A long list of prestigious awards and an even longer history of collaborations with some of hip-hop and R&B's hottest stars (Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, Eve, Fabolos, and Mary J Blige, to name a few) make up Missy Elliot's resume. Elliot is a three-time Grammy Award winner, having taken home 'Best Female Rap Solo Performance' for her single 'Work It,' 'Best Female Rap Solo Performance' in 2002, and 'Best Rap Solo Performance' in 2001.
Hailing from Portsmouth, VA, Missy Elliott started her career as a songwriter and producer. Many fans don't know that Elliot's first album, as a member of the 1992 group Sista, was never released. But when the Sista project terminated, Elliot was already teamed up with production partner Tim Mosley (aka Timbaland) and she moved on to working with a number of artists as a songwriter and a vocalist/rapper. It was not long after she signed as a solo artist with Elektra Records in 1996 that the now legendary duo released Elliot's album Supa Dupa Fly. The single 'The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)' gained her immediate recognition, helped by heavy rotation of the song's video on MTV, which featured Missy Elliot in a hefty garbage bag. MTV has since crowned it the 15th greatest video of all time. With Elektra agreeing to subsidize her own label, Goldmind Records, Missy Elliot and Timbaland put out five hot-selling albums in six years: Supa Dupa Fly (1997), Da Real World (1999), Miss E'¦So Addictive (2001), Under Construction (2002), and This Is Not A Test (2003). She also appears on at least six movie soundtracks: Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Any Given Sunday, Can't Hardly Wait, Bait, Big Momma's House, and Why do Fools Fall in Love?
Missy Elliot has been called 'hip hop's cultural magnet' and checking her stats it's easy to see why. Elliot has twice been hailed by Rolling Stone and Billboard as the best female hip-hop artist of the year. She has 17 MTV Award nominations under her belt as well as two BET awards and five Lady Of Soul/Soul Train Awards. Her 2002 album, Under Construction went double-platinum making Elliott the best selling female hip hop star of all time. Then in 2003 she earned Video of The Year as well as the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Female. In her spare time Missy Elliot (writer, producer, and artist) busies herself with the duties of being CEO of Goldmind Inc., which already has launched the career of gold-selling R&B star Tweet.
Timbaland's fresh beats and Missy Elliot's unique flow have been the tickets to success for this charismatic diva of hip hop. Songs not to miss: 'Sock It 2 Me' (1997); 'She's a Bitch' and 'Hot Boyz' (1999); 'Get Ur Freak On' and 'One Minute Man' (2001); 'Work It' and 'Gossip Folks' (2002), all chart-toppers.
