Missy Elliott Becomes First Female Rapper Nominated For Songwriters Hall Of Fame

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Is it worth it? Let me work it. I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it. Ti esrever dna ti pilf, nwod gniht ym tup. Ti esrever dna ti pilf, nwod gniht ym tup.

Not my words, of course, but those of the four-time Grammy Award winning rapper, producer and all round owner of female hip hop in the noughties, Missy Elliott, who has proven that it is worth it this week after being nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Missy makes history as the first female rapper to be nominated for the prestigious prize, and – should she be accepted – will be only the third hip hop artist to achieve the accolade following Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri.

Missy announced the news on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, congratulating her fellow songwriters to be nominated, who this year include Mariah Carey, Chrissie Hynde, Vince Gill, Mike Love, Jimmy Cliff, Jeff Lynne, Cat Stevens, John Prine, Lloyd Price, Tommy James and the Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart).

Songwriters are eligible for induction to the Hall of Fame after writing hit songs for at least 20 years. Elliott began her musical career in the late 1980s forming the all-female group Fayze (later renamed Sista) before crafting tracks for SWV and Aaliyah in the 90s.

Elliott went on to perform such bangers as Get Ur Freak On, 4 My People and Work It, selling over seven million albums in the late nineties and early noughties. According to Billboard, she is the biggest-selling female rapper in history, shipping more than 30 million records in the United States alone.

You keep doing you, Missy.

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Tim Horner

Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.