White sister. So impressed was talk show host Ellen
degeneres that she invited Mary onto her show to perform.
(28:52):
It only to surprise her with an appearance by Missy
Elliott herself. Look it up on youtube. It's an adorable moment.
I'm Miles Galloway. And that was the story of Missy
Elliott's work. It.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Encore is an iheartradio Canada podcast. Subscribe to this podcast
on iheartradio or wherever you get your podcast, download the
iheartradio app for more great podcasts just like these
Dive into the behind the scenes world of your favorite artist,
interviews with us, Shannon Burns, producer Jess and the entire
iheartradio team on the Filter podcast. Grab your headphones, new
episodes land every week wherever you get your podcasts,
this is encore. The stories behind the songs. Here's Ihe
(00:21):
Radio's Miles Galloway.
It's your
Speaker 2 (00:25):
ver me, am I right? I'm Miles Galloway. And this
is the story of Missy Elliott's work. It,
hip hop is a genre that seems to have no boundaries.
What started with a record scratch by DJ Kool Herc
in 1973 has evolved into not only the most influential
genre in music, but one of the most influential cultural
(00:49):
movements the world has ever seen. There is no shortage
of innovators in the game though, for the most part,
hip hop has been a world dominated by male artists,
but from her mind bending award-winning music video
to her experimental approach to producing Missy has changed the game.
She's been one of the most forward thinking minds in
(01:10):
hip hop since she first made her debut in 1997
regardless of gender. Missy's commitment to rapping about issues that
matter such as gender equality and body positivity have made
her an outlier in the industry and that has worked
in her favor helping her navigate a career that made
her a favorite amongst fans, critics and fellow rappers.
(01:31):
Her resume is extensive, a four time grammy winner, the
best selling female rapper of all time and the first
female rapper to be inducted into both the songwriters hall
of Fame and the rock and roll hall of Fame.
But in order to reach these highs, Missy had to
survive a childhood of lows. Melissa Arnette Elliott was born
(01:52):
on a naval base in Portsmouth, Virginia on July 1st,
1971 to Patricia and former Marine Ronnie Elliott.
As an only child, Missy would regularly feel alone as
she was forced to watch her father physically abuse her
mother on a daily basis. She would tell the guardian
that while her father would only hit Missy once he
(02:13):
did pull a gun on her and her mother and
force them both outside naked. She admitted to living in
fear at the age of eight. She was sexually
abused by her 16 year old cousin, Missy would relive
the experience speaking to VH ones behind the music saying
each day he wanted me to come to the house
after school, it became sexual which for me at eight
(02:34):
years old, I had no clue what that was, but
I knew something was wrong, being molested, it don't disappear.
You remember it as if it was yesterday
from an early age, Missy sought comfort in performing Jackson
five songs for anyone who would listen along with concerts
for her doll collection. Her dream was always to be
(02:55):
a superstar and it never wavered as a military brat.
She was relocated from time to time in school. She
chose being the class clown over an academic. She was
an underachiever and her grades would show it. But despite that,
she was tested for her IQ which showed above average
intelligence that of a genius. Even
they tested her again to make sure. And yet Missy
(03:17):
was a bona fide genius. She would tell the guardian.
I didn't wanna be a genius. That ain't cool. I
wanted to goof around, they wanted to mount me in
the trophy cabinet. I wasn't that kind of girl. I
was a joker. The school skipped her ahead two grades,
but Missy purposefully failed all of her classes to get
sent back to the same grade as her friends. Things
weren't getting any better at home either.
(03:38):
After her dad returned from the navy, the family was
now living in squalor inside a rented shack heated by
propane with no running water and vermin everywhere the abuse
from her father would continue. But Missy found some solace
in writing letters to her musical heroes like Michael and
Janet Jackson asking them to save her.
She checked the mailbox every day waiting for a letter
(04:00):
from them, but they never wrote back then when Missy
was 14, things came to a head when her father
pulled out a pistol and threatened to kill her and
her mother on behind the music. Missy's mum, Patricia recalled.
My husband said this is it, I'm gonna kill you.
It's over.
I was so tired of being beaten over and over
and I just said, fine, just do it. Thankfully, her
(04:21):
uncle who lived next door managed to step in and
diffuse the situation, but Missy has since called it the
scariest moment of my life. But that was the final straw.
