Crews 
Missy Elliott is officially back! After dropping her new single “WTF (Where They From)” last week along with its accompanying visual which received rave reviews and welcomed almost 15 million views in its first week, Missy is kicking off the promo trail for her highly anticipated album.
In the new issue of Billboard, the music innovator and vet opens up about her return, her new album, Nicki Minaj, working with Pharrell & Timbaland & more.
Missy on her hiatus:
“If I wanted to do The Missing Files of Missy Elliott, I have probably six albums just sitting there.
[The break wasn’t supposed to be that long] but 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.”
Missy on her new album:
[Pharrell and Timbaland are doing the album]. The only two producers that understand me. When I go like “this” [referring to her total commitment to the single and the new phase that it promises] you know that it’s something I totally believe in.”
Missy on being shy:
“I was always feisty, always that kid that would be on the porch with a hairbrush singing or rapping. I got more shy as I got older
and realized people could be laughing at me, or judging me.
I never record in front of anybody. [Even] Tim has never seen me record a day in his life. It’s just me and my little Yorkies, Poncho and Hoodie.”
Missy on the microwave music climate and short attention spans:
“I have to be very careful,” she says. “It’s different now. People are quick to be like, ‘You’re irrelevant, you’re a flop, you’re washed up.’ ”
Billboard On Nicki Minaj:
When asked about Nicki Minaj, who is clearly influenced by Elliott, she mock-innocently replies, “Oh, she is?” (Speaking to her influence generally, she adds, “Unfortunately, breaking news, there is only one Missy.”) Still, she would love to see more woman MCs on the charts — when she was coming up, that was much more common. “It was me, [Lil’] Kim, Lauryn [Hill], Eve, Foxy [Brown], Trina,” she says. “There’s room for so many. It’s important.”
On Her Touring Plans:
“I’ve done mad shows, but my last amazing tour was me, Beyoncé andAlicia [Keys, in 2004]. I’d love to do one with B.” And when will the album be out? “I want to say 2016 but I don’t want to give a time. Nowadays you say a time, they’ll stone you.”
Check out the full interview HERE
In other Missy news, she is set to be honored by Billboard and will receive the inaugural Innovator award at the 2015 Billboard Women in Music ceremony. The Innovator honor recognizes an artists whose masterful body of work has consistently broken new ground in pop music. Via Billboard:
Missy Elliott has achieved six top five albums on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart — the most of any female rap artist — including three No. 1s: Supa Dupa Fly, her 1997 debut, Da Real World and Miss E …So Addictive. Collectively, her albums have sold 7.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. Elliott is also currently on the cover of Billboard magazine.
“Missy Elliott is a once-in-a-generation artist and producer whose artistic brilliance and creative vision have transformed pop and hip hop music,” said Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Media’s Entertainment Group, which consists of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s such a thrill to make this announcement while Missy is on our current Billboard cover after a decade-long hiatus. There are few artists more respected by her peers and more creative. We are proud to honor her with the inaugural Women in Music Innovator award.”
In addition to Elliott’s Innovator honor, Lady Gaga will be presented with the Woman of the Year honor at this year’s Women in Music event, which takes place on Dec. 11 in New York. Loretta Lynn, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Fifth Harmony, Kelsea Ballerini and Lana Del Rey will also be honored. Lovato, Gaga, Gomez and Howard will all perform.
Billboard‘s Women in Music ceremony will air on Lifetime Dec. 18. The event is held alongside Billboard’s Women in Music list, which names the year’s 50 most powerful female executives in the industry.
GO Missy!!!!!
