  Missy "Misdemeanor"
Elliott grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia
writing songs by the time she was a teenager.
By the mid-90s, Missy established herself as
one of the most sought after producers and
arrangers of hip hop music, eventually
leading to her own solo music career. Missy
originally belonged to and R&B group
called Sista and was "discovered"
by DeVante of Jodeci. After trying to find
success with singing, Missy began to do
better producing and arranging for other
artists. Missy has also written hit songs for
other artists including Aaliyah ("4 Page
Letter"), Jodeci, Ginuwine,
702, and SWV
("Can We").
 # 99
Singles Artist of the Year
 Missy released her first LP, Supa
Dupa Fly which hit the Top 3 on the LP
charts. The LP featured help from many of
hip-hop's stars including Busta Rhymes, Aaliyah, Ginuwine,
and Da Brat, and help from
friend and collaborator, Timbaland. Rolling
Stone said of the LP: "...when
Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliot weds hip-hop and
R&B, she not only avoids the pitfalls
tripping up so many of her colleagues, she
also finds new inspiration in the
union..."
The first single, "The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)"
introduced Missy to video channels and
radios. Missy told MTV: "The radio is
stuck right now, everything sounds the same.
As far as video wise, everything looks the
same. So we feel like we coming in, and we
gonna change the whole thing."
The follow-up single "Sock It 2 Me" hit the pop Top
20. Missy said of her image to Rolling
Stone: "I'm cutting edge, so I
don't mind taking a chance and doing
something different. Besides, I most
definitely feel like you don't have to be
5'6'' and a size 2 or that you got to be
light-skinned with long hair to be beautiful.
I feel my personality is beautiful, so that
should make up for the outside."
 Supa
Dupa Fly topped the Billboard R&B
Albums chart for a week.
Missy hit the Top 40 with "The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)."
Missy was
nominated for 3 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Rap Video, Breakthrough Video, and Best Direction ("The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)."
Supa
Dupa Fly was certified platinum.
 Missy hit the Top 40 with help
from Da Brat with "Sock It 2 Me.
The single "Sock It 2 Me" was certified
gold.
Missy could be heard on Timbaland &
Magoo's LP Welcome
To Our World on the tracks "Man
Undercover" and "Up Jumps Da
Boogie" (Remix).
Missy won 2 Billboard Video
Music Awards for Best Clip (Rap) and Best New
Artist Clip (Rap) ("The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)").
Critics of Rolling
Stone named "The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)"
the Best Video of the Year and Missy the Best
Rap Artist.
 # 138
Singles Artist of the Year
 Missy was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance ("The Rain (Supa Dupa
Fly)),"
Best Rap Performance by
a Duo or Group ("Not Tonight" (with Lil' Kim, Da Brat,
Left
Eye, and Angie Martinez)),
and Best Rap Album (Supa
Dupa Fly).
Missy could also be heard on the
soundtrack for Can't
Hardly Wait with a remix of "Hit 'Em
Wit Da Hee."
 Missy joined up with the Lilith
Fair package tour on several dates.
Missy topped the Billboard
R&B Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks with
her contribution to Nicole's
hit "Make
It Hot."
Missy hit the Top 40 with "Make
It Hot."
Missy could be found helping out
Whitney
Houston's new LP, My
Love Is Your Love.
Missy could be heard on Timbaland's LP Tim's
Bio: Life Fram Da Basement on the tracks
"Talking On The Phone," "John
Blaze," and "Here We Come."
 # 75
Singles Artist of the Year
The year kicked off with a male
teenager being fined $500in Virginia for
impersonating Missy Elliott.
Missy hit the Top 40 helping out
Total with "Trippin'."
 Missy's next LP, Da
Real World, featuring the first single
"She's A Bitch" was released and
topped the Billboard R&B Album chart for
a week.
Also out was "Misdemeanor
Lipstick" with proceeds going toward a
domestic violence prevention organization.
Missy talked with Spin
magazine: "I go through battles where
I'm like, 'Dag, I'm still cussing on albums'
and I don't wanna cuss no more... I'm trying
to get it together. I stopped a lot of
things... I won't drunk and I don't smoke...
but I don't want people to be like, 'Okay,
now she's Reverend Elliot'."
 Missy talked with Wall Of
Sound about the pressure of a sophomore
LP: "I can't even explain the
pressure... The last album took me a week to
record. This one took almost 2 months. But
any album after the first, you should take
your time. The first time you're building a
fan base, but I couldn't rush it the second
time because people expect more."
 Da
Real World topped the Billboard R&B
Albums chart for a week.
Missy hit the Top 40 with "Hot
Boyz"
with help from Nas, Eve and Q-Tip.
The single "Hot
Boyz"
was certified gold and topped the Billboard
Rap Singles chart for a record-breaking 18
weeks.
 MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" at # 15.
"Hot
Boyz"
spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Billboard
R&B/Hip Hop chart.
 Missy was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album (Da
Real World).
Da
Real World was certified platinum
and the single "Hot
Boyz"
was certified platinum.
Missy won a Soul Train Lady of
Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music
Video ("Hot
Boyz").
