Missy Elliott's legacy may not have existed today without Puff Daddy's encouragement, the “WTF” singer revealed in a new clip from her episode of Pharrell's BeatsONE show OTHERtone, airing in full this Sunday at 3PM EST.
In the heyday of Bad Boy Records, Missy Elliot was contemplating giving up rap to focus on a label as well as writing and producing for other artists. However, a chance studio encounter with Puff Daddy changed all that: “He came over and said 'Yo money, you still rap? I got this record I want you to hop on.' I was so nervous.” That record became Gina Thompson's “The Things You Do” remix, which put Missy's famous “Hee Hee Hee Hee How” punchline everywhere, something Elliott acknowledges represented a new sound for rap: “I don't think Puffy knows what he did for hip-hop. He intertwined hip-hop and R&B and he made it so people weren't intimidated.”
Elliot also gives some insight into working with Pharrell, and how maintaining her creative integrity is key. Watch those clips below.
