Missy Elliott Biography

Melissa Arnette ‘Missy’ Elliott was born on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Ronnie Elliottt, a U.S. marine officer, and Patricia Elliott, who worked as a coordinator at a power company.

Ever since a child, she wanted to become a performer, but no one paid attention to her.

As a child, her father’s anger and violent behavior towards her mother affected her deeply. By the time she turned fourteen, she and her mother left her father’s home.

She took her first step in the world of music by forming the R&B group, Fayze, along with her friends. The group came up with numerous demo tracks including the promo, ‘First Move’.

It was in 1991 that she caught the attention of Jodeci member and producer, DeVante, for whom she sang backstage during the Jodeci concert. Impressed by the performance, DeVante assisted her to relocate to New York, where Fayze signed with Elektra Records. The group comprising Elliott, Timbaland, and Barcliff was christened with a new name, Sista.

In New York, she indulged in multiple tasks. While she wrote and rapped for Raven-Symoné's 1993 debut single, ‘That's What Little Girls Are Made Of’, she contributed as a songwriter for Jodeci’s last two albums ‘Diary of a Mad Band’ and ‘The Show, the After Party, the Hotel’.

Together with her friends, she came up with the debut Sista album, ‘4 All the Sistas Around Da World’. However, the album was never released. Nevertheless, one of its songs, ‘It’s Alright’ was featured in the 1995 movie, ‘Dangerous Minds’.

Along with Timbaland, she worked as a producer and songwriter for various singing sensations, including Aaliyah, Nicole Wray, Destiny's Child, and so on. They created numerous hits together such as ‘If Your Girl Only Knew’, ‘One in a Million’, ‘What About Us?’, ‘Get on the Bus’ and so on.

Simultaneously, she began her solo career as a rapper in several albums of prominent singers such as Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs's Bad Boy remixes, Gina Thompson's ‘The Things That You Do’, MC Lyte's ‘Cold Rock a Party’

She then signed a deal with East West Records to create her own debut album. Timbaland was appointed as her production partner, a role he retained for almost all her solo releases in her career.

Amidst several guest appearances and rapping for other singing sensations, she released her debut album ‘Supa Dupa Fly’ in 1997. The album was a raving success and peaked on the U.S. music charts eventually achieving platinum certification. It gave her instant recognition as a female rapper in the music industry.

Meanwhile, despite the perfect debut launch, she continued to work as a producer and songwriter for other artists, coming up with several chartbusters such as Total’s ‘Trippin’, Whitney Houston's ‘In My Business’ and ‘Oh Yes’ and Melanie Brown's ‘I Want you Back’.

In 1999, she came out with her second studio album titled, ‘Da Real World’, which replicated the success of its predecessor. The album sold about 3 million copies and included hit singles, such as ‘She's a Bitch’, ‘All N My Grill’, and ‘Hot Boyz’.

In May 2001, her third studio album, ‘Miss E… So Addictive’ was released. The album included chart-topping singles such as ‘One Minute Man’, ‘Get Ur Freak On’ and ‘4 My People’. It received positive reviews from music critics and was certified platinum.

Her exceptional skills at songwriting and rapping were applauded when Tweet’s debut single, ‘Oops (Oh My)’ was released. The song hit the top ten spot on the charts and was critically acclaimed.

Released in 2002, her fourth album, ‘Under Construction’ earned her worldwide acclaim. The album focussed on old-school sound and came up with hit singles, including ‘Work It’, and ‘Gossip Folks’. It became the best-selling female rap album ever with 2.1 million copies sold in the United States and is her most successful album to date.

In 2003, she released her fifth studio album, ‘This Is Not a Test!’. Though its singles, ‘Pass That Dutch’ and ‘I'm Really Hot’ were very well received, the album was not exceptionally well received as her earlier albums.

The year 2005 witnessed the release of her sixth studio album, ‘The Cookbook’. The album debuted at number 2 on the US charts. Its singles earned positive reviews from both the public and the critics.

In 2006, she came out with her compilation album, ‘Respect M.E.’, which was released by the Atlantic Records label. The album contained a collection of singles from six of her previously released albums.

In 2010, she went on a massive two-part tour to various parts of Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. In June of that year, she also performed at the H1's 'Hip Hop Honors: The Dirty South'

In 2012, he released two exclusive singles for iTunes. The singles were, ‘9th Inning’ and ‘Triple Threat’. Timberland appeared in two snippets of the single, ‘Triple Threat’.

In 2013, she directed Sharaya J's latest music video, ‘Smash Up the Place/Snatch Yo Wigs,’ which became her first direction since ‘Ching-a-Ling’. In March 2014, she was featured in the single "I Deserve It" by Faith Evans. The following year, she performed "Get Ur Freak On", "Work It", and "Lose Control" at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show. The performance was met with rave reviews and gave a massive boost to the album sales of Elliott. 

In November 2015, she put out her song “WTF (Where They From).” The song garnered much praise from critics and is often called Elliott’s “comeback.” In February 2016, she released a promotional single titled “Pep Rally” for the Super Bowl 50. Elliott also gave vocals to the collaborative track "This Is for My Girls." That same year, she made a guest appearance in the television special ‘Taraji P. Henson's White Hot Holidays.’

In January 2017, she released her single “I'm Better.” In 2019, she became the first female rapper to be inducted into the “Songwriters Hall of Fame.” The same year also marked the release of her first extended play titled “Iconology.” The EP hosted 4 tracks and received mostly positive reviews from critics. In June 2020, she was featured in the remix version of the single "Do It" by Toni Braxton. She also appeared in the remix of Dua Lipa’s single "Levitating."

In early 2021, she made an appearance in Bree Runway’s single “ATM.” In February 2023, she was seen in the song "RATATA" which was produced by Skrillex and Mr. Oizo. She was next featured in the song "Fly Girl" by the British girl group, ‘Flo.’

Her album, ‘Under Construction’ is one of her bestselling albums that peaked at the number three position on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album also earned a Grammy Award nomination.

Her compilation album, ‘Respect M.E.’ is her highest-charting album and her second top-ten album in the United Kingdom. This was one of her first greatest hits albums.

In 2002, she received the Grammy Award for the category of ‘Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals’ for’ Lady Marmalade’. The same year, she received yet another Grammy Award in the category of ‘Best Rap Solo Performance for ‘Get Your Freak On’.

In 2003, she received the Grammy Award for the category of ‘Best Female Rap Solo Performance’ for ‘Scream aka Itchin’.

In 2004, she received the Grammy Award for the category of ‘Best Female Rap Solo Performance’ for ‘Work It’.

In 2006, received the Grammy Award for the category of ‘Best Short Form Music Video’ for ‘Lose Control’.

She suffers from a hyperthyroid disorder called Graves' disease.

While she occasionally talks to her father, she is yet to forgive him for abusing her mother.

This five-time Grammy award winner is a famous American female rapper and songwriter. Additionally, she is the only female rapper to have six of her albums certified platinum, including one double platinum. For these reasons, she is hailed as the “Queen of Rap.”

She is among the first hip-hop and R&B performers to orient their songs around topics such as feminism, body positivity, and gender equality.