Missy Elliott On Folks Not Understanding Her Music Early On

Missy Elliott‘s iconic sound and legendary looks will go down in history, but it was a rough start when the artist first came on the scene.

The 50-year-old who is most known for her classic hits like “Work It,” “Get Ur Freak On,” and “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), spoke about during an interview with Doja Cat, published Tuesday (Aug. 24) in Interview magazine, not fitting into the cookie-cutter mold as in artist. 

“Sometimes you gotta take a chance. I never felt like I fit in, period. I don’t think there was a lane for the music that we did,” Elliott said, responding to Doja’s comment that she had “really funky and weird” songs in the works. “The only reason they found a lane is because I was rapping over the tracks. But at first, I don’t think people understood the music.”

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The four-time Grammy-winning artist also gave advice and some words of wisdom to new artists who are up and coming in the music industry.

“One thing I always say to people is, coming into this industry, we’re just doing what we love to do, and nobody tells us about the ups and downs,” Elliott said. “We think we’re about to be famous, we’re about to get mad bread, and that’s it. It’s a whole lot that comes with this, and a lot of people don’t come in prepared, and that’s why they go through anxiety and depression.” 

Missy Elliott, the evolutionary performer, and producer, hailing from Virginia, has stood the test of time with her one-of-a-kind music. Frequently collaborating with Timbaland, the pair have worked with Aaliyah, Tweet, Lil’ Kim, and others. 

In 2019, Elliott was presented with the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.