Missy topped Billboard
Year-End Charts with the Top Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Single - Sales ("Hot
Boyz"),
Top Hot Rap Artist, Top Hot Rap Single
("Hot
Boyz"),
and Top Hot Rap Artist - Female.
 # 19
Singles Artist of the Year
 Missy hit the Top 40 with "Get Ur Freak On." A track Rolling
Stone describes as
"...the weirdest, loudest, funkiest and
just plain best single of the summer so far,
a sonic orgasmatron of Indian tablas and
Dirty South future-shock funk."
Missy released her next LP, Miss
E... So Addictive, featuring help from Jay-Z, Method Man,
Ginuwine, Ludacris,
and Eve. CDNow described the
LP as "....full of fresh production, vocal
variety, and interesting songwriting... Missy
once again proves that she still has the
skills to break new ground with her sounds,
satisfy a variety of hip-hop tastes, and
still compete with hip-hop's 'mainstream'
females..."
Missy topped the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for a week with
"Get Ur Freak On."
 Miss
E... So Addictive topped the Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop LP chart for 2 weeks.
A remixed version of "Get Ur Freak On" featuring Nelly Furtado appeared on the Tomb
Raider soundtrack.
Miss
E... So Addictive was certified
platinum.
 Missy hit the Top 10 with "Get Ur Freak On."
Missy won a Soul Train
Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul or
Rap Music Video ("Get Ur Freak On").
Missy's video for "Get Ur Freak On" was nominated
for 6 MTV Video Music
Awards including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Special Effects (Chris Davis), Best Editing (Glenn Bennett &
Chris Davis), and Best Cinematography (James Hawkinson).
Missy performed at the ceremony.
Missy hit the Top 40 with "One Minute Man."
 Missy hit the Top 10 with "One Minute Man."
Missy could be heard on Janet Jackson's remix of "Son Of A Gun."
Missy topped Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Artists
- Female.
Critics in Rolling
Stone voted "Get Ur Freak On" as Best Single
of the Year.
 # 38
Singles Artist of the Year
 Missy won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance ("Get Ur Freak On") and was
nominated for Best R&B Song
(awarded to the songwriter) ("Get Ur Freak On") and Best Music Video, Short
Form
("One Minute Man").
Missy hit the
Top 40 with help from Ginuwine
and Tweet with "Take Away."
 Missy won a Soul Train
Award for R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video
("Get Ur Freak On").
Missy won a BET Award for Best
Female Hip-Hop Artist.
Missy won a
Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best
R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video ("One Minute Man").
Missy's video
for "One Minute Man" was nominated
for 6 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Direction (Dave Meyers), Best Special Effects (Nathan McGuinness
& Marc Varisco), Best Art Direction (Mike Martella), Best Editing (Jay Robinson), and Best Cinematography (Karsten
"Crash" Gopinath).
 Missy hit the
Top 40 with "Work It."
Missy released
her next LP - Under
Construction.
Missy topped the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart
for 5 weeks, the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
chart for 5 weeks, and the Hot Rap Tracks
chart for 12 weeks with "Work It" and the video
topped the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown.
Missy hit the Top 10 with "Work It."
 Under
Construction was certified platinum.
Rolling
Stone magazine critics picked Missy
as Best Female Artist and Best R&B
Artist, and "Work It" as Best Single.
Missy had
moderate R&B hits with the tracks
"Knoc" (with Knoc-Turn'Al
and Dr. Dre), "Burning
Up" (with Faith Evans),
and "Crew Deep" (with Skillz
and Kandi).
 # 23
Singles Artist of the Year
Missy performed
"Work It" at the American Music
Awards.
 Missy hit the
top 40 with Ludacris with "Gossip Folks."
Missy won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance -
Female
("Scream aka Itchin") and was also
nominated for Best Music Video, Short Form ("Knoc" with
Knoc-Turnin' Al and Dr. Dre).
Missy won a
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul
or Rap Music Video ("Work It").
Missy hit the Top 10 with "Gossip Folks."
VH1: 50
Greatest Hip Hop Artists includes Missy at # 15.
 Missy topped
the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart
for a week with "Gossip Folks."
VH1: 100 Best
Songs of the Past 25 Years includes "Work It" at # 77.
Missy won a BET Award for Best
Female Hip-Hop Artist.
Under
Construction was certified 2x platinum.
 Missy took home 2 Soul Train
Lady of Soul Awards including Best Song and
Best Music Video ("Work It").
Missy's video for "Work It" won 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Video of the Year and Best Hip-Hop Video, and was nominated for
Best Female Video, Best Direction (Dave Meyers), Best Special Effects (Realm Productions), Best Art Direction (Charles Infante), Best Editing (Chris Davis), and Best Cinematography (Michael Bernard).
Missy also performed at the ceremony.
 Missy could be heard on The
Fighting Temptations soundtrack along with Beyoncé
Knowles, MC Lyte, and Free
with "Fighting Temptation."
Missy appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone alongside Eve and Alicia Keys.
 Missy performed on Saturday
Night Live.
Missy won an American Music
Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Female
Artist and was also nominated for Favorite
Rap/Hip-Hop Album.
Missy hit the
Top 40 with "Pass The Dutch."
Missy won a
Vibe Award for Reelest Video ("Work It").
Missy released
her next LP,
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