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MC Solaar

Claude Honoré M'Barali (born 5 March 1969), professionally known as MC Solaar, is a French rapper of Senegalese and Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop artists. Some consider him the best French rapper of all time.

MC Solaar is known for his complex lyrics and distinctive flows, which rely on word play, lyricism, and inquiry. He is one of the best in France. In the English-speaking world, Solaar was signed by London-based acid jazz record label Talkin' Loud and recorded with British band Urban Species and rapper Guru, who was a member of New York-based rap band Gang Starr. Solaar has released eight studio albums and one live album. His eighth studio album, Géopoétique, produced by Alain Etchart and mixed by sound engineer David Gnozzi, won best album of the year at the Victoires de la Musique awards in 2018.

Early life
Claude M'Barali was born in Dakar, Senegal, to parents from Chad. When he was six months old, his parents immigrated to France where they settled in the Parisian suburbs; initially in Saint-Denis, subsequently Maisons-Alfort and finally Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. When he was twelve, he went to live with an uncle in Cairo, Egypt for nine months where he discovered the Universal Zulu Nation and became fascinated with the rapping styles of Afrika Bambaataa. Upon his return to France, he passed the baccalauréat. The constant support from his mother was one of the reasons that he was able to pass the baccalauréat and still make music. He coined the stage name "MC Solaar" during his adolescence from his graffiti tags "SOAR" and "SOLAAR".

He studied languages at the Jussieu university campus and was a postgraduate in philosophy. He released his first single in 1990. MC Solaar went to Paris in the summer of 1991 with his friend Jimmy Jay in hopes of succeeding in the music industry. Success came quickly when his first single, "Bouge de là" ("Get Out of There"), based on a sample from Cymande's song "The Message" (1973) became a hit in the early 1990s. Many rappers who came out of Africa at the time spoke a lot about slavery and other topics in order to bring the history of their people into light. Nevertheless, the song went platinum in France and reached #5 on the national charts.

1991–1997: Early success and Prose Combat breakthrough
After the success of "Bouge de là", Solaar went on to support the American rap group De La Soul when they performed at the Olympia in Paris in September 1991. At the close of 1991, Solaar released Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo which went on to sell over 400,000 copies in France. With the success of his debut album in France, Solaar embarked upon extensive tours of Poland and Russia. In December 1992, he performed in twelve countries across West Africa, where his French rap style proved popular with African music fans.

MC Solaar released Prose Combat in 1994. It sold 100,000 copies in the first week of being released and became a bestseller in 20 other countries. In February 1995 he received an award for Best Male Singer of the Year at the 10th edition of the French "Victoires de la Musique" awards. Also in 1994, MC Solaar appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as Album of the Year by Time.

Solaar returned to the studio in 1997 with longtime friend and producer Jimmy Jay to record his third album, Paradisiaque. The album was another success, which led to an extensive European tour starting on 9 January 1998 at the Zénith in Paris. MC Solaar toured internationally, including Germany, Japan and the United States. He was included as a guest on American rapper Guru's "Jazzmatazz" project and one of Solaar's songs was included in the Tommy Boy rap compilation in the United States.

Early in Solaar's career, it was important for him to share the struggles and the different hardships for black people that had emigrated to France and tried to make a better life. Most of his music was dedicated to enlightening the population of a specific deeper message that connected to him in his life. "[...] he addresses the conditions under which Black people have emigrated to and settled in France. In the piece "Leve-toi et rap," he describes his Chadian parents' migration from Senegal to a Parisian suburb, the main stages of his teenage years and how he finally came to discover rap." In an interview, MC Solaar described the feeling of making a song and the thought process while just writing any part of lyrics that go into his music. "I write quickly, because of the music, he tells me. It's much easier if you have the music, the rhythm, but I am fast. First, I have taken in "everything". Do you never write before the music? Ah. I used to, he admits. But when I met the music, I changed."

1997–2004: Cinquième As and Mach 6
Solaar released Cinquième As in 2001, to critical acclaim and Mach 6 in 2003. In the album's third track, "Lève-Toi et Rap", Solaar describes his parents' move to France as well as his own roots growing up in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and Cairo. Critic Dan Gennoe attests to Solaar's "flow et vocabulaire" by noting "the flow of his words is staggering, as are the low-slung grooves that they roll to; deftly vaulting all language barriers."