One day after Ronnie Elliott left for work. Patricia. Missy
loaded up the U haul truck with all of the
family's possessions and drove off for good. Missy would tell
the guardian we left my father with a fork, a
(04:42):
spoon and a blanket.
Oh, that was the scariest time of my life. I
thought he would find us and he would kill us.
I lived in fear for a long time. Fortunately, Missy's
luck was about to change,
Missy and her mum went back to Portsmouth, Virginia. But
times were tough to start. Patricia found it hard to
support the two of them with whatever work she could find. Missy, however,
(05:03):
was making the most of her new situation.
She formed an R and B group called phase with friends,
Lashaun Shellman Chitta Coleman and Radi Scott through her friend,
Melvin Barf who rapped under the name Magoo. She met
Timothy Mosley a local DJ producer operating as Timmy Tim,
he would produce some demos for Phase, including a single
(05:25):
called First
Move Phase would impress Devote Swing, a producer, songwriter and
singer for the rising R and B group Jodey. After
singing a cappella for him following a concert, Swing, invited
the group to record in New York City along with
their producer, Tim, who Swing renamed Timberland after the popular
Timberland construction boots that were taken over hip hop fashion.
(05:46):
Once they were in New York, the group changed their
name to Sister and began working on an album for
Swing's record label Swing Mob Records. Swing Mob wasn't just
a label though. It was also a full on collective
named Debasement crew that consisted of some 20 odd rappers, singers,
instrumental
and producers who wrote, produced and performed music despite recording
(06:09):
a full album titled for all the sisters around the world.
Sister fell apart releasing only one single called Brand New.
The album was shelved in most parts of the world
eventually getting a full release. Almost 30 years later, Missy
got her first gig as a songwriter, producer and rapper
on a song called That's What Little Girls Are Made
of the debut single by Raven Simone, the eight year
(06:32):
old star of the Cosby Show.
But Missy quickly learned the hard way that the music
biz wasn't ready to welcome her with arms wide open.
Missy was blindsided when they cast a smaller, lighter skinned actress.
To lip sync to her lines in the song's music video.
At that point, she realized that she would have to
work even harder to be taken seriously. As an artist, still,
(06:53):
Missy had found a musical soulmate in Timberland as part
of debasement crew. They began working together for Joy's second album,
Diary of a Mad Band.
The album would mark Missy's first recorded appearances rapping on
the songs, won't waste you and Sweaty, which she also
co-wrote Timberland also made an appearance while forming an official
(07:13):
partnership with his friend. The duo would record as Timberland
and Magoo
in an interview with Shannon Sharpe for the club. She,
she podcast Timberland remembered what was so special about first
meeting Missy Elliott. I had was doing just beats like
for the play to mix with, but Missy heard the
beats and like,
(07:35):
no, I'm about to sing over this and that was
the first time I got introduced to singing over hip
hop beats was through, Missy. I didn't know nothing about it.
I'm like you about to do what, what? And she
put them harmonies. My life changed. I was like, oh
my goodness, this is what I wanna do for the
rest of my life. And then it's like,
(07:57):
she just kept like giving me the encouragement like how
dope you was because then I just stopped, I kinda
stopped DJ and I start focusing on beats. So I
was like, because she introduced me to melodies harmonies. You
can write songs. You don't have to just rap on
these beats. I'm gonna write songs and I was sampling
Old Patrice Rushing and making them like dope break beats.
And she's like, uh we about to make this a
(08:19):
song and then she started singing and writing. I was like,
it was the first, it was, it was like, what
I was doing elevated to the next level
and Timberland would leave the basement crew and go out
on their own as a songwriting production team. They co-wrote
songs for artists like 702, Busta Rhymes and the debut
album by Genuine, which Timberland produced in full. But it
(08:41):
was their work on one in a million. The second
album by Teenage R and B Sensation Aiyah that really
opened the door for Missy as an artist. Cori eight
of the album's 17 tracks, Missy appeared on almost every
track she worked on
including the opening cut beats for the streets where she
introduces the album by waking up. Aiyah speaking to Rick
(09:03):
Rubin for his broken record podcast. Missy recalled that she
and Timberland weren't sure what to give Aiyah for the album.
So they gave her some old songs they'd been sitting
on when me and Tim got together. I'm like, Tim,
you know what are we going to do? Because she
was already a superstar. So I'm like, yo, let's just
(09:23):
give her our old sound.
