Courtesy of Derek Blanks
It's hard to believe, but Missy Elliott has never gone on a solo headlining tour — the last time she toured regularly was with Beyoncé in promotion of her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, and with Alicia Keys and Tamia on the Verizon Ladies First Tour in 2004.
“I just thought it was about time,” Elliott told Variety about Out of This World – The Missy Elliott Experience, which kicks off in Vancouver on July 4. “It's the right time, especially for fans of my generation who haven't had the chance to see me do a headline tour, but also the new generation.”
Though the iconic multi-artist hasn't released a solo album since 2005's “The Cookbook,” she's made a huge impact on pop music in the decades since. Everywhere you look, you'll find hints of Elliott's singular, reality-subverting art and music that permeates contemporary culture. Aside from her somewhat sporadic output (guest appearances, a jaw-dropping performance at the MTV Video Music Awards), Elliott continues to inspire fans who've been captivating her since 1997's “Supa Dupa Fly,” as well as legions of younger fans who first discovered her music on social media.
A headline tour at this point is a natural peak in a series of milestones for Elliott. She's riding high on her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductions; plus, her hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia, has a street named after her. With Out of This World, it felt right to spread her magic across the country, alongside frequent career collaborators Busta Rhymes and Ciara, and longtime buddy Timbaland. It's been years since Elliott released a full-length album, but it only feels right to bring players into the world she's built, bringing them to life one arena show at a time.
Elliott, 52, is currently working on whittling down the dozens of hits she's released as a solo artist or written and produced for other artists for her upcoming tour—perhaps including some crossovers with Rimes, who opens and closes “Supa Dupa Fly,” and Ciara, who's always been around Elliott (and vice versa). But for now, she's reflecting on the work that got her here and what it takes to translate that into a regular live show.
This is your first headlining tour ever, so the question is, why now?
Well, I had opportunities before and I was busy producing other artists and writing songs. Then one day, all of a sudden, I wanted to go on tour. Of course, my team thought I was just playing around. But the next day, my manager called me and asked me, are you sure? Was what I said a joke? No, I want to go on tour, I'm serious this time.
For you, what is the difference between being a headliner and being part of the larger Vision tour that you co-star in?
Yeah, this is definitely a different vibe because now it's a big question of what to do because I'm the headliner. But it's fun. I really feel like a kid in a candy store. So I'm trying to bring it all out on stage. But we have Busta and Ciara. I'm really looking forward to it because I didn't just pick who's hot right now. They're just hot because they have so many timeless hits. But I wanted that energy to match my energy, so I trust that everyone has the same energy. It's you and me dancing the whole time.
Naturally, you mention Ciara, Busta and Timbaland – you've collaborated with these artists multiple times throughout your career – are there plans for any crossovers between sets?
It's very possible. You never know. I would love for you all to come and see it. Trust me, I try not to tell you how great it will be. But it's possible. Yes. [Laughs]
You've been performing crowd-pleasing performances at award shows for the past few years, but embarking on a headlining tour is a different story – what's it like condensing your discography into a tight setlist?
It's been hard. That's probably the hardest part, because all day long, people are tweeting under my posts saying, “I want you to release this record.” We're all going to be onstage for five hours! So I'm trying to mix things up to please everybody, but I know it's impossible. But I'm getting close.
Are you planning on including songs from before “Supa Dupa Fly,” such as songs by Fayze or Sista?
Oh, no, if we go back that far, definitely, if we go back that far, you'll be coming back all week. You'll be coming back every day for a week. So, no, we're definitely going to start with “Rain.” We'll be given that information. We'll start there.
June 22nd marks the 25th anniversary of “Da Real World.” Do you remember working with Timbaland? That album seemed like the future then, and it still seems like the future now. How do you feel looking back on it?
That album was stressful. [Laughs] That was the most stressful album for me. And I came to appreciate that album later on. If you know about album timing and second albums, you would call it the second album jinx. Especially if your first album is successful, it's stressful because you're chasing that first one. So that album was a success for me. So I was trying to find something bigger visually and sonically than “The Rain.” Looking back after so many years, that was probably one of the most creative albums. [periods] It was hip-hop mixed with theatricality. When you listen to the songs, there's a lot of strings. I don't want to say dark strings, but very theatrical, dramatic strings. It reminds me of the album “All N My Grill” with Redman…
“Dangerous mouth.”
See! You know that better than me! So all of that…even the breakdown in “She's a Bitch”…it was all so dramatic. So that album stands as one of my best albums. It was stressful at the time, but looking back, yeah, we were in the pocket, in a different kind of pocket, still hip-hop but still theatrical, so blending the two was great.
For years you guys have been teasing “Block Party.” In 2019 you released the “Iconology” EP. Last year Tim said you guys were gearing up and hoping for an album to be released in the summer. So the question people always ask you is “how is it going?”
Well, I don't know. It's like this [tour] It just came out of nowhere. We've been talking about “The Rain” for years, and it's been 27 years. And now I'm going on tour. It's one of those things I think about with music. You never know when I'm going to decide, “Okay, now is the time to put out a whole album.”
How much music do you think you've accumulated as a solo record since “The Cookbook”?
Oh my goodness. [Laughs] Can you imagine someone like Prince answering that question? I can probably speak for a lot of those types of people, songwriters and producers, that they're always recording. So I think at this point I have at least six albums' worth of music.
Miss… come on!
Yeah. Tim always says to me, “What are you waiting for? So what are you waiting for?” And I'm like, “I don't know.” But yeah, I believe there will come a day where everybody's just going on their own path, and everybody's just going to look online and see my album release date. So yeah, I think it's going to happen sooner or later.
You've been in the industry for decades, released so many amazing albums, and accomplished so much, have you ever had the time to stop and reflect on your accomplishments, take a step back and look at what you've accomplished and see it objectively, or are you still blown away by it?
Wow. I've been telling people this. I'm starting to realize those things now. Sometimes I feel like, wow, I've been in this industry a long time, and now, okay, maybe I'm building a legacy here. Maybe I have a lot going for me, and I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is definitely the icing on the cake. All of those things, a lot of things that I've been sitting and reflecting on. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, having a boulevard named after me. All of these different things. But I've been running for most of my career, if I wasn't making records for myself, I was making records for other artists, so I just kept on running without even thinking about those things. And now I can. My cousin slammed me the other day and was like, “I'm in LA, I'm on my way to see your star!” And it makes me happy when he's like, “We're so proud of you!” Because it was one of my cousin's houses that I used to clean. I used to clean his house, and now he's like, “You can come clean my house whenever you feel like it!”