In 1998, MC Solaar embarked on a tour beginning at the Zénith de Paris. The concert he presents is a show with DJs and dancers (as the hip-hop dancer Bintou Dembélé) which overpasses the musical frame. The cover of Cinquieme As depicts Solaar topless, and draws comparisons to captives about to be taken onto a slave ship. However, a look at the inside cover reveals Solaar to be in a wrestler's costume, along with the other men in the picture. As Veronique Helenon discusses in her article concerning the French hip hop scene, references to Africa and "blackness" are a very important part of Solaar's music. Solaar recognises and pays tribute to the African presence in France by using boxing and wrestling references. Senegalese boxer Battling Siki is referenced in the album's booklet. Although Siki won the light heavyweight boxing championship in 1922, he still faced racism from journalists. This image combined with songs concerning colonial oppression and the migration experience from Africa to France show Solaar's "blackness," something that is extremely important in the French hip-hop scene. For example, in his song "Les Colonies", Solaar discusses the similarities between the oppression of Africans by colonialists to the modern day exploitation of "third world" countries. "Cinquième As" includes lyrics in French, English, and Spanish, which represents his ideals that rap should be inclusive of all people. In early 2004, his 2001 song "La Belle et Le Bad Boy" was featured on the final episode of the U.S. television series Sex and the City. The MTV series "The Hills" featured the song as well.

2005–present: Chapitre 7 and international acclaim
"Da Vinci Claude", the first single from Solaar's album Chapitre 7, was launched in March 2007. The album was released on 18 June 2007. MC Solaar is best known outside France for his work on Guru's Jazzmatazz project and as a featured artist on the Missy Elliott track "All N My Grill". His collaboration with her propelled him to higher popularity in the U.S market. The single "Le Bien, Le Mal" (The Good, The Bad) has been a hip hop/dance crossover hit and has received playtime on MTV, which characterizes his work this way: "His fluid phrasing makes up for his lack of English, and the production on his solo work (by DJ Jimmy Jay and Boom Bass of La Funk Mob) surpasses that of most of his hip-hop contemporaries."

MC Solaar is one of the few French rappers having success in the English-dominated American hip hop culture. American rapper will.i.am admitted he prefers MC Solaar to American rapper Tupac Shakur.

Personal life
MC Solaar studied humanities in highly selective preparatory classes (hypokhâgne). On 7 December 2003, MC Solaar married Chloé Bensemoun and on 7 May 2004, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Roman. In 2007, she gave birth to a daughter named Bonnie. They divorced in 2012.

Philanthropy
MC Solaar has been a member of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble since 1997.

Albums
Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Maxis and EPs

 * Solaar Power EP
 * Inch'Allah EP

Singles
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Collective singles

Featured in

Filmography

 * 1991: Pour Kim Song-Man - short film by Costa-Gavras
 * 2005: Mort à l'écran as Jonathan - short film by Alexis Ferrebeuf
 * 2011: Illegal Love voice over - documentary by Julie Gali

Live albums

 * Le Tour De La Question (2 CD) (1998)

title: MC Solaar


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Mitchelstown

Mitchelstown is a town in the north of County Cork, Ireland with a population of over 3,740. It is situated in the valley to the south of the Galtee Mountains. Mitchelstown is 13 km south-west of the Mitchelstown Cave, 53 km north of Cork City, 56 km south-east of Limerick City and 15 km north of Fermoy. The town is close to the M8 motorway which links Cork and Dublin. Mitchelstown is considered one of the best examples of a Georgian planned town in Ireland. The River Gradoge runs by the town into the River Funshion, which in turn is a tributary of the River Blackwater. Mitchelstown is within the Dáil constituency of Cork East.

Name
Prior to the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, the area around Mitchelstown was known as "Caoille", a territory bounded by the Kilworth Mountains to the south and the Galtee Mountains to the north. It was occupied by a people known as the Fir Muighe – the "men of the plain".

The name of Mitchelstown originates from the Anglo-Norman family called "de St Michel" who founded a settlement close to the site of the present town in the 13th century. It is referred to in 1286 as "Villa Michel" and owned by the heir of a Geoffrey Michel. By 1618, the name had evolved into the Irish language (Gaelic) form of "Ballyvisteal". By about 1644 it was "Ballymistealy". The modern name "Mitchelstown" comes from the anglicised version of these and its first known usage was in 1821.

History
Before the development of Mitchelstown, a 7th century settlement was established in the nearby townland of Brigown. Brigown (Irish: Brí Ghabhann, meaning "hill of the smiths"). was founded by monk named Saint Fanahan (Findchú). By the 9th century, Brigown had a round tower (this tower was damaged in a lightening strike in 1720 and demolished in 1807).

