Missy Elliott plans to “Work It” at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards
The hitmaker will perform at the ceremony later this month and pick up the cable network’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, MTV announced Monday.
The rapper, songwriter and producer, who’s known for such hits as “Work It,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” and “Get Ur Freak On,” has been making groundbreaking music videos for over two decades. Yet, she’s been overlooked for the Video Vanguard Award until now.
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That didn’t sit well with Elliott’s fans, who launched several petitions urging MTV to recognize her body of work. Previous recipients of the award include Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Jennifer Lopez, who received the honor last year.
After learning she’d been selected, Elliott took to Instagram to thank MTV and her fans.
“I am humbly grateful to be receiving the MichaelJacksonVideoVanguard Award,” she wrote. “I Thank my fans ‘Supafriends’ who fought diligently to see this day come.”
The Virginia native became the first female rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in June 2019. She’s also won four Grammy Awards and taken home seven MTV Moon Person trophies.
MTV said in its announcement that Elliott “has been responsible for some of the most audacious looks, flyest choreography, and wildest visual effects seen onscreen.”
The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Monday, Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
