“Ching-Ching, gettin’ paid over here!”
How many female MC’s were breaking out to form their own hip-hop labels in the late 90’s? Arguably just one --- and to no surprise, that mogul’s name is Missy Elliot.
Missy has had her creative hands intertwined with hip-hop since the early 90’s. After leaving Swing Mob, the group that’s credited for initiating her success, Elliot teamed up with Timbaland to write & produced 9 tracks for Aaliyah’s 1996 sophomore album, “One in a Million.” Elliott contributed background vocals to nearly all of the tracks on which she and Timbaland worked, and with her help, the album went double platinum.
Recently honored with a tribute at this year’s Hip-Hop Honors, Missy Elliott has been an industry trailblazer since creating her own slice of the Elektra Entertainment Group pie in 1996. After the success of her background work came to fruition, she made a seamless transition to center stage. She developed her own imprint of the label and named it The GoldMind Inc., for which she’d record as a solo artist.
In 1997 Missy Elliott released her debut album “Supa Dupa Fly,” making it The Goldmind, Inc.'s official entrance into the music industry. The album was produced by her business partner and friend, Timbaland, and included four hit singles that never failed to grace the line-up of the industry’s hottest charts: "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Sock It 2 Me", "Beep Me 911" and "Hit 'Em Wit Da Hee".
The work being produced by Missy & Timbaland put GoldMind in the limelight. In 1998, Elliott was asked to Executive Produce, along with Timbaland, Sylvia Rhone and Merlin Bobb, the soundtrack to the film Why Do Fools Fall In Love, which was kind of a big deal, since the movie was starring Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon and Larenz Tate. And if that wasn’t cool enough, the soundtrack would also include tracks from leading vocalists, such as Destiny’s child, Busta Rhymes, En Vougue, Lil’ Mo and Mel B.