American female rapper, Missy Elliott, has become the first female rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The creative mastermind has written hit songs for a number of female acts including people like Aaliyah, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Beyoncé and other women in the music industry for more than two decades.
During a performance, breakthrough singer-rapper Lizzo brought Elliott’s colorful and eccentric music videos to life in an ensemble similar to what Elliott sported in the late ’90s — the finger wave hairdo included. Da Brat, fiery as ever, joined Lizzo onstage for “Sock It 2 Me” in New York on Thursday night.
According to ABC News, Queen Latifah inducted Elliott into the Hall last night, and Michelle Obama sent in a congratulatory video message, saying,
“Thank you not for just sharing your gift with the world, but for being an advocate for so many people out there, especially young girls who are still figuring out how to make their voices heard.”
During her acceptance speech, Elliott said,
“I want to say one thing to the writers, to the upcoming writers: Do not give up. We all go through writer’s block. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a record and come back to it. But don’t give up because I’m standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too”
Last night’s Songwriters Hall Of Fame class also included John Prine, Cat Stevens, Tom T. Hall, Dallas Austin, and Jack Tempchin.
