Missy Elliott Makes History With Her Songwriters Hall Of Fame Nom

The Songwriters Hall of Fame might not directly have a gigantic glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei on the water downtown Cleveland. Case in point, its only real "homes" are a gallery indoors within the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and potentially a future basement installation at the Brill Building in New York — where scores of good songs were written. The awards aren't televised either, making it a comparatively low-key affair.


Yet Nile Rodgers chairs the board. Max Martin, Jay-Z, Tom Petty, Linda Perry, and dozens more have all been inducted. It's definitely not glitzy because the Rock Hall, although it usually have the goods, as 2019's nominees also propose. Crucially, the latest batch includes Missy Elliott, making her the opening female rapper to ever be nominated.


Missy will also perform at the ceremony next year, and also fellow nominees Mariah Carey; the Beach Men Mike Love; ELO's Jeff Lynne; '80s rock and pop stalwarts Chrissie Hynde and the Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart); reggae legend Jimmy Cliff; singer-songwriters Cat Stevens, John Prine, and Vince Gill; R&B singer Lloyd Price; and '60s/'70s psych-pop hitmaker Tommy James. You could visualize the whole list of noms here.


"I am so HUMBLY GRATEFUL to be nominated with so several Astonishing writers🙏🏾❤️," Missy wrote on Instagram. "I send a CONGRATULATIONS to all of the other nominees also🙌🏾🤗❤️."


If she gets in, Missy would become the third rapper to join, immediately after Jay and Jermaine Dupri. Because the AP by way of the Billboard) points out, songwriters are eligible to be nominated immediately after writing hit songs for at least 20 years. And boy, has Missy ever. We're talking about "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" and "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It" and "Gossip Folks" and "Lose Control" — and all of the songs she's penned for other artists, including Aaliyah, TLC, Ciara, and more.


The ceremony goes down in June 2019. Up until then, it's about time to throw on Under Construction again and practice your "Work It" backwards speak for karaoke.