Hip-hop icon Missy Elliott and Atlantic Records will be honored at the National Museum of African American Music’s Celebration of Legends on June 2 at the museum in Nashville.
Elliott is scheduled to attend, as are Mya, one of the artists on the all-star remake of “Lady Marmalade” which Elliott produced; and Sylvia Rhone, chairwoman/CEO of Epic Records, who became senior vice president and general manager of Atlantic Records in 1986 and who worked with Elliott when she headed eastwest Records.
Previous honorees include Lionel Richie, Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson and the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Elliott was recently announced as the first female hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2019, she became the first female hip-hop artist/songwriter to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Elliott has amassed nine top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Work It,” which logged 10 weeks at No. 2. She also reached the runner-up spot as a featured artist on Ciara’s “1, 2 Step.” A four-time Grammy winner, Elliott has won video of the year at the VMAs twice, as a featured artist on “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink in 2001 and with her own “Work It” two years later.
Atlantic Records was founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. Over its first two decades, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American record labels, specializing in jazz, R&B and soul recordings by such artists as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Ruth Brown and Otis Redding. Its position was enhanced by its distribution deal with Stax Records. In 1967, Atlantic became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop.
The National Museum of African American Music was designed to celebrate and preserve African Americans’ influence on music and provide Nashville-area residents and visitors alike with diverse cultural offerings. The museum opened in 2021.
