Missy Elliot’s credentials have put her in a position to be a living legend and now her legacy will continue to live on forever. The Virginia-born rapper has now officially been inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Elliot’s induction makes history as she is the first female rapper to be added to the Hall of Fame.
At the ceremony, Elliot was introduced by Queen Latifah, who gave the inductee praise for the hand she has had in making the music industry what it is today.
“You feel free? You want to try some wild shit? Thank Missy,” Latifah said in her speech. “Trust me me, nothing sounded the same after Missy Elliott came on the scene. Nothing. All the kick snares, everything changed. The bass lines changed, the pockets changed, the cadence, the writing. And that’s because Missy has always been a futurist, someone who’s always looking ahead.”
A video tribute was then played, featuring female rap icons in the music industryn today, all to detail Elliot’s status as a trailblazer. In her acceptanace speech, Missy Elliot said herinspiration came from some of the people who were sitting in the room with her.
“Sometimes I be like, do people really realize, like through music, what music do with people? That’s the one thing I think we can all say that comes together is music,” Elliot said. “You know, we all love music in some form, and all of those people who have already been up on the stage… I was just listening to other people’s stories and being like, wow, they’ve been around all of these years and just getting inducted who I feel been worthy to be up here. And that’s why I’m still in shock because they have so many years on me.”