Missy Elliott Will Be The First Woman In Hip-Hop To Receive This Honour

Missy Elliott is out here making history.

Elliott will be inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, becoming the first woman rapper to ever receive the honour. Elliott’s body of work, which includes massive, groundbreaking, can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head hits such as “Work It,” “Get Ur Freak On,” and “The Rain,” has racked up four Grammys, countless multi-platinum certifications, and more than 30 million record sales. Along with her six studio albums, Elliott is also a prolific producer and collaborator, having worked with artists including Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, and Aaliyah across her career.

Elliott’s work was pivotal in defining the sound of 2000s era hip-hop and R&B. Still working today, she’s constantly pushing the genre forward, centering themes of feminism, self-love, and sex positivity in her music in a way that is rarely heard in rap, and even less so from a woman. She is a transcendent cultural figure, too, known for her colourful, edgy fashion sense (holographic lipstick, anyone?), bold and experimental music videos, and devoted fanbase.

Her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame comes two years after Jay-Z became the first rapper ever inducted. Like Jay-Z, who notably took to Twitter for an extended shout-out to dozens of idols and collaborators who inspired him and massively influenced rap and hip-hop, Elliott also gave a shout-out to her fellow creatives after the news was announced.

“I want to CONGRATULATE all the AMAZING songwriters who have been inducted into the 2019 Song Writers [sic] Hall of Fame. also those who were nominated because their body of work is AMAZING. I AM SO HUMBLY GRATEFUL to now be inducted also,” Elliott wrote on Twitter. “I [heart emoji] you all.”

Along with Elliott, the 2019 class of inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame includes Dallas Austin, Tom T. Hall, John Prine, Jack Tempchin, and Yusuf/Cat Stevens. The group is set to be inducted on June 13.