Name	Aaliyah
Img alt	Head and shoulders of a young woman with long, black hair and a broad facial expression, wearing a navy blue shirt baring the center of her chest along with a gold necklace that extends down her chest.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Aaliyah Dana Haughton
Alias
Born	January 16, 1979Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Died	August 25, 2001Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genre	R&B;, pop, hip hop
Occupation	Singer, dancer, actress, model
Years active	1991–2001
Label	Blackground, Jive, Atlantic, Virgin
Url

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah (), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B; Vocalist.

After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in July 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah's music has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. With album sales estimated to be between 24 to 32 million copies worldwide, Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B; and hip hop, earning her the nickname "Princess of R&B;".

Life and career

1979–1990: Early life

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. Born of African American and Native American descent, she was the second and younger child of Diane and Michael Haughton. Enrolled at a young age for voice lessons by her mother, She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where she received a part in the stage play Annie in first grade. From then on, she was determined to become an entertainer. Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to Gladys Knight. She then auditioned for several record labels and appeared in concerts alongside Knight at age 11.

1991–1995: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12. Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, Released in June 1994, the album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States. Aaliyah's debut single, "Back & Forth", topped the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The second single, a cover of The Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)", peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA.

With the release of Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated of a relationship between Aaliyah and Kelly. Shortly after, there was speculation about a secret marriage with the release of "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" and the adult content that Kelly had written for Aaliyah. Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple allegedly married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois. The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.|format=Ogg|pos=right}} In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed to Atlantic Records. One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200,

Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997 with a 4.0 grade point average. Aaliyah began her acting career that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover. During this time, Aaliyah participated the Children's Benefit Concert, a charity concert that took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York. She contributed on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a cover version of "Journey to the Past" which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to perform at the event. Later on that year Tommy Hilfiger gave her an endorsement deal, part of her deal was to model at various Tommy Hilfiger shows. Aaliyah's song Are You That Somebody? was featured on the Dr.Dolittle soundtrack. "Are You That Somebody?" was in the midst of its chart run when Billboard changed its policy to allow airplay-only singles to chart on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop charts. It climbed to number four on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and number one on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The single peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2000–2001: Romeo Must Die and eponymous album

In 2000, Aaliyah landed her first major movie role in Romeo Must Die. A loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed $18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office. In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, where she contributed four songs. "Try Again" was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on airplay; this led the song to be released in a 12" vinyl and 7" single. The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B; Vocalist. The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States.

After completing Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah began to work on her second film, Queen of the Damned. She played the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a "manipulative, crazy, sexual being". Aaliyah went on to release her eponymous album, Aaliyah, in July 2001. Produced primarily by Timbaland, The first single from the album, "We Need a Resolution", peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States. They made the decision to leave immediately. Against the advice of baggage handlers and the pilot, all the equipment from the shoot was loaded on to the plane. The group was unaware that the plane was unable to hold all the equipment of the Cessna 404 they had initially flown in by. Therefore, the aircraft exceeded the standard weight and balance tolerance limit provided by Cessna.

According to findings from an inquest, conducted by the coroner's office in The Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock and a weak heart. The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that "the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27." It also indicated that the pilot was not approved to pilot the plane he was attempting to fly. Morales falsely obtained his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways. Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Further investigations determined the plane was over its total gross weight by 700 pounds and was loaded with one more passenger than it was allowed to carry. John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association stated that the plane was "definitely overloaded". The NTSB reported that the total gross weight of the plane was "substantially exceeded", which caused the center of gravity to be pushed too far aft. An estimated 800 mourners were in attendance of the procession. Among those in attendance to the private ceremony were Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Gladys Knight, Lil' Kim and Sean Combs. After the service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of Aaliyah's life. She was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery.

The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. In addition, Morales was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Aaliyah's parents and was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize Aaliyah and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for "Rock the Boat". The case was dismissed due to New York's wrongful death statute only permitting certain people to recover damages for wrongful death.

Aftermath and posthumous career

The week after Aaliyah's death, her third studio album, Aaliyah, rose from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200. "Rock the Boat" was released as a posthumous single. The music video was premiered on Black Entertainment Television's Access Granted; it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was also included on the Now That's What I Call Music! 8 compilation series; a portion of the album's profits was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund. The following two singles from Aaliyah, "More than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U", peaked within the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100.

