We already knew she was immortal, but since the official decision was taken last Tuesday, Missy Elliott is now entering a whole new level – that of a demigoddess. Like rappers J Dilla and Guru, who both have a street named after them in Montpellier, France, the 51-year-old American rapper will also have a street named after her. In Portsmouth, her hometown of 100,000 inhabitants located southeast of Washington, she will soon be able to read “Missy Elliott Boulevard” engraved on a small sign at the corner between two roads.
This is not the first tribute paid to the artist who has revolutionized women’s rap in the 1990s with two major and memorable albums – Supa Supa Fly (1997) and Da Real World (1999) – and who has established herself as one of the top hip-hop artists maintaining a career and a specific flow over the years, along with Mary J. Blige. Last year, she unveiled her star on the coveted, though quite mainstream, Hollywood Walk of Fame. If Portsmouth City Council approved its inhabitants’ request to dedicate a street to her, it may mean that a wave of recognition of the contribution of hip-hop artists to American culture by the institutions is on its way…
Missy Elliott Boulevard will be located in Portsmouth, Virginia, United States.
