Missy Elliott has the songwriting ability to create a hit about damn near anything; one of the reasons she has been nominated for the prestigious 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame class.
She‘s known for her eccentric style and extremely creative lyrics which has always made her one of music’s best storytellers. If she wins, she would be the first female rapper to enter the class and the third overall rapper after recent inductees #JayZ and #JermaineDupri.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Missy said, “I feel so humbled and truly blessed to be even nominated — that’s huge!” She continued, “It’s been amazing to give them a voice,” she said speaking of the female performers she’s written for. “We build a friendship beyond music, but I’m always humbled that they trust me. And I always ask them, before doing a song, what are you going through?” stated Elliott, who has also written for #WhitneyHouston, #Beyonce, #Aaliyah, #JanetJackson, #MaryJBlige and #Jazmine Sullivan. “Of course, I got tons of records, but it’s good when you can custom-make something specifically for that artist.”
Missy took the time to go through some of her best hits and reminisce on the inspiration and stories behind them. Did you know Missy wrote: Aaliyah’s “One In A Million”, her own “Hot Boyz” featuring Eve, Nas and Q-Tip, 702’s “Where My Girls At”, her own “The Rain (Show Dupa Fly) and “Get Ur Freak On”, Destiny’s Childs’ “Confessions”, Ciara’s “1, 2, Step”, Tweet’s “Oops (Oh My)”, Monica’s “So Gone” And Fantasia’s “Free Yourself”? Please believe, that’s only the short list.
The best part, was when she FINALLY revealed what she was really saying in one of her biggest hits, “Work It.” Everyone knows (or thinks they know) the hook of the song which features a famous line where the lyrics are played in reverse. Missy said it was “a happy accident.” “The reverse thing, that was a mistake. The engineer happened to hit something, and it just went backward, 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 going to write around it.'” And despite the rumors about it being a secret code for something “nasty,” she said, “They thought I was saying all kinds of nasty stuff. No, actually, I’m not, this time.”
Congratulations to #MissyElliott on her Songwriters Hall Of Fame nomination!