Mitchelstown itself is based at or near the site of a 13th century Norman settlement called "Villa Michel". During the 13th century, "Villa Michel" was granted market rights giving it a commercial focus within the region. From about 1300 to 1600, the town was the property of the White Knights, Chiefs of the Clan Gibbon (FitzGibbons), a branch of the Earls of Desmond. The White Knights were lords over large portions of modern-day counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary consisting of an estate of over 40,000 hectares. The first Mitchelstown Castle was built by the White Knights sometime in the 14th century and it lasted until the 1770s. The original town itself appears to have evolved from a cluster of cabins and laneways around this castle probably starting in the late-thirteenth or early-fourteenth centuries.

The area known as Kingston College was built around 1764 by James King, 4th Baron Kingston for the cost of £12,000. It was initially established as housing for elderly, impoverished Protestants. When James died in 1764, his 10-year-old granddaughter Caroline FitzGerald inherited the estate. Five years later she married her 15-year-old cousin, Robert King, Viscount Kingsborough who himself later inherited large estates in counties Roscommon and Sligo. For a time, their joint land ownership was around 70,000 hectares. The revolutionary writer Mary Wollstonecraft, briefly worked as a governess to three of their daughters.

Unlike other landlords of the time, who had a "hands off" management style, Caroline and Robert King undertook a number of progressive projects in their Mitchelstown estate from the mid-1770s onwards. The demesne wall, reputed to be the longest park wall in Ireland, took 16 years to build. It is 10 km long, encloses 500 hectares and was originally over 3 metres in height in most places.

The medieval town was demolished and replaced by the present town which is centred more to the south-east. The town was laid out in a grid pattern of two main streets intersected by a number of smaller streets.

Some of its streets are named after members of the King family, namely Robert, George, Edward, James, Thomas and also King (the family name). The other streets of the Georgian town are Church Street, Baldwin Street, Alley Lane, Chapel Hill, Convent Hill, King Square, New Square and Mulberry Lane.

The layout established by the second and third Earls of Kingston, between 1776 and 1830, utilised the natural features of the site to give views of the Galtee Mountains. This is best illustrated by how George Street was designed with Saint George's Arts and Heritage Centre (formerly Saint George's Church) closing the view on the southern end, and the northern view being terminated by Kingston College and Temple Hill on the Galtee Mountains.

Mitchelstown Castle was rebuilt between 1823 and 1825 by George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston.

During the Irish Civil War in 1922, the castle was occupied by the Irish Republican Army. During six weeks of occupation, its contents were looted and the building was burnt on the night 12 and 13 August 1922 — ostensibly to prevent it from being used by the Irish Free State army. However, there is no evidence to support that claim. Another motive, put forward for the fire, was to cover up the looting and destruction of the building. The ashlar limestone of the house stood as a ruin until about 1930 when it was bought by the monks of Mount Melleray Abbey who used it to build their new monastery in County Waterford.

Mitchelstown massacre
Between 1879 and 1881, and again between 1886 and 1888, local tenantry, led by John Mandeville and William O'Brien, MP, organised a rent strike on the Mitchelstown Estate, then owned by Anna, Dowager Countess of Kingston and her second husband, William Downes Webber. On 9 September 1887, a protest was held later in the day in New Market Square outside the Market House where Mandeville and O'Brien were being tried. Neither man appeared in court. After the court ended, approximately 8,000 demonstrators paraded into New Square. As the speeches began from a wagon in the square, the police attempted to get an official police notetaker closer to the platform so that he could hear and record what was being said. Their motives were misunderstood, and they were held back by the crowd. They retreated, returning moments later with fifty reinforcements. This time, they fixed bayonets and used the butts of their rifles to hit horses that had been placed around the edge of the crowd to prevent their access to the wagon. In the melee that followed, hand-to-hand combat involving police being beaten with sticks and stones being thrown at them. The police retreated to their barracks, which was on a house that overlooked part of the square. As the last constable arrived at the barracks, he drew his revolver and fired a single shot into the air. This created confusion amongst the police inside the barracks, who by that time had been placed at the upstairs windows with carbine rifles. Several shots were fired into the crowd. Three men were killed and several more injured. The dead men were John Shinnick of Fermoy, John Casey of Kilbehenny and Michael Lonergan of Galbally, County Limerick. The incident generated considerable international attention and became known as the "Mitchelstown Massacre". The phrase "Remember Mitchelstown" (first coined by William Gladstone) became a rallying cry for Irishmen at home and abroad. The memorial to Mandeville that stands in Market Square was unveiled in 1906 by William O'Brien MP. It also commemorates the names of the three men killed in 1887.