Nobody never heard it. So it'll be like a new
sound because we, that sound was probably four years old
to us because we had been signed and no, you know,
(09:44):
the stuff didn't come out. So we have been on
that wave, that whole rhythm and I said,
let's just give her that. So Tim was like, you
sure I'm like, yeah, like dude that, you know, uh
we were still in a place of, of, we didn't
(10:05):
know what was hot or not. All we knew is
what we did.
You know this, this, this is hot, not knowing it
was really hot, but it was hot to us because
that's all we had been hearing. Timberland's flickering clap, snap
sounds on one in a million set, Aaliyah, apart from
the rest of R and B introducing a fresh and
(10:25):
futuristic style that no one had ever heard before
and the duo would hit it big when the album's
lead single. If your girl only knew Top Billboards Us.
Hot R and B hip hop songs while peaking at
number 11 on the hot 100
one in a million would end up going triple platinum
in the US selling more than 8 million copies worldwide.
(10:46):
But the impact was immediate overnight. Labels were scouring to
offer Missy a record deal, but she was quick to
see right through them remembering how they had rejected her
because of her size. Missy knew the only way she
could launch a solo career was under her own terms.
She told the Guardian those labels said I could sing,
I could write but that I looked wrong. That was
(11:07):
the lowest thing you could say. I didn't forget
while Missy had established herself as a writer and producer,
she was keen to become a recording artist too, appearing
on MC Light's hit called Rock a Party. She was
proving herself as an MC and Elektra records took notice
after turning down an offer from Puff Daddy to sign
with his bad boy label, Missy signed a deal with
(11:29):
Electra that allowed her to release music through her own label,
the Gold Mine Inc and
have full control over everything from her music and image
to whatever artist she wanted to sign. Missy would tell
much music's Nam Kiwanuka about what it was like running
a label. The label thing is a whole another world
that's like, you know, somebody from the music industry going
into the movie world, you find out that it's totally different.
(11:52):
Um A lot of things that I thought I knew.
I didn't know like I'm just now really, really knowing
what I'm talking about, you know, I was going in
the meetings like, yeah, whatever, OK? And then it's like,
you know, at the end of the day where my checking,
you ain't got no check. You, you gotta remember, you
are signed to your own label. So, you know, Missy
Elliott has signed a gold mine. And so when you
wanted of those 30 people to go with you overseas.
(12:15):
Um you know, gold mine took that but also you
got a distributor which is a lecture and a
lecture recoups from that. It's, it's, you know, it's so
difficult that people don't understand. It's not something that you
could just say I want and know it. You have
to learn. Missy would continue writing and producing for artists
such as Mariah Carey Puff Daddy in the family and SWV.
(12:38):
But she was also working on her solo career to
help solidify her identity. She took on the nickname misdemeanor,
which she would reveal in 2023 was given to her
by Magoo.
He christened her with it, explaining it's a crime to
have that many talents becoming a solo artist. Wasn't just
necessarily what Missy wanted. It was what her label wanted.
(12:59):
Recording an album was a condition she agreed on with
Electra in order to get her own label. So that's
what she gave them. Co-produced with Timberland. Super Duper Fly
was released on July 15th, 1997 and featured guest appearances
by Timberland Busta Rhymes. Genuine seven
02, Magoo de Brat, Lil Kim and Aliyah responding to
(13:21):
a 2019 Twitter thread asking people to tweet your most
random music. Fact, Missy would reveal that she and Timberland
recorded Super Duper Fly in just two weeks. The album
topped the US top R and B hip hop albums
chart and reached number three on the billboard 200 album chart.
Just like that. Missy Elliott was a chart topping rapper
(13:41):
and the hottest star in hip hop
recognized for its avant garde visionary production and ability to
change how women were represented in hip hop culture. According
to Missy Super duper Fly wasn't as calculated as people
assumed she would tell grammy.com when we did that album,
there wasn't really much thought there. We really just came
(14:02):
out with a sound that we'd been doing for some time,
but we had no clue that it would be game changing,
that we would change the cadence, the sound of what
was happening at that time.
The video for her first single, the Rain would go
on to become one of hip hop's most iconic moments
of the decade directed by Hype Williams. The video starred
Missy in an inflatable patent leather blow suit posing and
(14:23):
flexing in front of a fish eye lens while it
would lose to notorious Bigs hypnotized at the 1997 MTV video. Musical.
