Missy Elliott is a living legend in many different ways. Whether it's her hugely impressive music
career, her work as a producer for other artists, or the fact she was the first female rapper
to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, her career only seems to be going from
strength to strength.
Elliott might be best known for her wild costumes and incredible music videos, but this business
mogul has also proven adept at surviving the celebrity machine - and the harsh, ever-changing
world of pop music. There's simply nobody else like her, and it's doubtful a second
Missy Elliott will ever be gifted upon the world. So it's little surprise that, according
to Celebrity Net Worth, all that business savvy has netted Elliott a not-too-shabby
$50 million to date. And when you consider it, that's more than earned - especially when
you consider her many, many achievements.
Things didn't exactly start off easy for the rapper, though. She revealed in an interview
with The Guardian that she actually received some serious push-back when first trying to
break into the industry, due to her looks. She told the publication:
"They said I could sing, I could write, but that I looked wrong. That was the lowest thing
you could say."
But Elliot quickly proved the naysayers wrong, and in 2015, Billboard revealed that she was
the best-selling female rap album artist in history, with more than 7.6 million records
sold in the U.S. alone. Aside from making her own music, the rap superstar has worked
with some of the coolest and biggest icons in the game. Some of the most famous names
include Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and, of course, her longtime BFF,
Janet Jackson.
In 2004, for example, Elliot performed as part of Verizon Ladies First Tour alongside
Beyoncé and Alicia Keys. More recently, she's worked with talented upstarts Lizzo and Ariana
Grande. She also opened for Mariah Carey on her 2000 Rainbow World Tour and even supported
Michael Jackson the following year, on his 30th Anniversary Celebration.
Elliott has even founded her own record label, Gold Mind Inc, so she's completely in control
of everything she does. Gold Mind Inc came about when Elliott refused to sign a deal
with Elektra, instead waiting until she was offered her own label with 100 percent creative
control over her image, and everything else besides. As a result, she became the first
Black female music mogul.
She has also made a number of TV and movie appearances over the years, and her iconic
music videos deserve their own category entirely, with the likes of "Work It" breaking barriers
for what was considered acceptable for female rappers.
Despite all this, Missy Elliott remains humble to a fault - although she always knew she
was destined for greatness, even while growing up in small-town Virginia as plain ol' Melissa
Arnette Elliott.
"Everybody was saying doctors and lawyers, teachers. I would always say. I wanna be a
superstar. And the whole class would bust out laughing."
Discussing her impressive legacy with Marie Claire, the rapper admitted:
"Everything I spoke, I've done. And that's how powerful the tongue is. I used to sit
in the house and act like I was having conversations with Janet and Michael and Madonna and whoever.
I then would go and say my thank yous for award shows that I hadn't made it to yet.
I had speeches, and I would be in the mirror thanking my mama."
Elliot received her doctorate in music in May 2019, just a month before being inducted
into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. When questioned about how she wants to be thought of long
term as an artist, the rapper said simply:
"There's no one like Missy. No one."
Sadly, Elliott doesn't take to the stage quite so often these days, but her 2015 Super Bowl
halftime show, opposite Katy Perry, did wonders for her image, giving her an incredible 2,500
percent sales bump. Theirs became the most-watched halftime show in history, introducing Elliott
to a whole new generation of fans and solidifying her timeless quality as an artist. And yeah,
she's allegedly worth a cool 50 mil - but honestly, that's not much of a surprise. And
along the way, she's even learned one top tip for looking after her hard-earned cash:
"I just always say spend your money wisely."] Check out one of our newest videos right here!
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