She won two posthumous awards at the American Music Awards of 2002; Favorite Female R&B; Artist and Favorite R&B;/Soul Album for Aaliyah. Her second and final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah's brother, Rashad, re-dubbed some of her lines during post-production. It grossed $15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office. On the first anniversary of Aaliyah's death, a candlelight vigil was held in Times Square, where millions of fans observed a moment of silence. Throughout the United States, radio stations played her music in remembrance. In December 2002, a collection of previously unreleased material was released as Aaliyah's first posthumous album, I Care 4 U. A portion of the proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon UCLA Women Cancer Research Program and Harlem's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 280,000 copies in its first week. The album's lead single, "Miss You", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Aaliyah was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey (recast to Jessica Alba). Some Kind of Blue and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle were canceled due to Aaliyah's death. Before her death, Aaliyah had filmed part of her role in The Matrix Reloaded and was scheduled to appear in The Matrix Revolutions as Zee. In 2005, Aaliyah's second compilation album, Ultimate Aaliyah was released in the UK by Blackground Records. Ultimate Aaliyah is a three disc set, which included a greatest hits audio CD and a DVD. Aaliyah described her sound as "street but sweet", which featured her "gentle" vocals over a "hard" beat. Though Aaliyah did not write any of her own material, She incorporated R&B;, pop and hip hop into her music. Her songs were often uptempo and melancholy, revolving around "matters of the heart". Her songs have been said to have "crisp production" and "staccato arrangements" that "extend genre boundaries" while containing "old-school" soul music. When she experimented with other genres, such as Latin pop and heavy metal, writers panned the attempt. Others felt that she was "satisfying rather than extraordinary", stating that she added little to modern R&B.;

As an artist, Aaliyah often voiced that she was inspired by a number of performers. These include Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sade, En Vogue, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Prince, Naughty by Nature, Johnny Mathis and Janet Jackson. Aaliyah expressed that Michael Jackson's Thriller was her "favorite album" and that "[n]othing will ever top Thriller." Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah's affections, commenting "I've loved her from the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically." Jackson also stated she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah. She described her image as being "important… to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack". She often wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan. Aaliyah participated in fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger's All America Tour and was featured in Tommy Jean ads, which depicted her in boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger's brother, Andy, called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy". In 1998, she hired a personal trainer to keep in shape, and exercised five days a week and ate diet foods. Aaliyah was praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".

Legacy

Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B; and hip hop in the 1990s, "leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole." Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the "elite" artists of the R&B; genre, as she "played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late '90s." Described as one of "R&B;'s most important artists" during the 1990s, her second studio album, One in a Million, became one of the most influential R&B; albums of the decade. According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, Aaliyah provided a "missing link" between hip hop and electronica. With sales of 8.1 million albums in the United States and an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide, Aaliyah has been named the "Princess of R&B;" and "prove[d] she was a muse in her own right". Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone dubbed her as the "undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on". In the same year, the United States Social Security Administration ranked the name Aaliyah one of the 100 most popular names for newborn girls. Aaliyah was ranked as one of "The Top 40 Women of the Video Era" and "100 Sexiest Artists" in VH1's 2003 The Greatest series. She was also ranked at number 18 on BET's "Top 25 Dancers of All Time". In memory of Aaliyah, the Entertainment Industry Foundation created the Aaliyah Memorial Fund to donate money raised to charities she supported. In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Aaliyah at number 70 on its Top Artists of the Decade, while her eponymous album was ranked at number 181 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.

Discography

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994)

One in a Million (1996)

Aaliyah (2001)

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" |- !style="background:#B0C4DE"|Year !style="background:#B0C4DE"|Title !style="background:#B0C4DE"|Role !style="background:#B0C4DE"|Notes |- |1997 |New York Undercover |Herself |"Fade Out" (season 3, episode 65) |- |2000 |Romeo Must Die |Trish O'Day |Feature film |- |2002 |Queen of the Damned |Queen Akasha |Feature film. Posthumous release |}

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of awards and nominations received by Aaliyah

List of fatalities from aviation incidents

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Category:1979 births Category:2001 deaths Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American dancers Category:African American female models Category:African American film actors Category:African American singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American sopranos Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Category:Hip hop singers Category:Jive Records artists Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Singers from New York City Category:Swing Mob artists Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Bahamas Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Universal Records artists

Name	Yu Dafu
Birthdate	December 07, 1896
Birthplace	Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Deathdate	September 17, 1945
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu () (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years

Yu Dafu's father died at when he was only three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a sort period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works

Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)

Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)

Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)

his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)

his second novel?? (1932)

Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.

