Missy Elliott “didn’t know what was hot” before she released her debut album.
The 50-year-old star has revealed that she didn’t listen to the radio or watch music videos prior to releasing ‘Supa Dupa Fly’ in 1997.
Missy – who worked with acclaimed producer Timbaland on the record – shared: “For my first album, I didn’t listen to the radio. I didn’t watch videos. I didn’t do any of those things, and I didn’t realise how much that helped me at the time. But it helped, because me and Timb, we didn’t mimic.
“So if we did something far-left, we weren’t afraid, because we didn’t know what was hot anyway. But now, when I got my phone and I’m seeing things, I can think of something really far-left and then I’ll be like, ‘They’re going to think I’m crazy. Let me reel it back.’”
Missy thinks it’s important that younger artists don’t fall into the trap of second-guessing themselves.
She told Interview magazine: “It gets tricky sometimes, so here’s some advice. Whatever you’re doing, if you feel like you’re in this place, and it seems to be working, stay there. Don’t allow other things to make you second-guess yourself, as long as it feels good to you.”
Missy also insisted she’s never obsessed about her chart performance.
In fact, the rap star only recently learned that one of her best-known tracks never made it to the top of the charts.
She said: “When we were first coming out, we didn’t even think about the charts.
“I thought that maybe ‘Work It’ had gone to number one, but I didn’t find out until this year that it never did. We just wanted to have our records playing in the club.”
