Missy Elliott
at San Manuel, Thursday, July 10
By: Anh Nguyen
50 Cent, Jay-Z, and Nas—names of some to be considered the best hip hop artist of all time. Among these heavy hitters, one wouldn’t think Missy Elliot would be compared to such widely popular commercial artists. Coming off her 2008 BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop artist, Missy will bring her swagger and style to the San Manual Indian Bingo & Casino tonight and, as it seems with every mold-breaking music video she puts out (both conceptually and technically), it’s likely she’ll resonate that live on stage. Block Party is the follow up to Elliott’s 2005 Grammy nominated album The Cookbook, due in August. Her first single, “Ching-a-Ling,” was the lead song on the soundtrack for the sequel to the chick-flick dance movie, Step Up. The 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors honoree will bring her story to the big screen soon, as well. Universal Pictures, along with some high-powered producers (De Niro, Rosenthal) and director Diane Houston, will help Missy usher her story to the masses. How many of you knew about her early membership to R&B groups such as Sista and Swing Mob? Don’t forget—Elliott was the first to work with mega producer Timbaland before he blew up artists to superstar multi-platinum status to the likes of Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, The Pussycat Dolls and Flo-Rida. Keeping with the theme of the album, Elliott hosted block parties around the 4th of July. Lets hope she brings out the fireworks and BBQ at her show tonight. (Anh Nguyen)
Missy Elliott at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino, 777 San Manuel Blvd., Highland, (800) 359-2464. Thursday, July 10. Tickets $60, $70, $80; Doors at 6:30PM
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