Edd’s MANtra: The Long Awaited Return of Missy Elliott

By now, Georgia Mae fans have heard me harp on endlessly about my favorite artists, especially Keith Sweat and the Notorious B.I.G.


But rarely do I get the chance to mention another of my all-time favorites, Missy Elliott. Missy, who hails from my hometown, Portsmouth, Va., has used her insane creativity to become arguably the greatest female hip hop artist of all time.


But besides sparse cameos and a couple of production credits, Misdemeanor has been laying low since her last album, The Cookbook, was released in 2005. Finally, we now know why, thanks to the newest installment of Vh1’s Behind the Music. From vibe.com:

According to Brad Abramson, executive producer for Missy’s VH1 Behind the Music (premiering June 29) the visionary suffered from painful health problems. “Missy was great and very candid. She talked for the first time about her [near fatal bout with] Graves disease, which she’s been battling for the last few years, and spoke in detail about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child.” Missy opened up about her fight with the autoimmune disease even more saying: “You live with it the rest of your life. I couldn’t write because my nervous system was so bad. I couldn’t even use a pen.”

Graves disease is an incurable autoimmune disorder caused by an overactive thyroid. Despite the illness, Missy vows that a comeback will happen in the foreseeable future.


Check your local listings and peep Missy’s Behind the Music tonight. To get you in the mood, relive the greatest music video ever made: