NEW YORK (Atlantic Records/ www.missy-elliott.com) - Five-time Grammy Award winner
Missy Elliott has cooked up another hit with The Cookbook (Goldmind/Atlantic), which debuts this week in the No 2 slot on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, selling close to 177,000 units in its first week.
The Cookbook is Elliott's sixth full-length release and her first since 2003's smash This Is Not A Test! The album's first single, the Elliott-produced 'Lose Control,' features Ciara and Fat Man Scoop, and is currently the most played video on MTV and BET. The album also boasts such guests as Mike Jones, Mary J. Blige, Grand Puba, Fantasia, and the legendary Slick Rick. Missy teams up with her longtime production collaborator Timbaland on The Cookbook, as well as a who's-who of studio superstars, including the Neptunes, Craig Brockman (Beyonce, Angie Stone), Qur'an, Warryn Campbell (Mos Def, Snoop Dogg), and Scott Storch.
Respect ME, Missy's unique joint venture with adidas, is also in stores now. Respect ME is a complete collection of sport-inspired footwear, apparel and accessories for women, blending adidas' street history and sporting styles with Missy Elliott's personality, flare and original style. A percentage of sales from the Respect ME line benefits Break the Cycle, an innovative non-profit organization whose mission is to end domestic violence by working pro-actively with youth.
Up next? Elliott will blaze the Fall cover of America Magazine. On-stands September 1, the mag features Missy in an amazing 12-page spread shot by fashion photographer Terry Richardson. America Magazine is the world's first urban luxury publication founded by Smokey D. Fontaine. Launched in 2004, the magazine's past covers have featured Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, Lenny Kravitz, R. Kelly, Usher, Gisele Bundchen, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey.
Missy Elliott is one of the most influential female artists in contemporary American music. In the image-obsessed world of entertainment, this atypical beauty has nabbed the covers of every magazine from Rolling Stone to Entertainment Weekly. Bucking the old-boy network, she has created an empire on her own terms, earning the rep of a daring innovator who won't take "no" for an answer. Missy Elliott is not merely a visionary recording artist and performer; she is one of the few women who enjoys an equal amount of success behind the scenes as a prolific songwriter and producer, having garnered a star-studded list of production credits that includes Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Destiny's Child, among others. As the head of her own record label, the Goldmind, Inc., Missy launched the successful career of platinum-selling R&B star, Tweet. With five multi-platinum albums under her belt, Missy Elliott is the best-selling female hip hop artist of all time, and has gone on to receive innumerable award nominations and wins (including the highly coveted 2003 MTV Video Music Award for "Video Of The Year'). In addition to all of this, Missy has just wrapped up the first season of her dramality show, UPN's The Road To Stardom with Missy Elliott and she has created a unique joint venture with adidas for a line of clothing, shoes and accessories under the moniker, Respect ME. Missy Elliott is truly in a league of her own.
