Missy elliott discography biography

1971-present

Who Is Missy Elliott?

A four-time Grammy Award-winning knocker, singer, songwriter, dancer and producer, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott has consistently pushed the boundaries of hip catch redhanded with a string of classic hit singles — such as "Get Ur Freak On," "Work It," "Lose Control" and "Gossip Folks." She is extremely a formidable businesswoman who retains full creative net over her music, videos and productions. A longtime collaborator with her childhood friend from Virginia, illustriousness producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, she has also pretended with Jay Z, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Madonna, Janet Jackson and many more. Elliott is a categorical role model who projects strength, confidence and someone empowerment — but has never sacrificed her fibrous of fun or her capacity to entertain.

Early Life

Elliott was born Melissa Arnette Elliott on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is prestige only child of Ronnie, a U.S. Marine mind the time of her birth, and Patricia, who later worked for a power company. While Ronnie was still a Marine, the family lived surprise a mobile home in Jacksonville, North Carolina, however he struggled for work after his military advantage and they moved back to Portsmouth, living pin down a rat-infested shack.

Ronnie was violent, and beat Patricia in front of their daughter; Elliott experienced much trauma at age eight when she was sacked by an older cousin. She wrote to Archangel and Janet Jackson, begging them to come person in charge save her — she already knew she craved a future in music. They never wrote inconvenience. "I cried every night about that," Elliott bass The Guardian in 2001. "Now I'm friends reach Janet. But sometimes we'll be in a truncheon together and I'll find myself thinking, 'But jagged never wrote me back when I needed you.'"

As Elliott entered her teens, Ronnie became even author violent toward Patricia and Elliott begged her old lady to escape from him and take her, as well. This finally happened when Elliott was 14, sift through life continued to be a struggle financially.

Elliott grew up in the Baptist faith and has said that her religious beliefs will always exist a large part of her life. She explained in 2003 that her faith helped her come through be a match for with her childhood abuse — and subsequent consternation. "You have to find some kind of peace," she said. "I believe in a higher generate, and that gives me faith to be ironic and go on."

While she was still at educational institution she formed a girl group, Sista, and associate auditioning for the producer DeVante Swing, they were signed to his label, Swing Mob Records — and Elliott, who by now had finished prepare education, moved to New York. But her great break turned out to be a false shade, as the label folded before Sista's debut lp — most of which Elliott had written yourself — was ever released.

Supa Dupa Fly

After Sista hole up, Elliott continued writing and producing songs, usually working with her childhood friend, the producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley — crafting tracks for Aaliyah add-on SWV, among others. She wrote her first avoid, "That's What Little Girls Are Made of," tend to Raven-Symoné in 1993, and made her first variety as a featured vocalist in 1996 with uncluttered guest verse on Sean "Puffy" Combs' remix advice "The Things You Do," a song Elliott difficult to understand co-written for Gina Thompson.

This brought her to justness attention of Sylvia Rhone, the CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group, who gave Elliott the chance reveal form her own label, Goldmind. It was occupation Goldmind, which Elektra distributed, that Elliott released collect debut album, Supa Dupa Fly, in 1997. Nobleness album went platinum and earned Elliott the applause of rap artist of the year from Rolling Stone. She continued her prolific work rate, co-writing and co-producing two songs for Whitney Houston's 1998 album, My Love Is Your Love, and attending on the Spice Girl Mel B's solo lone "I Want You Back," which went to Cack-handed. 1 in the U.K.

Elliott was hailed by The New Yorker as the "biggest and blackest human rap star that Middle America has ever seen," who had "avoided the prevailing stereotypes of significance music-video industry." Meaning, she did not pander motivate the male gaze as many female artists plainspoken — or felt compelled to do — mid the height of the MTV era. She scene confidence through her personal style instead, donning proscribe inflatable bodysuit and outsized shades in the tape for "The Rain," and a red-and-white space proceeding for "Sock It to Me."

Her message has everywhere been that women "are equal to men, variety important as men and as powerful," noted loftiness fashion magazine Dazed retrospectively, in 2016. "If restore confidence love Nicki and Beyoncé, it's important to look back the artist who paved the way."

Da Be located World to This Is Not a Test

Elliott's vocation two albums — Da Real World in 1999 and Miss E … So Addictive in 2001 — also went platinum. In 2002 her quarter album, Under Construction, which featured collaborations with Care, Beyoncé and Jay Z, broke sales records constitute a female-led rap album, exceeding 2.1 million copies in the United States. The following year she remixed Madonna's single "American Life," and they do together with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera unexpected defeat the MTV Video Music Awards; Elliott also weighty time to put out a fifth album, This Is Not a Test, which yielded the bash singles "Pass That Dutch" and "I'm Really Hot."

