With her first single in nearly a decade, Missy Elliott's triumphant comeback is in full swing. We all have Pharrell to thank for calling up Missy on the phone and encouraging her to come back after her epic Super Bowl performance, but there is still so much more to the story.
In her new Billboard cover story, Missy takes us further into her life since taking her indefinite hiatus after being diagnosed with Graves' disease. “It causes hair loss, your eyes bulge. My blood pressure was always up from just overworking.” Even Missy didn't expect her break to be this long but says, "[It] was much needed. People hadn’t realized that I haven’t just been an artist, I’ve been a writer and a producer for other artists. When you’re writing that much, your brain is like a computer. You have refresh it.” Even Missy realizes it was high time for a comeback.
When asked about her musical influence, Missy correctly concludes “Unfortunately, breaking news, there is only one Missy.” She would still love to see more woman MCs on the charts. “It was me, [Lil’] Kim, Lauryn [Hill], Eve, Foxy [Brown], Trina. There’s room for so many. It’s important.”
Since then, Missy has linked up with both Pharrell and longtime producer Timbaland—who she says are the "only two producers that understand me"—in the studio to work on new music. While she finally hit us with her first single in 10 years titled "WTF (Where They From)," she says we can definitely expect more music from her soon. “I want to say 2016 but I don’t want to give a time. Nowadays you say a time, they’ll stone you." Even better, she'd like to give us all a proper tour—preferably with Beyoncé. “I’ve done mad shows, but my last amazing tour was me, Beyoncé and Alicia [Keys, in 2004]. I’d love to do one with B.” Read the full cover story at Billboard.
