She grew up in poverty.  While she was sleeping, mice were running around her.  She ran away from home with a spoon, fork and blanket

She grew up in poverty. While she was sleeping, mice were running around her. She ran away from home with a spoon, fork and blanket

Missy Elliott has won many awards, hits and singles that have conquered the charts. The 52-year-old rapper has been at the top for years. However, she did not have an easy childhood. A few years ago, she spoke honestly about growing up in poverty and in the shadow of domestic violence.

Missy Elliott, or rather Melissa Arnette Elliott, already knew that she wanted to perform in front of an audience. At school, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she confidently answered that she was a star. Nobody took it seriously. And yet she managed to achieve success, thanks to her great determination. She wanted to change her life.

Missy Elliott did not have an easy childhood. “Mice were running around on me”

A few years ago, in the documentary series “Behind the music”, Missy Elliott talked about her childhood. The rapper grew up in poverty and difficult conditions. – I remember we had mice in the house. My father would take a newspaper at night and hit me because they were running over me while I was sleeping – in 2011. They had no access to running water or a bathroom. Missy Elliott, who loved listening to the Jackson 5 as a child, sent letters to Michael and Janet Jackson asking for help, but never received a response.

She grew up in the shadow of domestic violence. Her father threatened her with a gun

Poverty was not the only difficulty she had to face in her childhood. Her father abused the family, especially her mother. – He was very aggressive – she recalled in an interview. Things got worse when he quit his job and moved his family to another state. – He pulled out a gun once. I started screaming, “Dad, please don’t kill mommy!” – she recalled in “Behind the music”. As she admitted, it was “the scariest moment of her life.” She didn’t even want to stay with friends because she was afraid that when she came home she would find her mother dead.

When Missy was 14, her mother’s family finally convinced her to leave her abusive husband. They left the house with only a fork, a spoon and a blanket. After moving, she founded the band Sista with a group of friends, including Timbaland. The band did not survive, but Missy Elliott, noticed by producers, began to develop her career in the music industry. In 2023, she was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In this way, people associated with and musicians are honored who had a huge impact on the development of not only this genre.

Are you experiencing domestic violence? Are you looking for help? You can, for example, contact the National Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence “Blue Line”. The free hotline is open 24 hours a day at 800 12 00 02. More information can be found If there is a threat to life, call the emergency number 112.

Source: Gazeta

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