Missy Elliott [1] continues to revolutionize the rap game — there's quite literally no one on her level. And as she paved her own lane, she also helped artists along the way. Beyond her hits, including "Get Ur Freak On," "Lose Control," and "Hot Boyz," just to name a few, Missy is also behind some of the greatest R&B and pop songs.
Missy's producing and songwriting skills made her the first female rapper — and third rapper ever — to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019. During her acceptance speech [2], she tearfully said, "I want to say one thing to the writers, to the upcoming writers: 'Do not give up.' We all go through writer's block. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a record and come back to it. But don't give up because I'm standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too."
The hip-hop icon has worked with many notable icons including the late Aaliyah [3], Ariana Grande [4], Beyoncé, Ciara, Janet Jackson [5], Lil' Kim, Lizzo [6], and so many more. Missy also loves to give her fans a good storytime behind some of her songs produced and written for other artists. Read through to listen to the songs we might not have gotten without Missy, then check out the history regarding the hits!
"That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" by Raven-Symoné feat. Missy Elliott
Raven-Symoné [8]'s debut single "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" in 1993 was written and produced by Missy and featured on the That So Raven star's debut album Here's to New Dreams. The song was also the "first record [9]" Missy ever wrote for another artist, which she shared on Twitter in 2017.
"1, 2 Step" by Ciara feat. Missy Elliott
"1, 2 Step" began the long-lasting relationship between Ciara [10] and Missy. The song appeared on the Goodies album, and the two would go on to collaborate on Ciara's "Work" and "Level Up" remix and Missy's "Lose Control."
Missy was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [11] on Nov. 8 and Ciara gave a heartfelt speech [12] during the ceremony. "Somehow, I got lucky enough to have Missy Elliott as my mentor and big sister. She made it seem like anything was possible and she still makes me feel that way today," Ciara said, adding, "She paved the way for me and many others that followed. There is no one like Missy. No one like Missy. She oozes with boundless creativity, a visionary, the epitome of true artistry, strength, integrity, and grit. She created genre-blurring sounds of a modern hit-maker that continues to defy space and time."
"Tempo" by Lizzo feat. Missy Elliott
"Tempo" was on Lizzo [13]'s breakthrough album Cuz I Love You. During the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, she also gave a tearful tribute to Missy. "You have no idea what you have done for so many Black girls. We don't deserve you. We don't deserve Missy Elliott, and still, you continue to give to us and you've given with your heart," Lizzo [14] said. "I want to thank you so much for helping me in my career. I never in a million years thought I'd get to meet you, and not only did I get to meet you, but we worked in the studio together. Thank you for making my dreams come true."
"One In A Million" by Aaliyah
Missy made tremendous contributions to Aaliyah [15]'s 1996 album One in a Million — and the titular song was a hit. Missy wrote eight other songs on the album, which created a brand new sound still emulated in music today. She also wrote some songs on Aaliyah [16]'s final self-titled album. When speaking about working with Aaliyah [17], Missy told USA Today in 2018, "She had an ear and she knew what that music made her feel like. She was next level to understand that this is some next level (music). This is not just the sound that's going on right now — this is a new sound that is being created. This whole movement is new [18]."
"So Gone" by Monica
"So Gone" by Monica is the ultimate breakup song. The single was produced by Missy and written by Jazmine Sullivan [20].
"Missy is one of my dearest friends, and I think her humility and her compassion for other people is what makes her music so great," Monica told MTV News in 2012. In the interview, she shared that "So Gone" was created after Missy was "eavesdropping [21]" on her phone call with a man at the time.
"borderline" by Ariana Grande feat. Missy Elliott
Missy has also ventured into writing pop hits, including "borderline" from Ariana Grande [22]'s album Sweetener in 2018. The Songwriters Hall of Famer recently chatted with Variety and shared that she loves "working with new artists [23] because that keeps me refreshed, they're so talented, all of them, and they inspire me." When it came to "borderline," Missy said, "The Ariana song was a record for me and she liked it. But for the most part, anybody that I do a record for, I try to cater it to them — and when I say 'cater,' I don't really mean... I still try to make them come out of what's the norm of what's predictable for them."
