Missy Elliott Tears Up As First Female Hip Hop Artist Inducted Into Songwriters Hall Of Fame

A well-deserved honor for the rap icon.

On Thursday night, Missy Elliott was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, making her the first female hip-hop artist to receive the honor.

READ: Missy Elliott Becomes The First Rapper To Receive An Honorary Doctorate From Berklee College Of Music

Elliott was honored by Michelle Obama via a taped tribute at the ceremony according to ABC News.

“Missy, I want to thank you for all of your trailblazing ways,” Obama said. “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.”

Elliott held back tears as she took to the podium to speak about her induction.

“I am thankful,” Elliott said before she continued on:

“Every time I come up to a podium…even with all the work that I’ve done, I don’t know, and I’m assuming it’s just God, I don’t know why I am here,” she 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.”

Elliott is only the third rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, joining Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri, who were inducted in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Elliott has written a handful of her own hit songs including “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Hot Boyz,” and others. But she’s also penned lyrics for Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Busta Rhymes, Monica, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, Destiny’s Child, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, SWV, Total, 702, Mya, Tweet and others.

Recently, Elliott became the first rapper to receive an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music.

Source: ABC News