HIP HOP HISTORY MONTH: 5 Things To Know About Missy Elliot

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She Was Afraid To Be A Solo Artist

Elliott didn’t always see being a solo artist in her future. She started her career in a girl group named Sista who was once signed to Elektra Records. Once things didn’t work out for the quartet, she wanted to become the CEO of her own label. Sylvia Rhone, who was the CEO of Elektra Records at that time, promised to help her start her label once she gave them a solo album. Once she started her album, she never looked back.

“No! I was afraid!,” she told Variety about not wanting to be a solo artist. “I love being in a group because the pressure isn’t on one person — it probably don’t seem like it, but I’m super, super shy. Once I was no longer in the group, instead of being an artist I wanted a record label. By that time I had done some [prominent] features, and Sylvia Rhone [then-CEO of Elektra Records] said ‘We’ll give a label if you give us an album.’ So I went to Tim and said ‘Let’s hurry up and do this album so they can give me my label,’ and we finished ‘Supa Dupa Fly’ in two weeks!”