If you caught the MTV Video Music Awards you might have seen Missy Elliott give her acceptance speech for receiving the Michael Jackson’s MTV Video Vanguard award. During this time, she thanked numerous people who helped to shape her groundbreaking career, notably one of those being Love & Hip Hop’s executive producer and creator Mona Scott. We caught up with Scott on the red carpet prior to the MTV Video Music Awards to get the inside scoop about her relationship with Missy Elliott and how both of them have gone on to challenge the status quo in an industry that isn’t always keen on strong women of color.
As to the relationship with Missy Elliott, Scott jokes “there is so much more to me than what I do—most people know Love & Hip Hop, [but that] is one very successful facet of what I do….I only managed her [Missy Elliott] for twenty-something years, [basically] her entire career. Scott noted, “I don’t know … everyone got so caught up in Love and Hip Hop that they forgot the truth.”
Scott didn’t hold back when it came to the importance of tonight for Missy Elliott. “Tonight is the culmination of a life’s work. We’ve been together 20 something years. Scott added, “she has always been iconic, groundbreaking, mind-bending, genre exploding and to see her finally get recognized that working that creativity is just amazing.” Scott followed up by saying, “She’s been working so hard; I think people are going to be blown away yet again with her performance tonight.”
Scott went on to say that Missy has evolved over the years. “I’ve watched Missy go from being this really shy young girl who’s trying to find her voice in an industry that really wasn’t designed for people who look like her and she’s become the super-empowered super confidence super creative entity that has permeated our culture, permeated music and dared us to think bigger and broader especially for young girls who may have not thought that they could have all the things that she’s managed to do. So I have watched her blossom into an incredible creative genius.”
For other women who are looking to in following in Scott’s and Missy Elliott’s footsteps and challenge the status quo, Scott says the first step starts with you. “I think first and foremost to break any barrier you have to believe in yourself. It sounds cliche but it’s so true because there are going to be so many obstacles so many hurdles that if you don’t believe you can do it no one else can and most likely you won’t. So I always say the first step to achieving absolutely anything is believing that you can and then set your mind to accomplish it.”
-Emerson Unger
