How Missy Elliott decided to do her 1st headlining tour after nearly 3 decades of stardom

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Nearly three decades after Missy Elliott burst into the spotlight with her debut album “Supa Dupa Fly,” the hip-hop icon is finally setting out on her first-ever headlining tour this summer.

We’ll pause while that sinks in, because, frankly, it’s such an unexpected thing to hear that at first it feels like it can’t possibly be true.

“I’ve had people argue with me: ‘No, no, no, you’re wrong,’” says Mona Scott-Young, Elliott’s manager since 1996 just before that first album arrived. “And I’m like, ‘No, I think I would know. I was there.’

“It’s pretty unimaginable,” Scott-Young continues. “Because she’s had so many milestone accomplishments, right? Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, every imaginable songwriter’s award. And you think of touring as just a natural extension of an artist that has had such an illustrious career.

“But yeah, historically she just has never felt that the time was right. Until now.”

Elliott has periodically popped up at festivals and as a guest artist over the years. But the only multi-city tour Elliott’s ever done was two decades ago when in 2004 when she opened for Alicia Keys and Beyoncé on the Verizon Ladies First Tour.

Accompanying Elliott on the Out of This World: Missy Elliott Experience tour are such longtime friends and collaborators as Busta Rhymes, Timbaland and Ciara. The tour kicked off July 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In an interview edited for clarity and length, Scott-Young talked about Elliott’s decision to finally headline her own tour now, her reasons for not doing so earlier, and how she has many albums worth of new music recorded yet has not released a new studio album since 2005.

Q: So how did this happen? How did you learn she was ready to tour?

A: Well, we get offers constantly, which she goes, “Mmm, no, mmm, no.” And a big part of it is because she has such an incredible imagination in terms of what she wants to see happen. I often say it’s like a spectacle. She doesn’t just step onto a stage. It’s got to be all the bells and whistles, because she comes from thinking that people pay good money, and they should get entertained.

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