Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot is from the future.
I’m not just saying that because she’s featured in the video “Sock it to Me” rocking, what looks like, the Gmail app logo on her chest way back in 1997 -- although, I will absolutely use that point to win an argument if I’m feeling especially dogmatic. Truth is, I can list a range of other non-disputable factors to prove her profound ability to predict what the world will want, years ahead of time.
For example, Missy helped create the iconic song “Benjamins” for the LOX. It’s a damn near perfect song that helped catapult the success of the group. The only thing missing from the song was the member “Styles P.” Allegedly, Missy didn’t like his verse, so it wasn’t used. I wasn’t there, but this is one of the few times I side-eye Missy’s musical decision. “Sheek” wrote something better than Styles? Ok, Missy if you say so sis.
She also co-wrote and co-produced songs for the late great Whitney Houston. She worked on the song “Confessions” by Destiny’s Child, helped craft Aaliyah’s musical style, wrote songs for Ciara, Monica, and might have ghost-written for some of your favorite rappers. Ok, I’m guessing. I have no idea if she is a ghostwriter, but I can comfortably say she probably helped craft songs for a lot of artists on your playlist. This is not an all-encompassing list. She would need an entire book, podcast, and documentary to fully capture her contributions to hip-hop. It must be said, however, that for all the ways Missy is celebrated, she does not get enough credit for creating a blueprint for the industry we see today. This is why the final installment of this 3-part series is Missy Elliot.
As a singer, songwriter, rapper, and hairdresser her talents are too massive to be unpacked using one vehicle. Ok, I don’t really know if she’s a hairdresser, but damn her hair was always on point. More importantly, her musical instincts have always been on point too. Not only has she sold over thirty million albums, but she was giving us “Afrofuturism” before I even knew what to call it. When her peers were creating party-themed videos in 1997, Missy took us to another planet--literally.
“Sock it to me” the Afrofuturistic themed video starts with Missy seemingly leaving earth and landing on another planet. She lands and curiously looks around, then runs from some unfamiliar robot-looking things, superficially falls to another level, and starts to fight them back. Of course, all of this is happening while she has on her Gmail costume, singing and rapping about taking dick like a pro.
Soc-soc-sock to me
Ooh ahh, sock it to me like you want to
Ooh ooh, I can take it like a pro, you know
Ironically, the lyrics, are slightly amusing considering she is one of the artists who men reference when making sloppy arguments about contemporary female rappers. “Nowadays all these female rappers do is talk about sex just to sell records. Missy never talked about sex in her music, and she still sold millions of records—you don’t have to talk about sex when you got talent.” Perhaps Missy knew that one day intellectually lazy men would jump on this thing called social media and use her as a tool to attack other women. So, she gave us weapons to counter, in advance.
Remember, she's from the future.
In her video, she is floating above earth after conquering those who tried to attack her. While, in real life, Missy always has a bird's eye view of the musical landscape that enables her to create content that future generations will value. She does this while fighting against those who criticized her writing skills; this is what makes her exceptional. She continuously creates art outside of the box, while pushing boundaries and making room for future artists. Quintessentially, this is the blueprint that keeps hip-hop growing as a culture and genre. This is the blueprint crafted by Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot.
