Missy Elliott officially became the first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame November 3 at the induction ceremony in Brooklyn, New York.
Missy’s friend Sandra “Pepa” Denton of Salt-N-Pepa came out to support her, and on the red carpet, she told ABC Audio how impressive it is that Missy’s talents go far beyond simply rapping.
“To be a songwriter, producer, singer, dancer, director … and not only for herself, but for other artists that she has also made a star, you know? And it was, it’s just amazing,” she gushed. “I’m happy for her because I’m happy to have seen where hip hop has evolved. And women in hip hop.”
Pepa added that it was great to see Missy walk through the doors that she, Salt and DJ Spinderella kicked down in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
“It feels amazing. I mean, because she always talks about it. I mean, she even [has] a whole big picture up of Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella in her music room,” she shared. “So it’s amazing because like, from where we coming from and the struggle that we’ve been through, just to be here 50 years celebrating hip hop as a woman, it’s a proud moment because just to see the levels that we took the game, you know, for the music and she did it. And it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of it.”
Asked by ABC Audio if she hopes that her group will be next on the induction list — given that they laid much of the groundwork that allowed Missy to shine — Pepa said, “Yes, yes, yes.”
“I got a few pieces in the museum, so hopefully,” she laughed.
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