#VitalFactz: Happy Birthday - Missy Elliot

Happy Bornday Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott. Born July 1, 1971. Missy started off in the early 90's forming a female group called Fayze (later renamed Sista). She recruited a neighborhood friend Timothy Mosely (better known as Timbaland) to be the group's producer. In 1991, Fayze caught the attention of Jodeci member and producer DeVante Swing by performing Jodeci songs acappella for him backstage after one of his group's concerts. Missy & her group joined Devante's Swing Mob family & took Timbaland with her. Missy & Timbaland contributed to Jodeci's albums Diary of a Mad Band & The Show, The Afterparty, The Hotel. After leaving Swing Mob, Elliott and Timbaland worked together as a songwriting/production team, crafting tracks for acts including SWV and 702, but the most notable of them was Aaliyah. In 1997 Missy released her debut album Supa Dupa Fly. This album reached Platinum status (the first of 5 consecutive albums to so) & peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot 200 Albums Chart. It included the singles The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), Sock It 2 Me & Beep Me 911. Her follow-up album Da Real World featured the singles She's A Bitch & Hot Boyz. Her third album, 2001's Miss E... So Addictive featured the singles Get Ur Freak On, One Minute Man & Take Away. Her fourth album, 2002's Double Platinum selling Under Construction features Gossip Folks & the Platinum selling single Work It. Missy has 6 studio albums to date. In 2007 Missy was inducted into the Fourth Annual VH-1 Hip Hop Honors.