Missy Elliott has been named on the shortlist for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, joining Mariah Carey, Chrissie Hynde and Cat Stevens among the list of nominees for 2019. The announcement by the New York-based organisation earlier this week marks a major landmark for the Music industry, given that Elliott is the first female rapper to have been nominated for the prestigious honour in its five-decade history.
Should she be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Elliott would join an elite list of musicians from her musical genre, with only the highly acclaimed Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri (aka JD) having previously entered the fabled institution.
It would be a due reward and a fitting tribute to her status on the rap and music scene in general though, after topping album sales for a female hip hop artist during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Collaborated with many leading acts
The celebrity singer and record producer has also worked with many of the industry’s major acts during a successful career, including the likes of Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Macy Gray, and the late Aaliyah.
Elliott was 'humbly grateful'
Elliott was understandably delighted by the news, taking to Twitter in the aftermath to express that she was “humbly grateful to be nominated with so many other amazing writers” before generously offering her “congratulations to all of them also." She didn’t echo the sentiments of many fans who believed that her nomination was long overdue, instead indicating that she believed that it was due reward for a lengthy career in the business and that she was “thankful just to be on the list.”
Talent across the musical spectrum
Joining Elliott on the list are a variety of musical talents, covering a wide spectrum of what the industry has to offer.
Besides the individual brilliance of Carey, Hynde, and Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam), notable joint songwriters such as Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (the Eurythmics) also feature. Jeff Lynne who co-founded the rock band ELO and Mike Love of the Beach Boys join the nominees, in addition to Tommy James of the late 60s and early 70s American rock group the Shondells.
The latest set of nominees will have to wait a little longer to hear if they have been successful, given that the official induction ceremony will be at the institution’s gala event on June 13th, 2019. Then the music industry will learn which six songwriters (or groups of songwriters) will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame.