At a 24,000-square-foot studio near downtown Los Angeles, , Busta Rhymes and Ciara are preparing to film the video announcement for a tour no one saw coming.
This summer, the trio sa国际传媒� along with legendary producer sa国际传媒� will hit the road for Elliottsa国际传媒檚 first headlining arena tour, appropriately titled sa国际传媒淥ut of This World sa国际传媒� The Missy Elliott Experience.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淟isten, I didnsa国际传媒檛 realize I never had my own tour,sa国际传媒� says a smiling Elliott, holding her tiny Yorkie, named Fendi, dressed in Gucci. sa国际传媒淭he last real tour that I went on sa国际传媒� like, consistent days sa国际传媒� was with Beyonc茅 and Alicia (Keys).sa国际传媒�
That was in 2004.
Call it long overdue, but the timing is ideal. Over the last few years, Elliott sa国际传媒� the forward-seeking artist sa国际传媒� has been recognized for her talents as a musician, producer, .
In 2019, she became the first female rapper inducted into the and received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2021, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2022, her hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia, after her. Last year, she became inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
sa国际传媒淕etting those accolades, I feel like Isa国际传媒檝e finally made it,sa国际传媒� Elliott says. sa国际传媒淚t feels amazing. I feel so blessed.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淲hat wesa国际传媒檙e seeing now is kind of the rest of the world catching up,sa国际传媒� says Mona Scott-Young, Elliottsa国际传媒檚 longtime manager and co-producer of the tour. sa国际传媒淪hesa国际传媒檚 always been ahead.sa国际传媒�
In his green room, tells the AP that a tour had never come up in conversation across his decades of friendship and collaboration with Elliott. (Hesa国际传媒檚 the intro and outro voice on her 1997sa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淪upa Dupa Fly.sa国际传媒� Theysa国际传媒檝e long since been inseparable.)
sa国际传媒淪he doesnsa国际传媒檛 really tour and she doesnsa国际传媒檛 perform often. I just kind of understood my sister sa国际传媒� the unspoken thing,sa国际传媒� he says. sa国际传媒淵ou knew that if she decided to do this, go to the place where she was actually ready to tour, the ssa国际传媒�- was going to be crazy because one thing Missy never did was play with her production. And you saw that in everything she did, from her shows to her videos.sa国际传媒�
He continued: sa国际传媒淢issy will turn down $10 million to do a show. sa国际传媒� Shesa国际传媒檚 super in control of her destiny in that way, and without compromise, is what made her super incredibly great. You cansa国际传媒檛 do nothing but love her for that. Shesa国际传媒檚 a true artist in the purest form of the word.sa国际传媒�
And make no mistake, this isnsa国际传媒檛 a nostalgia tour.
sa国际传媒淲e are in the best spaces in our lives, individually and collectively, wesa国际传媒檙e at the most experienced spaces in our lives,sa国际传媒� Rhymes says. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e no longer Daniel-san. Wesa国际传媒檙e now all Mr. Miyagi senseis. You know what Isa国际传媒檓 saying? Wesa国际传媒檙e all at our perfection levels of what wesa国际传媒檝e been doing and building together as a collective family for 30 years.sa国际传媒�
Elliott echoed the sentiment.
sa国际传媒淭he lineup feels something special,sa国际传媒� says Elliott. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 family. Itsa国际传媒檚 not put together.sa国际传媒�
On set, the trio are styled by longtime collaborator June Ambrose sa国际传媒� all-black looks, like if the Avengers were impeccably dressed and made up of R&B and hip-hop legends. They take photos as a group and individually.
After her solo photo shoot, starts to tear up.
sa国际传媒淲hen I was a little girl, a little artist coming up, and you would ask me, sa国际传媒榃ho inspires you?sa国际传媒� I would infuse a combination of people: Michael Jackson and Prince and I would say Missy Elliott. Shesa国际传媒檚 one of the best performers of all time,sa国际传媒� she said.
sa国际传媒淪he means a lot to me as an artist but also as a person, as a sister. Shesa国际传媒檚 always someone I can call for the truth, and shesa国际传媒檚 got to keep it real with me. Shesa国际传媒檚 someone I can call and cry to if I need to.sa国际传媒�
But ask her if there will be any on-stage collaborations sa国际传媒� Elliott wrote and was featured on Ciarasa国际传媒檚 huge hit sa国际传媒�1, 2 Stepsa国际传媒�; Ciarasa国际传媒檚 on Elliottsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淟ose Controlsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� she laughs. sa国际传媒淢issysa国际传媒檚 very particular. I donsa国际传媒檛 want to ruin any surprises,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淚 think from beginning to end, people will be on their feet. All of us have a lot of energetic records.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淪omebodysa国际传媒檚 gonna die!sa国际传媒� Rhymes jokes.
sa国际传媒淎nd come back to life,sa国际传媒� Ciara cuts in.
sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 keep it positive,sa国际传媒� Rhymes laughs. sa国际传媒淪omeone is gonna die and come back to life.sa国际传媒�
Later, Elliott offers a hint at what fans can expect from the show. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 an experience, itsa国际传媒檚 not just you seeing the artist on the stage,sa国际传媒� she says. sa国际传媒淚 want people to travel to those moments, , I want you to relive it on stage. It is most definitely a lot of good, good stuff. Expensive stuff!sa国际传媒�
The sa国际传媒淥ut of This World sa国际传媒� The Missy Elliott Experiencesa国际传媒� kicks off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 4 at Rogers Arena and concludes in Rosemont, Illinois, at Allstate Arena on Aug. 22.
It will hit Seattle; Oakland, California; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Denver; Austin, Texas; Houston; Fort Worth, Texas; Tampa, Florida; Sunrise, Florida; Atlanta; Baltimore; Hampton, Virginia; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Newark, New Jersey; Boston; Brooklyn, New York; Detroit; Montreal and Toronto.
The tour is produced by Youngsa国际传媒檚 Monami Entertainment and Live Nation. Presale , and tickets will become available to the general public on Friday.
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