Missy Elliott Is Back, People!

It’s official. Missy Elliott – the multi-platinum selling, Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer generally considered to be one of the most creative and forward-thinking minds in hip hop – is set to release her first solo material in seven years in a matter of days.

Her long-term collaborator and close friend Timbaland revealed the news on Twitter that her two new singles 9th Inning and Triple Threat are due to drop this Labor Day Weekend, which historically falls on the first Monday of September. The singles will be followed by her extensively delayed ‘Block Party’ album, which as of yet is without an official release date.

Needless to say the news of her return has made her fans suitably fired up, as there have been equal parts anticipation and doubt in recent years about her return to the studio as a solo artist. Although she has continued to occasionally produce for the likes of Monica, Keyshia Cole and J. Cole her last full length album was ‘The Cookbook’, which dropped all the way back in 2005.

Her absence as a solo artist hasn’t been due to a personal creative hiatus though. Elliott spoke to The Guardian last year about the lengthy wait for new material due to her ongoing struggle with Graves’ Disease, an autoimmune disease which once left her so debilitated that she “couldn’t even use a pen.”

Considering her continuing illness the news of her return was all the more unexpected, but it’s more than welcomed by all at Dummy. Her characteristically playful sense of humour and innovative production style have made her one of the most interesting figures in modern hip hop. Here’s hoping her return will continue to show that.