- Missy Elliott received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at this year's MTV Video Music Awards tonight.
- The rapper and producer performed at the VMAs stage for the first time since 2003.
- She revisited some of her biggest hits, including "Work It," "The Rain," and "Lose Control".
Missy Elliott is finally MTV Video Vanguard Award recipient, and she proved that she earned every bit of the accolade with an epic performance at the VMAs tonight. The legendary producer and rapper took to the stage at tonight's award ceremony, 16 years after her last VMA set.
She really brought viewers through her hits, starting from her days-old track, "Throw It Back," all the way back to "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"; she even re-wore her iconic blow-up suit, helmet, and glasses from the video.
Fans were in for a surprise when Elliott brought dancer and actress Alyson Stoner to reprise her solo from the "Work It" music video. Other tracks in the set included "Get Ur Freak On," "Lose Control," and "Pass That Dutch."
The VMA recognition is long overdue for Elliott, who's delivered some iconic videos through her decades-long career, including "The Rain," "Lose Control," and "Work It." When MTV announced that Elliott would be this year's recipient, she was "humbly grateful," she explained on Instagram, and didn't even think she'd be able to receive the award.
"I am crying right now so thankful 😭 I didn’t know if I would ever receive this but I want y’all to know I do not take it for Granted I am GRATEFUL," she wrote in an emotional post.
Elliott is the latest star to win the Vanguard Award, following Jennifer Lopez (2018), Pink (2017), Rihanna (2016), Kanye West (2015), Beyoncé (2014), Justin Timberlake (2013), and Britney Spears (2011) in recent years.
To top off the Missy news, Elliott also dropped her first major release in 14 years on Friday. Called Iconology, the five-song EP includes a leading banger called "Throw It Back," which the hip-hop legend paired with another set of boundary-pushing visuals.
Fans sung her praises online.
It's safe to say we'll be listening to Missy Elliott for the rest of the year.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
