Missy Elliott Recalls Creating Some Of Her Most Classic Music Videos
Missy Elliott is fresh off of winning a long-overdue Vanguard award during Monday night’s (August 26) MTV Video Music Awards after nearly two decades of fire videos for songs like “Work It” and “Get Your Freak On.”
During a phone interview with the Associated Press and says she never realized her videos would have such a profound effect so many years later.
“I was just doing these videos and ... it wasn’t like I was doing them and trying to make a point for later down the line. I was just doing it,” she said. “A lot of people say, ’Hey you should have gotten (this award) a long time ago and I realize that I’m a spiritual person and so I always say, ‘I’m on God’s time.’ And so whenever God says it was time for me to have it is the correct time.”
During the VMAs, the Virginia rapper performed many of her greatest hits, like “Lose Control,” “Get Ur Freak On,” and “Throw It Back.” Perhaps the most memorable moment though during her set was when she brought out former child dancer Alyson Stoner for a rendition of “Work It,” and famously revived her moves from 2002.
“It’s been 17 years since we shot that video,” Elliott said. “I couldn’t have done it without (Alyson). I was like, ’I’ve got to have Alyson in here because everywhere I went since then people have always been like, ‘What happened to that little girl that used to be in your ‘Work It’ video?’”
During her Vanguard acceptance speech, Missy honored Aaliyah. In her AP interview, she explained why it was so important to keep the late R&B singer’s name alive.
“I always pay tribute to her. And I’m always in contact with her brother, you know, checking on them. Even though each year makes it a year longer, it always still feels like it was yesterday,” Elliott said of Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash 18 years ago last Sunday.
“I could still hear her laughter and I could see her smile and almost kind of could sense what she would be like today. She’s always been a risk taker and never a follower because when she chose to work with Timbaland and myself, we had style that was so different; she could have picked any other producer and writer that was already hot and popping,” she continued. “We hadn’t had anything out but she heard something in us and so I know that she would have just been setting the bar high.”
You can read the full AP interview here.