Co-operative
Up to 1990, Mitchelstown was the headquarters for Mitchelstown Co-operative Agricultural Society Ltd, one of the largest co-operatives in Ireland. This farmers co-op was founded in 1919. Between 1919 and 1990, Mitchelstown Co-op Creameries became the largest dairy processing business on the island of Ireland. While it became known for its processed cheese brands, it was better known in overseas dairy industry circles for its natural cheeses, which were exported around Europe and for which it earned several international prizes.

In the 1930s, the co-op promoted the introduction of intensive pig production in the area as another source of farm income, and several of Ireland's largest industrial pig farms were subsequently based in the Mitchelstown area.

In October 1990, Mitchelstown Co-operative merged with Ballyclough Co-operative (based in Mallow, County Cork) to create an enlarged Dairygold Co-Operative. The co-op is now the largest farmer owned co-operative in Ireland and has its headquarters in Mitchelstown. One of the first managers of Mitchelstown Creameries was Eamon Roche, who was credited with the organisation’s massive growth.

Today Mitchelstown is home to Kerrygold Park, a €38 million butter production and packing facility supplying the Kerrygold butter brand worldwide.

Road
Mitchelstown is situated close to the M8 Dublin to Cork motorway, which runs to the east and can be accessed from Junctions 12 and 13.

A relief road, located to the west of the town, serves to filter N73 traffic towards Mallow and R513 traffic towards Limerick. The construction of the relief road to the west and north, and its connection in 2009 to the M8 to the east of Mitchelstown, means that the town has become the smallest in Ireland to have a full 360-degree ring road. Prior to the opening of the relief road in 2006, the N8 ran through Mitchelstown itself, seriously congesting the main street. The R665 road connects Mitchelstown to Clonmel, while the former N8 now redesignated as the R639 provides an alternative route from Mitchelstown to Cork, Fermoy and Cahir.

Bus
Bus Éireann runs intercity services through the town providing a service to both Dublin and Cork. Since late 2022, there is an expanded bus service between the town and Limerick city, which serves several intermediate towns and villages.

Rail
Mitchelstown railway station opened on 23 March 1891, closed to passenger and goods traffic on 27 January 1947, and closed on 1 December 1953.

Mitchelstown caves
The Mitchelstown Caves are limestone caves located near the R639, between Mitchelstown and Cahir. One cave, Mitchelstown Cave itself, is privately owned and has been developed as a show cave, with a number of caverns open to the public through a guided tour. Some of the speleothems are noteworthy including the Tower of Babel formation. Various other stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations are also named for their unique structures.

Events
Indiependence, an annual three-day festival weekender, typically takes place on the outskirts of Mitchelstown over the August Bank Holiday. The event has previously hosted acts like Editors, Bastille, Lewis Capaldi, Hozier, Public Enemy, Picture This, The Coronas, Ash, and Feeder.

Notable people

 * Seán Clancy, Air Corps general, current Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces
 * Michael Francis Crotty (born 1970), Roman Catholic prelate and diplomat, current Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso and Niger and titular archbishop of Lindisfarne, grew up in Skeheen
 * John Dunne (1845–1919), Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Bathurst
 * Liam Hamilton (1928–2000), judge and barrister, former Chief Justice of Ireland
 * Margaret King (1773–1835), hostess, writer, traveller and medical adviser
 * John Roach (1815–1887), proprietor of America's largest post-Civil War shipbuilding empire, John Roach & Sons
 * Kevin Roche (1922–2019), American architect and son of Eamon Roche, Mitchelstown Co-operative Creameries' first general manager, raised in the town
 * William Trevor (1928–2016), author, five-time Booker Prize nominee, born and spent his early childhood in the town

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Mitchelstown


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De Nederlandsche Bank

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, lit. 'The Dutch Bank') is the Dutch member of the Eurosystem and has been the monetary authority for the Netherlands from 1814 to 1998, issuing the Dutch guilder. Since 2014, it has also been the country's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision. It was originally founded by King William I, and has been since transformed into a state-owned public limited company (naamloze vennootschap, abbreviated NV).

History
On 2 May 1998, the European heads of state or government decided that the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) would begin on 1 January 1999 with eleven Member States of the European Union (EU), the Netherlands included. As from 1 June 1998, the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank N.V., forms part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). On the same day, the new Bank Act (of 1998) came into force. Nearly 185 years into its existence, the Nederlandsche Bank has entered a new phase.