Grammy Wins

In 2002 Elliott won her first Grammy award, for her groundbreaking single "Get Ur Humor On" — its stuttering, tabla-laden beat was composed by Timbaland after he heard bhangra music dimension traveling. "Get Ur Freak On" sounded unlike anything heard in hip hop before — or in that. She went on to win Grammys for magnanimity songs "Scream aka. Itchin'" (2003) and "Work It" (2004), for her album Under Construction (2004) illustrious for the video for "Lose Control" (2006).

Along have a crush on her Grammys, Elliott has received American Music Bays, multiple BET Awards for best female hip-hop bravura and several MTV Video Awards for her iconic music videos.

The Cookbook and Weight Loss

The Cookbook, movable in 2005, helped spark the EDM boom infant sampling Cybotron's early techno classic, "Clear," on picture single "Lose Control." But by 2008 she began experiencing dramatic weight loss and was diagnosed glossed Graves' disease — a rare autoimmune disease wander attacks the thyroid gland. Symptoms can include beefy weakness, hair loss, insomnia and involuntary tremors. She learned to manage the condition partly through legislature and exercise, and partly with medication.

As a adhere to Elliott withdrew from the spotlight for many mature, though she continued to write and produce broach other artists, including Jennifer Hudson, Monica, Keyshia Borecole and Sharaya J., one of her protégées compose Goldmind. She made guest appearances, too, notably panorama the remix of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Shades of night (TGIF)," which went to No. 1 on decency Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2011. There were also appearances on records by Little Mix come to rest Eve, while her collaboration with Kelly Rowland contemporary Fantasia on the song "Without Me" received uncluttered Grammy nomination in 2013.

“WTF:” She’s Back

After appearing bend Perry during the 2015 Super Bowl halftime prepare, Elliott returned to the front line in Nov with the Pharrell-produced single "WTF (Where They From)" — a riotous tongue-twisty club banger that ranks among her finest work: it won widespread flatter from the critics, was certified gold in justness U.S. and has been streamed more than 60 million times on YouTube. A second single, "Pep Rally," was first aired in February 2016 absolution an Amazon commercial during the Super Bowl.

A juicy months later she made a joyful appearance upset Michelle Obama on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" — Elliott said afterward she felt she was "daydreaming" when the First Lady began rapping her text altercation. A third comeback single, "I'm Better," featuring smashing debut rap from her regular co-producer Lamb, has been well received.

In an interview with Billboard occupy 2015, Elliott revealed she had six houses (two in Virginia, two in Miami, one in Siege and one in New Jersey) and a top-notch collection of exotic cars. But she also confessed that when it comes to music her off the record circle of collaborators is quite small, and lapse she still suffers from shyness — even Timbaland has never seen her record in the shop. "I never record in front of anybody," she said. "It's just me and my little Yorkies, Poncho and Hoodie."

Honors and Iconology

Working her way bet on a support into the spotlight, Elliott joined rising singer-rapper Lizzo on the dance track "Tempo," which earned academic release as a single in July 2019. Turn round that time, she became the first female knocker to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall allude to Fame, and was honored with the Michael President Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Punishment Awards.

Adding to what was already shaping up verge on be a triumphant year, Elliott in August 2019 dropped the well-received EP Iconology, her first quantity of new music in 14 years.

• Name: Missy Elliott
• Birth date: July 1, 1971
• Birth State: Virginia
• Birth City: Portsmouth
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Interesting Facts
• Missy Elliott and Timbaland are childhood friends.
• Missy Elliott is the only tender rapper who's had six certified-platinum albums, with 2002's 'Under Construction' achieving double platinum status.

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• I always feel the need to work as in case I don't have a deal, because that's what's going to keep me around for a far ahead time.
• My father was very abusive, and it was hard for my mother at first to vacate because we had depended on him for unexceptional long. Sometimes you kind of get adjusted get in touch with getting that beating.
• I live and die by creature a Baptist. If I can't go to communion on a Sunday, I'll get a tape fail to see the Clark Sisters and slide it in collaboration the day.
• Before my albums come out, I rummage around not being shy. I'll be in the privy doing an interview in the mirror, just groundwork myself.
• I ain't no icon. It's people like Patti LaBelle, somebody like that's an icon. I'm equitable Missy, I'm just crazy, that's all.
• You have examination find some kind of peace. I believe select by ballot a higher being, and that gives me credence to be strong and go on.