"Oops (Oh My)" by Tweet feat. Missy Elliott
Tweets' "Oops (Oh My)" has long been an anthem for masturbation, but Tweet and Missy have debunked the claim. "#Funfact this song was never bout Masturbation it was always about her appreciating her Dark Skin (Self Love)when she looked in the mirror it was the listeners that thought it was about sex & just ran with it," Missy said in a tweet [24] in January, "We just let the consumers mind create what they wanted." A fan replied to Missy's tweet with a resurfaced clip of Tweet [25] confirming the song was about "self love and appreciation," noting, "I was real insecure with myself for a while." Tweet also expressed that she knew sex sells so they simply capitalized on the marketing concept.
"Babydoll" by Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey [26]'s "Babydoll" was written and produced by Missy. In 2018, Missy congratulated Mariah on the release of her Caution album, writing, "You are Legendary always and FOREVER! Anybody that can sit back and live off their Christmas songs but still put out a great body of work years later! Deserves Respect." In response, Mariah wrote, "YOU are LEGENDARY [27]. You've written some of my favourite songs of all time. I've always loved and respected you. I will never forget when we wrote Babydoll in that hotel suite. Congrats on the songwriters hall of fame nomination. Whyyy must we be nominated on the same year? lol."
Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink
"Lady Marmalade" — featuring Christina Aguilera [28], Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink — was appeared on the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge's soundtrack. "[Patti] Labelle's original version was a song we had all loved growing up, and we saw it as a kind of honour to put our own spin on it [29]," Missy, who co-produced the song, told Cosmopolitan in March while celebrating the 20th anniversary. "We wanted to showcase each of the 'four badass chicks from the Moulin Rouge,' bringing together their different skills and personas into a true celebration of diversity, talent, and female unity."
"Let It Go" by Keyshia Cole feat. Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim
"When this song come on in the club. They gon be like. Damn that's hot." Exactly. "Let It Go" by Keyshia Cole featuring Missy and Lil' Kim was written and produced by Missy. The song had commercial success and recieved a Grammy Award nomination in 2008 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
"Need U Bad" by Jazmine Sullivan
Missy is Jazmine's mentor having worked with her on Fearless, which features "Need U Bad," Love Me Back and Break My Little Heart. Speaking to Vibe in 2010, Jazmine said, "[Missy]'s funny and she's a very committed friend [30]. A committed person really. If she believes in something, she has got your back. Even when I was younger and there was nobody on Team Jazmine, she was. She believed in me then, and she believes in me now, and that's why she works so hard when she's working with me."
"Not Tonight" by Lil Kim feat. Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Left Eye, and Angie Martinez
"Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)" by Lil Kim featuring Missy, Da Brat, Left Eye, and Angie Martinez was a jam-packed song that didn't overwhelm despite all the various talents. The song was featured in the soundtrack of the 1997 movie Nothing to Lose.
"Signs" by Beyoncé
Everybody knows Beyoncé [31] is a proud Virgo. The song "Signs" has a fun twist on her zodiac obsession. Missy explained the concept [32] in a tweet in 2018, "I wrote this 4 @Beyonce called *Signs* I remember she hit me 4 a song 4 her 1st album & I said GiRL I got a DOPE idea a song that will be 4 every1 about their Zodiac signs she loved it! What I love bout bey she is a PERFECTIONIST SHE DON'T PLAY She KILT THIS!"
"BURNITUP!" by Janet Jackson feat. Missy Elliott
Janet Jackson [33] and Missy have been industry friends and collaborators for years leading up to "BURNITUP!" When Missy was being honoured at the Essence Black Women in Music ceremony in 2018, Janet told the crowd [34], "Some rhyme, some rap; some act, some choreograph; some write hit songs; some create whole new sounds. Some women are able to make her mark in some of these fields; but there's only one woman who has made her mark in all of these fields."
"Confessions" by Destiny's Child
"Confessions" by Destiny's Child was on the group's 1999 album The Writing's on the Wall. Missy recalled in an interview [35], "They all had something special. And Beyoncé, she knew exactly how to attack a record. When I heard Bey singing the verses, I was like, 'Oh they finna go far.'"
She added, "And it's funny when I think back on it because you rarely get women having to confess. It's always the guy who ends up having to confess. That was a different kind of twist for a female to be like, 'Look, I basically kicked it with Mike when you was gone, this went down and that went down.'"
"Where My Girls At?" by 702
702's "Where My Girls At?" was written by Missy, but it was originally meant for TLC. "Lisa ('Left Eye' Lopes) really wanted it, she really wanted that record, but I guess, if it's two against one what can you do? So I ended up giving that record to 702, which was cool because they were a group. I knew whoever had it, I wanted it to be going to a group [36]," Missy recalled in an interview. "I wanted to create something women could feel like, 'I could relate to this record.'"