References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links

Category:1896 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Chinese expatriates in Japan Category:Hangzhou High School alumni Category:People from Hangzhou Category:Republic of China poets Category:University of Tokyo alumni Category:Zhejiang University alumni

Name	Missy Elliott
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Melissa Arnette Elliott
Alias	Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
Born	July 01, 1971Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;, electronic dance music
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, designer
Years active	1991–present
Label	The Goldmind, East West, Elektra, Atlantic, Violator
Url

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), is an American recording artist, award winning producer, singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and clothing line designer.

With record sales of over seven million in the United States, Elliott is known for a series of hits and diverse music videos, including "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Hot Boyz", "Get Ur Freak On", "One Minute Man", "Work It", "Pass That Dutch", and "Lose Control". She is the only child of mother Patricia, a power-company coordinator, and father Ronnie, a Marine. At the age of four in 1975, she wanted to be a performer, though she knew no one took her seriously, as she was always the . While her father was a Marine, the family lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in a mobile home. Elliott enjoyed school for the friendships she formed and had little interest in school work, though an IQ test classified her above average and she was able to jump two years ahead of her class.

Elliott had an abusive father who beat her mother every day and beat Elliott once. At one point, he pulled a gun on them and they were forced outside naked. Elliott refused to stay over at any of her friends' homes for the fear that she would return and find her mother dead. In 1991, Fayze caught the attention of Jodeci member and producer DeVante Swing by performing Jodeci songs a cappella for him backstage after one of his group's concerts. In short order, Fayze moved to New York City and signed to Elektra Records through DeVante's Swing Mob imprint, also renaming the group Sista. Elliott took Mosley — whom DeVante re-christened Timbaland — and their friend Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff along with her.

All 20-plus members of the Swing Mob — among them future stars such as Ginuwine, Playa, and Tweet — lived in a single two-story house in New York and were often at work on material both for Jodeci and their own projects. selling 1.5 million copies and 3 million copies worldwide. She remarked, "I can't even explain the pressure. The last album took me a week to record. This one took almost two months…I couldn't rush it the second time because people expect more." Although not released as single and with no video, "Pussycat", peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is known as the best selling female rap album ever with 2.1 million copies sold in the United States. In 2003, Under Construction received Grammy nominations for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year.

The New York Times called Under Construction "this year's best hip-hop album."

Under Construction also included a track called "Back In The Day", a nostalgic ode to old school hip hop music and fashion that featured guest vocals from Jay-Z and Tweet. A video was shot and an article on MTV.com was posted, but the video was never released.

Early 2003, Elliott produced the "American Dream Remix" (featuring Tweet's additional vocals) of Madonna's single "American Life". In the summer of 2003, Elliott was the featured rapper on Timbaland & Magoo's long-awaited return single, "Cop That Shit"; the song was a modest hit at urban radio.

For the soundtrack to the Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles movie by the same name, Elliott produced "Fighting Temptation" (featuring herself, Beyoncé, Free and MC Lyte) which reached the number one spot in Japan but failed to chart in the U.S. Hot 100.

This Is Not a Test!

A year after Elliott's most successful album to date was released, Elliott felt pressured by her label to release another album, hoping to capitalize on her recent success. Elliott's singles, "Pass That Dutch" and "I'm Really Hot", from her fifth album, This Is Not a Test! (released November 2003), both rose the urban charts. However, both were not as successful at pop radio in comparison to many of her previous efforts. Elliott has since stated "This Is Not A Test! came out extremely too quickly for me. I didn't want it to come out when it did."

Also in 2003, Elliott was featured on Wyclef Jean's "Party to Damascus" and Ghostface Killah's "Tush" singles, the latter of which became a minor 2004 dance hit, and had a pivotal role in the film Honey, starring Jessica Alba. Gap approached Elliott later in the year to co-star in a commercial with Madonna, which received much media attention. Elliott furthered her relationship with Madonna by performing the controversial 2003 MTV Video Music Awards show opening alongside Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

In 2004, Elliott was featured on Ciara's hit single "1, 2 Step", with her verse interpolating Teena Marie's single, "Square Biz".

Elliott premiered her own reality show on the UPN Network, The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott in mid-2005. Although the series never made impressive ratings, it did maintain a solid audience. The winner, Jessica Betts, has yet to release an album or single, which was the prize of the show.

This Is Not A Test sold 143,600 in its first week of being released and sold 690,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The Cookbook

Following her less than usual sales from her previous album, Elliott wanted to "give people the unexpected" by utilizing producers other than Timbaland and a "more to the center" sound not as far left as her other music.

Block Party

In January 2008, Ching-a-Ling was released as the lead single for the Step Up 2 the Streets soundtrack. Shake Your Pom Pom, produced by Timbaland, is also on the soundtrack. Both songs may appear on Elliott's forthcoming album.

