Missy Elliott traced an iconic path to the glory of the VMA's vanguard



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In Lizzo's latest video for "Tempo," the ubiquitous pop-rap It-girl turns sleepy parking into a sumptuous dinner party in one of the fiercest parties in the world. There are jumping and bouncy hydraulic cars, as well as a bold and positive message of bodily love.

But when hip-hop legend Missy Elliott, wearing a silk tracksuit and a chain that ostensibly reads ICON, suddenly jumps from the hood of a car, the situation becomes downright surreal.

For Andy Hines, who directed the bass-thumping clip, it was a moment that was turning his head.

"I've been very out of date," Hines told The Post. "Missy's work in both music and visual arts has influenced and changed pop culture a great deal over the last 20 years. People are still trying to imitate what she did, but you can not recreate it … she is unique. "

After having completely upset the music industry with his first solo album "Supa Dupa Fly" in 1997 and selling 30 million records, Elliott is back in the spotlight after spending more than one year. decade largely immune to public scrutiny.

Friday morning, Elliott shocked his fans by releasing his first collection of new material since 2005, "The Cookbook". The five-track EP entitled "ICONOLOGY" jumps from electro dance to the trap of vintage soul music.

But it is the song and the video of "Throw It Back" which arouses the most buzz. This is a classic, Missy, on the left field, although it also carries a rare pride from the very humble Elliott, who will receive the Video Vanguard Award – a first for a female host – at MTV Video Music Awards 2019 Monday night: "So many VMAs that I could live on the moon. "

"This is the first time Missy has made the case and says," Yes, I'm an innovator … a pioneer, "Kathy Iandoli, author of the forthcoming book" God Save The Queens: The Essential Women's Story " in Hip -Hop, "says The Post. "And it's important. Because the average listener may not have been major at the time of the release of Missy's first album. They are not even born. "

Since his memorable first video of "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," a song capturing the genius of the extraordinary genius of the eccentric transmitter at every level, from the esoteric lyrics to the ghost beats of his collaborator's long time Timbaland. – Elliott raised the bar of movies like "Sock It 2 ​​Me", "Get Ur Freak On" and "She's Bitch".

And it looks like the music business is finally catching up with the talent of another world. Last June, Elliott became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a tribute to an artist who wrote and produced pieces for everyone, from Aaliyah and Mariah Carey to Ciara and Beyoncé.

"It's high time," said Meelah Williams, the former singer of the platinum group 702, whose most frequent successes have often been Elliott collaborations. "These two awards represent equal rights for women in the music industry."

Of course, the question for everyone is this: why did it take Elliott 14 years to publish another official music collection? Last November, the rapper-singer posted a video with her long-time, Grammy-awarded partner in what looked like a marathon recording session. "Timbaland and me last night [in the studio] to cook, "she wrote.

Yet hopes for another album had been dashed before.

Missy Elliott 2019
Atlantic Records / Derek Blanks

In 2008, Elliott released "Ching-a-Ling", a single featured on the soundtrack of "Step Up 2 the Streets", but plans for a subsequent album titled "Block Party" were dropped. After Elliott announced that she was battling Graves' disease in 2011, an autoimmune thyroid disease that causes severe tremors, she discovered the unique "9th Inning" and "Triple Threat" tracks in order to to better test the waters.

Her surprise appearance at Katy Perry's 2015 Super Bowl XLIX halftime show gave fans hope she was finally ready to make an official comeback. But even after the well received collaboration "WTF (Where They From)" with the super-producer Pharrell Williams, there was still no album.

So what was going on behind the scenes? According to insiders, Elliott was just a meticulous and frustrating person.

"Missy's going to play you the hottest song and you'll be so exaggerated and then she will not air it," said Williams of 702, who recently worked with Elliott in 2014. "You're going to look at it like," Are you kidding me? "But Missy is a perfectionist, she wants the best results."

Today, Elliott, who survived a rough childhood and saw his father physically abusing his beloved mother Patricia, finds herself in a scene where female hip-hop has never been so diverse and as powerful.

But Iandoli says not to count as one of the most influential visionaries of the genre as a competitor. "People want Missy to win," she says. "She was still two decades ahead of her time.

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