The video would lay a top rolling Stone's list of
the 150 greatest hip hop videos of all time. In
2023 Missy would reveal a fun fact on Twitter that
she had to go to a gas station in Brooklyn
(14:44):
to get air in to blow up the suit. But
then the suit blew up so big she couldn't fit
in the car, so she had to walk back to
set down the street in the outfit. And that because
of
they were on a budget, they kept in the scenes
where the suit was deflated even with the successes of
her solo career. Missy continued to flex her muscles as
an in demand writer and producer. In 1998 alone, she
(15:04):
was credited for songs by Whitney Houston. Destiny's Child Melby
of the Spice Girls and Aliyah's hit. Are you that
somebody from the Doctor Dolittle soundtrack?
At the same time, Missy was working on the follow
up to her debut album which dropped on June 22nd,
1999 in the form of De Real World. Whereas super
duper Fly was laid back, cool and full of head nodding.
(15:26):
Hip hop. De Real World saw Missy take a more
serious tone with tracks like she's like a bitch and
all in my grill, but it also found her and
Timberland taking even more chances to push their production into
new territory.
The album also featured some of hip hop's biggest names
including Eminem before he was famous. Aiyah Big boy from
Outkast and Beyonce who had yet to go solo. The
(15:49):
album was another hit for Missy but it didn't come easy.
She would tell variety in 2024. That was my most
stressful album and I appreciated that album later.
It was the most stressful because if you know anything
about the periods of albums and the second album, we
call it the sophomore Jinx. And so especially if you
have a successful first album, you are stressed out because
(16:10):
you're chasing trying to be that first album. So that
album was successful for me that first album. So I
was trying to find something that was
gonna be bigger than the rain visually. And sonically years later,
I look back on that and that was probably one
of the most creative periods because it was theatrics mixed
in with hip hop. If you listen to a lot
of the songs, it's a lot of strings. I don't
(16:30):
wanna say dark strings, but very theatrical, very dramatic strings
happening
as she was releasing her sophomore album, Missy was also
thriving as a songwriter. She wrote and rapped on a
song from the highly anticipated second album by Destiny's Child,
the Writings on the Wall and had a massive hit
with 70 two's where my girl's at, which reached number
four on the Billboard Hot 100 would remain in the
(16:51):
top 20 for 30 weeks. 2001 proved to be a
pivotal year in Missy's life. She wrote and feed
on the debut single by a new Southern rapper by
the name of Bubba Sparks produced by Timbaland. The song
ugly became an unexpected hit for Missy even bigger was
the cover version she produced of labelle's 1974 Classic Lady
(17:12):
Marmalade for the Blockbuster hit film Moulin Rouge featuring an
all star cast of Christina Aguilera Maya Pink and Lil
Kim the song sat atop the billboard hot one
100 for five straight weeks. Make it one of the
year's biggest songs, Missy would tell Cosmopolitan that it was
a song we had all loved growing up and we
saw it as a kind of honor to put our
(17:32):
own spin on it. We wanted to showcase each of
the four badass chicks from the Moulin Rouge, bringing together
their different skills and personas into a true celebration of diversity, talent,
and female unity.
That same year she released her third album, Miss E
So Addictive, which saw her branch out and invite more
(17:52):
collaborators into her process. The album was sexier and more
provocative demonstrating Missy's desire to push the envelope even further.
The album once again sold millions. Thanks in part to
its lead single, Get Your Freak on which incorporated Taba
the drums and sitar pushing a Bangor influence that was
virtually unheard of in hip hop at the time.
(18:13):
The song wasn't only a hit reaching number seven on
Billboard's Hot 100. It also earned Missy her first Grammy
for best rap solo performance. Not bad for a song
that almost didn't make the album while Missy was riding
a professional high. Her personal life would suffer a great loss.
Aliyah had readied her third album for release featuring a
(18:34):
few songs produced by Timberland and only one collaboration with Missy,
a song she co-wrote called I Care For You, which
was originally played
and for one in a million. The self titled album
was released on July 7th 2001 and it arrived with
a lot of hype and expectations. However, just one month later,
Aliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash as she
(18:54):
was leaving the Bahamas after finishing a video shoot for
her song, Rock the Boat.
Her death shocked the world. Missy had lost one of
her closest friends and collaborators in an interview. She would
tell AOL about the impact Aaliyah's death had on her.
