BY BANDINI • JANUARY 12, 2019

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott has become the first female Hip-Hop artist to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. While JAY-Z became the first artist in Rap to join the prestigious circle two years ago, Missy follows a 2018 where Jermaine Dupri was admitted. Both appeared in New York City for their respective induction ceremonies, with Jay receiving a special video message from friend and former President Barack Obama. Notably, Missy has worked with both Jay and JD during her two-plus-year career.

Missy’s career includes writing, production, and development for a plethora of Hip-Hop and R&B acts dating back more than 25 years. Elliott has six solo albums, all certified gold or better. She worked extensively on albums by Aaliyah, 702, Monica, and Tweet, among others. She is a five-time Grammy Award-winner (out of 22 nominations), including “Best Rap Solo Performance” for 2002’s “Get Ur Freak On.”

The 47-year-old Elliott’s journey of tenacity and perseverance began in Portsmouth, Virginia. The rapper, producer, and singer had a difficult childhood, involving accounts of physical abuse from her father and reports of molestation from a cousin when she was eight. The family also lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina for a period, when Elliott’s father, a shipyard welder, moved there for work.

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