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Missy Elliott Covers Billboard

blame it on Patrick Glynn November 19, 2015
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As I wrote briefly on Tuesday, we’re so happy have Missy Elliott back. She’s one of the most creative people to come through the hip-hop world, and in a time where a lot of people lack originality, she will continue to be a breath of fresh air with her videos and sound.

After she performed at the Super Bowl with Katy Perry in February, we learned in an interview with i-D released Tuesday Pharrell eventually pushed to get Missy back into the studio, where she eventually made “WTF (Where They From)” with the beat maker along with a music video in classic Missy Elliott style — flashy lip gloss, bangin’ choreography and ideas from left field (this time, puppet versions of herself and Pharrell getting down a dirty).

Missy is set to receive Billboard’s inaugural Innovation Award at the magazine’s Women In Music ceremony December 11 — and no one would argue it isn’t well-deserved. Elliott is also covering Billboard’s next issue (the cover can be seen below) and discussed re-entering the music sphere, an abusive childhood, her creative process and more throughout the cover story.

Read the whole story here, and check out snippets below.

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On re-entering the music world after 10 years:

“I have to be very careful. It’s different now. People are quick to be like, ‘You’re irrelevant, you’re a flop, you’re washed up.’”

Elliott on the 10-year break, where she didn’t release much music:

“It was much needed. People hadn’t realized that I haven’t just been an artist, I’ve been a writer and a producer for other artists. When you’re writing that much, your brain is like a computer. You have refresh it.”

Sharaya J, an artist signed to Missy’s label, on her health issues in the late 2000s:

“It started to change her way of life. There were physical changes, extreme headaches, extreme weight loss. What that does to a person, being a public figure and knowing people are looking, judging? That’s a tough thing.”

Elliott on how her room helped her mentally escape an abusive father and cousin:

“My room would become a whole other world once I shut that door. That’s why I believe my videos are so important to me. It was Alice in Wonderland: my bed, my closet — it would all turn into something else. And I would write and sing and block out whatever was going on.”

Missy on Nicki Minaj being influenced by her:

“Unfortunately, breaking news, there is only one Missy.”

Pharrell on what Missy Elliott has in store:

“Get ready.”