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 鈥� along with legendary producer 鈥� will hit the road for Elliott鈥檚 first headlining arena tour, appropriately titled 鈥淥ut of This World 鈥� The Missy Elliott Experience.鈥�
鈥淟isten, I didn鈥檛 realize I never had my own tour,鈥� says a smiling Elliott, holding her tiny Yorkie, named Fendi, dressed in Gucci. 鈥淭he last real tour that I went on 鈥� like, consistent days 鈥� was with Beyonc茅 and Alicia (Keys).鈥�
That was in 2004.
Call it long overdue, but the timing is ideal. Over the last few years, Elliott 鈥� the forward-seeking artist 鈥� 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.
鈥淕etting those accolades, I feel like I鈥檝e finally made it,鈥� Elliott says. 鈥淚t feels amazing. I feel so blessed.鈥�
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing now is kind of the rest of the world catching up,鈥� says Mona Scott-Young, Elliott鈥檚 longtime manager and co-producer of the tour. 鈥淪he鈥檚 always been ahead.鈥�
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. (He鈥檚 the intro and outro voice on her 1997鈥檚 鈥淪upa Dupa Fly.鈥� They鈥檝e long since been inseparable.)
鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 really tour and she doesn鈥檛 perform often. I just kind of understood my sister 鈥� the unspoken thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou knew that if she decided to do this, go to the place where she was actually ready to tour, the s鈥�- 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.鈥�
He continued: 鈥淢issy will turn down $10 million to do a show. 鈥� She鈥檚 super in control of her destiny in that way, and without compromise, is what made her super incredibly great. You can鈥檛 do nothing but love her for that. She鈥檚 a true artist in the purest form of the word.鈥�
And make no mistake, this isn鈥檛 a nostalgia tour.
鈥淲e are in the best spaces in our lives, individually and collectively, we鈥檙e at the most experienced spaces in our lives,鈥� Rhymes says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e no longer Daniel-san. We鈥檙e now all Mr. Miyagi senseis. You know what I鈥檓 saying? We鈥檙e all at our perfection levels of what we鈥檝e been doing and building together as a collective family for 30 years.鈥�
Elliott echoed the sentiment.
鈥淭he lineup feels something special,鈥� says Elliott. 鈥淚t鈥檚 family. It鈥檚 not put together.鈥�
On set, the trio are styled by longtime collaborator June Ambrose 鈥� 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.
鈥淲hen I was a little girl, a little artist coming up, and you would ask me, 鈥榃ho inspires you?鈥� I would infuse a combination of people: Michael Jackson and Prince and I would say Missy Elliott. She鈥檚 one of the best performers of all time,鈥� she said.
鈥淪he means a lot to me as an artist but also as a person, as a sister. She鈥檚 always someone I can call for the truth, and she鈥檚 got to keep it real with me. She鈥檚 someone I can call and cry to if I need to.鈥�
But ask her if there will be any on-stage collaborations 鈥� Elliott wrote and was featured on Ciara鈥檚 huge hit 鈥�1, 2 Step鈥�; Ciara鈥檚 on Elliott鈥檚 鈥淟ose Control鈥� 鈥� she laughs. 鈥淢issy鈥檚 very particular. I don鈥檛 want to ruin any surprises,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think from beginning to end, people will be on their feet. All of us have a lot of energetic records.鈥�
鈥淪omebody鈥檚 gonna die!鈥� Rhymes jokes.
鈥淎nd come back to life,鈥� Ciara cuts in.
鈥淟et鈥檚 keep it positive,鈥� Rhymes laughs. 鈥淪omeone is gonna die and come back to life.鈥�
Later, Elliott offers a hint at what fans can expect from the show. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an experience, it鈥檚 not just you seeing the artist on the stage,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 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!鈥�
The 鈥淥ut of This World 鈥� The Missy Elliott Experience鈥� 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 Young鈥檚 Monami Entertainment and Live Nation. Presale , and tickets will become available to the general public on Friday.
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