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One of Hampton Roads’ brightest stars will be one of several inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Missy Elliott, a Portsmouth native, was announced Wednesday as one of this year’s inductees, in a class that includes Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners, Kate Bush and the late George Michael. The announcement was streamed on Apple Music 1 Wednesday morning.
Elliott, who graduated from Manor High School, will be the first female hip-hop artist in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“I want to say this is HUGE not for just me but all my Sisters in HIPHOP this door is now OPEN to showcase the hard work & what many of us contribute to MUSIC,” she tweeted. “I have cried all morning because I am GRATEFUL.”
[ Related: Here are the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees ]
Elliott’s award is in the 2023 performer category. DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray will be honored with the Musical Influence Award, and the Musical Excellence Award will go to Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin. The late Don Cornelius, who created the nationally syndicated dance and music show “Soul Train,” was awarded the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
“This year’s incredible group of Inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in the announcement. “We are honored that this November’s Induction Ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th Anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop.”
Weekend Scoop
The Hall of Fame nod is the latest of Elliott’s accolades, which include being the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an MTV Video Vanguard Award and four Grammy Awards.
She also holds two honorary doctorates and the Woman’s Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award given by the United Nations. She also owns the record for the most platinum albums by a female rapper with six.
“Songwriter, groundbreaking producer, label executive, and video trendsetter, Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliott was crucial to crafting the Virginia Beach sound that took over the airwaves in the late 1990s and 2000s,” the announcement reads. “She established herself as an in-demand songwriter and producer and founded her own record label, all before breaking out as a Platinum-selling solo star. Elliott forged new paths for women in the music industry and society at large through her behind-the-scenes mastery and unapologetic ownership of her body, her sexual desires, and her Blackness in her music.”
Most recently, a street in Portsmouth was named in Elliott’s honor.
A ceremony for the inductees will be hosted on Nov. 3 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com