Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott is one musical legend who has been away from the spotlight for far too long. While other icons of the nineties have remained visible as cultural gurus and business powerhouses, Missy has laid low in recent years, making surprise appearances during Super Bowl performances, on Carpool Karaoke alongside then First Lady Michelle Obama, and receiving an honorary doctorate from Berklee College. But now, 22 years after the release of her groundbreaking debut album and 14 years after her most recent release, she says she’s finished a new album and that it will bring back the Soul Train era of feel-good music that makes even street dudes want to dance.
In a new profile in Marie Claire, Missy details her come-up, the wave of emotions that she encountered during her induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, and, of course, the music she says she has coming out soon. She says she wants the new music to help people understand “it’s okay” to dance and that “it’s not corny.” Later, while reflecting on the futuristic appeal of her prior creative works, such as the music videos that eventually inspired Kendrick Lamar’s own, next-level mini-movies, Missy says: “Now that I’ve had a chance to slow down, I look back at stuff, and I look back at my ‘She’s a Bitch’ video, and at the time I didn’t even think about it. But I look at it now and I’m like, ‘This is still so many years ahead.’”