No one really knows how it feels to lose somebody
until you lose somebody that close. And I've never felt
(19:16):
that until Aaliyah. I've lost people in my family, but
they've been older and we've expected them to go. So
and losing Aaliyah is almost like
if I can't tell you anything else, this is just
me saying I miss you and
you know, dedicating her record to her saying I haven't
forgot you, you gonna always be here and I'm gonna
(19:38):
keep your legacy for her fourth album Under Construction. Missy
paid tribute to her friend on the song. Can You
Hear Me? Which featured TLC, one of the last recordings
by member Lisa left Eye Lopez before she had passed
away just months before other collaborators on the album included
Ludicrous
Beyonce and Jay Z Under Construction debuted at number three
(19:59):
on Billboard breaking sales records for a female led rap
album with more than 2.1 million copies sold in the US.
Missy explained the album's title to much music's Nam Kuka
and how it reflects her never ending drive to keep working.
I mean, I, I think I'm, I'm a work in progress, mentally, lyrically, musically,
(20:19):
uh health wise, everything. I, I decided to name my
album that because after Aaliyah passed, I realized a lot
of things that I paid attention to a lot of
negative things that were not that important, but I, I
focused on was no longer there no more. It was
just like, you know, uh when 911 happened, everything was
like a freeze frame and that's how it was with
(20:40):
Aaliyah pass. And it was just like,
this is a wake up call. Like I need to
change a lot of things about me cause I don't
know how long I'm gonna be here. Um Aaliyah didn't
get murdered or she wasn't sick. This was just like
just like that, you know, uh or 911 times where
we uh may argue with somebody and say, hey, you know,
half of those families might have went about their day,
(21:01):
you know, we're arguing and like I'll talk about it later, we'll,
we'll patch it up later and then you realize you
don't get to see them no more. So,
um it was most definitely about me and my family
about just me, you know, working with myself and musically just,
just trying to stay around just, you know, while Missy
and Timberland were always known for their forward thinking cutting
(21:24):
edge music. The albums
first single work it, flip that script. Instead going old
school sampling. Run DM CS Peter Piper, rock master Scott
and the Dynamic Three's Request line and Blondie's heart of
glass packed a pounding beat. But it was Missy's lyrical
flair that made it such a landmark moment for the
rapper
(21:44):
with work it, Missy turned the tables on male rappers
and they often sexist descriptions of women issuing her own
raunchy sex obsessed song that chose to be both playful
and suggestive. The song might just be the only one
in hip hop known for using the sound of an
elephant trumpeting as a hook.
Yep. You heard that right? For the line. If you
got a big blank, let me search it. She cleverly
(22:07):
inserted the sample of an elephant's tr to replace a
dirty word. What dirty word you ask? Well, whatever word
you wanna use for a man's junk, what's cool about
the self censorship? Is that both the clean and dirty
versions of the song feature the elephant,
Missy also had some fun by adding refrains after her
verses that she sung in reverse. For example, when she raps,
(22:27):
I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it.
She follows that up with it's your, did I say
that right? As cool and inventive as it was. Unfortunately,
the reverse lyrics weren't actually intended. But thanks to her engineer,
the song was immortalized all because of an accident.
She would tell the associated press the reverse thing. That
(22:49):
was a mistake. The engineer happened to hit something and
it just went backwards and I was like, oh, that's
kind of crazy because it went backward on the beat.
So after that happened, I said, yo, keep that in
there and I'm gonna write around it. They thought I
was saying all kinds of nasty stuff. No, actually, I'm
not this time. All in all work. It, it's just
a fun song that has proven to be a popular
choice at Carry
(23:09):
bars. Who doesn't love to yell out words like ba bump, ba,
bump Bump or Badonkadonk, Donk or Gadon G dunk Onomatopeia
are fun kids. But serious that reverse thing is hard.
The song also received a remix by 50 Cent who
at the time was tearing up the charts with his
hit in the club. Shameless plug, check out our episode
of 50 Cents in the club from season one of
(23:29):
Encore available from wherever you downloaded or streamed this episode
work. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
likely would have topped it if it weren't for Eminem
and his chart hogging hit, lose yourself. But it did
stay at number two for an impressive eight straight weeks,
which is almost as good as having a number one, right?
