Rapper, singer, songwriter and producer Missy Elliott received an honorary doctorate from Berklee School of Music. The Virginia native accepted her degree with a lot of pride because her back story was peppered with disappointment.
Not only did Missy have issues early on in her music career with being in and out of different groups and such, but years later when her music started taking off, she still did not get some of the recognition she felt she deserved. When you top that with an illness (she suffers from Graves' disease) she felt defeated but somehow kept it moving.
Missy deserves this honor. I'm glad she received it because she worked hard over the years to achieve her dreams, and she is definitely one of Hip Hop's innovators and trendsetters. She had those hits. I mean she really had the industry on lock between the late 90s and mid-2000s.
Missy was in good company when she recently received her honorary doctorate. Justin Timberlake received one too. Well-deserved and a big congratulations to both of them.