Missy Elliott recently shared how she feels about being a mentor for the next generation of rappers and how those before her influenced her.

Missy said, “Women have played a big part in what we call hip-hop in- in this culture.”

She continued,

“These women are my friends, and we don’t just come together when it’s time to perform; we speak on the phone and hang around each other.”

She added,

“I always think about how these are the same women that I looked up to and still do. They have kicked down the doors for all the women you see today in 2023. Even if the women that are out now may not be familiar with all of their records, they have to know that these women are the reason they’re able to be on many of these platforms.”

Missy continued, “So when you have that mentor, it’s everything, especially someone who has already been on that walk. It’s very important for me to be a big sister to those coming behind me because I had

Queen Latifah,

MC Lyte, and

Salt-N-Pepa be that to me.”