In an interview with Elle Magazine in June 2009, Missy Elliott announced an Autumn 2009 release of Block Party, her seventh studio album, but was later pushed back a 4th time to 2010. She reveals that "there are a lot of great collaborations on the record, but I can only give one away right now, and that's Lil Wayne."

Elliott's seventh studio album will also feature production from Timbaland, Danja, Pharrell Williams, Souldiggaz, T-Pain, Sef Millz & Mista Raja of Coalition Forces and Pointguard.

Missy Elliott hints to Billboard.com that "this album is probably more musical and melodic than my previous ones. A lot of my albums are really hip-hop-driven, with tinges of other music genres. But this album is hip-hop, with a sort of U.K. hip-hop sound to it." When asked why she chose the title "Block Party", she replies that "because there are a lot of dance joints on there. It's one of those albums you can play out in the streets."

On June 7, 2010, Missy Elliott performed at VH1's Hip Hop Honors: The Dirty South to do a tribute to long-time collaborator and friend Timbaland. Her performance included the hits "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It", both produced by Timbaland.

On August 18, 2010, Missy Elliott revealed via Twitter that she will release "Blow Ya Whistle" as an upcoming single from the long-awaited album.

Missy and Timbaland both hint via their Official Twitter pages (@MissyElliott, @Timbaland007) that 2011 will be the year they release new music.

Biographical film

In 2005, it was announced that there are plans to make a biographical film about the life story of Elliott and is to be shown in theaters. Producers include Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, and the film is being written and directed by Diane Houston. In mid-June 2007, Elliott said she was still working on the script with Diane Houston in order "to come up with the right stuff 'cause I don’t want it to be watered down. I want it to be raw and uncut the way my life was" Initially, it seemed Timbaland wouldn't be a part of the movie. When Missy asked him, he refused, citing he felt it dramatized his character; "the movie is about her life, her story, that goes deeper than putting me into the movie". However, Timbaland has since stated that he would reconsider if she could get others, including Ginuwine & Magoo to sign on.

Personal life

Elliott has also said that she wants to start a family, but is afraid of labor. She states, "I don't know if I can take that kind of pain [of labor]. Maybe in the year 2020 you could just pop a baby out and it'd be fine. But right now I'd rather just adopt. " In conjunction with her reality show The Road to Stardom, there was a contest for viewers to create a public service ad for the Break the Cycle foundation.

In 2004, Missy Elliott joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to promote their "Viva Glam" campaign. In addition to the ad campaign, Elliott promoted the MAC Viva Glam V lipstick from which 100% of the sale goes to the M.A.C AIDS Fund.

In 2007, Elliott appeared on a ABC's Extreme Makeover and awarded four scholarships for a weight loss program to four underprivileged teens.

Discography

; Albums

Supa Dupa Fly (1997)

Da Real World (1999)

Miss E... So Addictive (2001)

Under Construction (2002)

This Is Not a Test! (2003)

The Cookbook (2005)

Block Party (2011)

; Tours

Lilith Fair (1998)

Verizon Ladies First Tour (with Beyoncé and Alicia Keys) (2004)

Europe Tour (2010)

; Compilation Albums

Respect M.E. (2006)

; DVDs

Hits of Miss E… The Videos Vol.1 (2001)

Recipe of Hits: Music Video Anthology (2005)

Filmography

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Episode |- |1997 |Family Matters |Herself |"Original Gangster Dawg" (season 9, episode 203) |- |1998 |The Wayans Bros. |Herself |- |2003 |Eve |Herself,Guest appearance |"Missy Elliott In The Place" |- |2005 |MTV Cribs |Herself | |- |2005 |The Road to Stardom |Herself | |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |ego trip's Miss Rap Supreme |Herself |Season 1 |- |America's Best Dance Crew |Herself, Guest Judge |"Missy Elliott "Shake Ya Pom Pom" Challenge" (season 2, episode 7) |- |2010 |What Chilli Wants |Herself | |}

Films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- |2001 |Pootie Tang |Diva |- |2003 |Honey |Herself |- |rowspan="2"|2004 |Fade to Black |Herself |- |Shark Tale |(Singing Voice) |- |2005 |Just for Kicks |Herself |}

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Missy Elliott

Notes

References

External links

Category:1971 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American actors Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American musicians Category:African American songwriters Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Female rappers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Portsmouth, Virginia Category:Rappers from Virginia Category:Southern hip hop musicians Category:Swing Mob artists Category:Woodrow Wilson High School (Virginia) alumni