I suppose the consolation prize was that it did top
(23:51):
the Billboard Hot R and B hip hop songs chart
for five weeks. Naturally work. It was accompanied by another
jaw dropping music video directed by Dave Myers, featuring next
level choreography and a touching tribute to Aliyah and Left Eye.
The video was yet another example of just how important
visuals were to Missy's music. It would go on to
(24:11):
win video of the year at the 2003 MTV video
Music awards. She would tell MTV News
when I, when I did work it uh video, I
just pretty much did that video the way I do
all the rest of my videos. It's just,
I guess I don't even think regular is just, even
(24:33):
when I say, well, let me just get a bunch
of dancers is just too regular. So I always gotta
come up with something else, but it wasn't that I
tried to outdo the last video or the video before
that this is just the way my mind you are too,
have been as consistent when it comes to artistic expression.
As Missy, since she began the music video has been
(24:56):
just as important as writing or producing. She would explain
the importance of giving her song a visual identity in
her interview with much music's Nam Kanoka innovative and something
that's not stereotypical.
Um Yeah, I think it's very important to put out
some innovative. I, I never, I've always been, if you
told me to come to the party like Puffy say,
(25:18):
you know, I'm having a white linen party. Everybody gotta
wear white. I'll come in with purple. It's like I
always got in. He like, Lord, like, can you ever
just follow directions? It's like I, I always wanna do
something that's, that's different.
Um And hip hop from my time was always original
and creative and I feel like right now we getting
(25:40):
so stuck
in one format is like you got the hot beat
but give me 20 girls and some champagne and we good,
we shoot a $50,000 video and sometimes people feel like,
you know what, that's too much money that you're spending
uh um for these videos, but I feel like I
got fans and, and I wanna give them something
(26:02):
and I, you know, they go out and they support
Missy Elliott, they buy Missy Elliott and stuff. So I
don't wanna just feel like because I'm Missy, I can
give you anything. I don't wanna just give you, you know,
b whatever, no bullshit. Excuse me bleep it out. But
um I, I wanna give them something that they be like,
uh it's worth going to get a Missy Elliott album
or it's worth voting.
(26:24):
Missy has so many hits in her catalog but none
of them out do work. It, check the youtube views streams,
chart numbers. They don't lie. It's her biggest hit which
just goes to show you how an artist known for
mind bogglingly experimental work can so masterfully kick it old
school and deliver an absolute banger, like, work it. How
(26:45):
does she do it? Well, she laid it all out
for much music as far as, you know, me as
a writer,
I think, I think that keeps me, um,
somewhat, you know, on top of surface just with being
able to write for other artists, um, write for myself
and also keep my own money. You know, like if
I'm writing for myself, I, I get, you know, my royalties,
(27:07):
everything is, is good. Like I'm living comfortably and you know,
as a producer, that's just something that II I love
to do and that's important
um to me and what I do cause I, when
I do my albums, I don't have to worry about this.
Tim giving me something because I produce too. I can
tell him like this is what I see for this album.
(27:29):
And so it's important when you got that, that ear
for music that when you do yours, you, somebody's just
not giving you what they want to give you and
making a style up for you. This is Missy, when
you hear uh my, my albums is, you know,
Timberland is the, the man behind the music, but this
is Missy, like given, this is what I wanna do.
(27:50):
So producing is important, you know, the, the, as a
artist period that's important because that makes me Missy Elliott
since its release in 2002 work. It has continued to
keep its relevancy in her cameo during the Super Bowl
49 halftime show, Missy, not only performed work it, but
she was joined by the headliner Katy Perry for the chorus.
(28:11):
No, Katie did not try and sing. It's your, I
guess not. Everyone is as talented as Missy and myself.
The song was also the centerpiece in her performance at
the 2023 rock and roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony
in which Missy received her deserved spot in the hall.
And of course, there have been tiktok dances that have
(28:31):
gone viral, but none have been as big as Mary
Halsey's karaoke performance that blew up Facebook in 2018,
the Rhode Island Woman's performance at the Cool Cat karaoke
party blew up the internet earning the title of Missy's
Funky White sister. So impressed was talk show host Ellen
degeneres that she invited Mary onto her show to perform.
(28:52):
It only to surprise her with an appearance by Missy
Elliott herself. Look it up on youtube. It's an adorable moment.
I'm Miles Galloway. And that was the story of Missy
Elliott's work. It.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
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