Missy Elliott will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, making her the first female hip-hop artist to receive the honor. The tribute makes Elliott the third rapper to ever be honored by the organization, following Jay-Z’s induction in 2017 and Jermaine Dupri’s last year. The list of this year’s inductees was announced on Saturday’s episode of “CBS This Morning,” and featured an appearance by the Hall of Fame chairman and musician Nile Rodgers, who called Elliott “one of my favorite writers of all time.”Not only is Elliott, a Grammy Award-winning artist, responsible for monumental hits from the early 2000s like “Get Ur Freak On” and “Work It,” but she’s also the only female rapper to have six studio albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Over the course of her three-decade career, she’s written for some of the music industry’s most talented female artists, including Beyoncé (“Signs”), Whitney Houston (“In My Business”), Aaliyah (“If Your Girl Only Knew”), Mary J. Blige (“Never Been”) and Ciara (“One Two Step”). In its announcement, the Hall of Fame recognized Elliott as “a groundbreaking solo superstar, pioneering songwriter-producer and across-the-board cultural icon.”

Source: New York Times January 13, 2019 19:07 UTC