Missy Elliott famously broke new ground in her pioneering career, and now she’s written herself further into the history books by having the first rap song to ever be beamed into space.
The Virginia native teamed up with NASA on July 12 to transmit lyrics from her classic track “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to Venus, Missy’s favorite planet, roughly 158 million miles away.
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Brittany Brown, a director at NASA who came up with the idea, said in a statement: “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries.
“Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting.”
Missy said in a statement of her own: “I still can’t believe I’m going out of this world with NASA through the Deep Space Network when ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)’ becomes the first ever hip-hop song to transmit to space! I chose Venus because it symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment and I am so humbled to have the opportunity to share my art and my message with the universe!”
She later added on Instagram: “YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with @nasa and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment. The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”
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The only other song to have beamed into space is “Across the Universe” by the Beatles.
Missy Elliott recently kickstarted her Out of This World Tour with Busta Rhymes, Timbaland and Ciara.
Despite her legendary career, it is the rapper’s first ever headlining tour and will take the quartert across North America until late August.
“This is an incredible time in my life as I am experiencing so many milestone ‘firsts,’” Missy said in a press release. “Being the FIRST female Hip Hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now going out on my FIRST headline tour.
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“Fans have been asking me to tour forever but I wanted to wait until I felt the time was right because I knew if I was ever going to do it, I had to do it big, and I had to do it with family!”
