Missy Elliott Research Papers

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott (1971-present) has sold over seven million records in the United States and has won five Grammy awards since her rap career began in the early 1990’s. “No female rap artist paralleled the success of Missy Elliott, neither during her reign nor before” (Birchmeier 2016). Elliott rose to fame among fans of nearly all ages, races, genders, and cultural backgrounds because of her original beats, lyrics, vocals and music videos that demonstrate true feminine wit, style, and showmanship. Her uniquely bold form of confident sexuality and self-acceptance coupled with a strong will, musical genius and hard work challenged the status quo of women and accomplished the unexpected in the formerly male dominated industry of rap

Elliott was witness to domestic violence and a victim of sexual violence throughout her childhood. Despite growing up in a mobile home where she lived in relative dysfunction and poverty with her parents, young Elliott was known as a class clown in school and never gave up her passion for singing. While still a teenager, she joined the R&B group Fayze that was signed to Elektra Records and renamed Sista; however, the group’s debut album was never released by Elektra. Nonetheless, during this time period, Elliott contributed lyrics and vocals to several hit tracks for other well-known artists in the hip hop community, including Aaliyah, MC Lyte, Sean “Puffy” Combs, and Destiny’s Child. From these connections and the resume that was developed in the process, Elliott was able to simultaneously springboard into a solo rap

Elliott’s other solo albums include Da Real World (1999), Miss E... (2001), Under Construction (2002), This Is Not a Test! (2003), The Cookbook (2005), and a compilation album titled Respect M.E. (2006). The majority of her lyrics and music videos, including “Get Your Freak On” and “Work It”, have “been devoted to promoting the idea that women can act, rather than just appearing, and that a noisy woman with an opinion is a valuable thing, and moreover, that this woman [Elliott] has nothing to apologize for” despite industry and societal expectations in regards to body shape, size, age, sexuality, and/or gender. Some argue that in contrast to many other female rap artists, Elliott “has always favoured personal style and self-confidence over male-dictated beauty ideals” and is also well-known for having developed a vast musical resume that staunchly advocates for respect, empowerment and sexual autonomy for all women (George