Tasks
Under the 1998 Bank Act – replacing that of 1948 – the Bank has the following tasks:

 * Within the framework of the ESCB, the Bank shall contribute to the definition and implementation of monetary policy within the European Community (EC). The Bank has the objective to maintain price stability. Without prejudice to this objective, the Bank shall support the general economic policy in the EC.
 * The Bank shall hold and manage the official foreign reserves, and shall conduct foreign-exchange operations.
 * The Bank shall collect statistical data and produce statistics.
 * The Bank shall promote the smooth operation of payment systems; it shall take care of the banknote circulation.
 * The Bank shall supervise banks, investment institutions and exchange offices.
 * The Bank may, subject to permission by Royal Decree, perform other tasks in the public interest. The European Central Bank (ECB) may also ask the Bank to perform extra tasks.

The first two tasks – also known as the ESCB tasks – ensue entirely from the Maastricht Treaty. Decisions in these areas are taken at the European level by the ECB Governing Council, on which the President of the Nederlandsche Bank has a seat. Promoting the smooth operation of payment systems has both a European and a national dimension. The statistical task is also partly ESCB-related and partly a national concern. The DNB is responsible for international macro-economic statistical analysis for countries outside the EU. These two tasks will not be transferred to ESCB level at the start of EMU. Here the Nederlandsche Bank remains fully in control. However, in a Europe where economies are becoming increasingly interlocked, many banking supervisory rules are drawn up at the international level. DNB serves as the banker's bank to general Dutch banks.

One of the government appointed members of the Social-Economic Council is always a representative of DNB.

Head office
The bank was established from the start on Oude Turfmarkt, where it occupied 17th-century houses. In the 1860s, a purpose-built head office, designed by architect Willem Anthonie Froger, was erected on the same location and inaugurated in 1869. Nearly a century later in 1968, as the bank has left the building for its new seat, it was taken over by the University of Amsterdam which had long been established just nearby, and subsequently repurposed as the location of the Allard Pierson Museum, which opened there in October 1976.

In the 1960s, a new head office complex was constructed on Frederiksplein (Amsterdam) and inaugurated by Queen Juliana in May 1968. Architect Marius Duintjer's stark design of 1961 consisted on a low square base and a rectangular office tower. In the late 1980s, as the bank was running out of space, it was complemented with a second, oval tower designed in 1984 by architects Jelle Abma and Marc a Campo, whose construction was finished in 1989. In 2008, Marc a Campo designed a further extension by adding an extra floor to the square base. In a comprehensive renovation during the early 2020s, the oval tower was demolished and the base remodeled to return the building to an exterior appearance more similar to the original one of the 1960s.

title: De Nederlandsche Bank


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Missy Elliott

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began on her musical career as a member of the R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, who were part of the larger musical collective Swing Mob—led by DeVante Swing of Jodeci. The former group's debut album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994) was released by Elektra Records and met with positive critical reception despite commercial failure. She collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohort Timbaland to work in songwriting and production for other acts, yielding commercially successful releases for 702, Aaliyah, SWV, and Total. She then re-emerged as a solo act with numerous collaborations and guest appearances by 1996, and in July of the following year, she released her debut studio album, Supa Dupa Fly (1997).

As her mainstream breakthrough, the album was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawning the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me" (featuring Da Brat). Her second album, Da Real World (1999) produced the singles "She's a Bitch", "All n My Grill" (featuring Big Boi and Nicole Wray), and "Hot Boyz" (remixed featuring Lil' Mo, Nas, Eve and Q-Tip). The latter song set a 19-year record for most weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs by January 2000 (until Lil Nas X's 2019 single "Old Town Road"), and spent 18 weeks atop the Hot Rap Songs chart from December 1999 to March 2000. Her third and fourth albums, Miss E... So Addictive (2001) and Under Construction (2002) made her the sole recipient of both Grammy Awards for Best Female Rap Solo Performance with their respective songs "Scream a.k.a. Itchin" (featuring Timbaland) and "Work It." Furthermore, the albums peaked at numbers two and three on the Billboard 200, respectively, while "Work It" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Her fifth album, This Is Not a Test! (2003) was followed by The Cookbook (2005), her sixth album which matched Under Construction as her highest charting release while spawning the Hot 100 top three single, "Lose Control" (featuring Ciara and Fatman Scoop). Following a long-term hiatus, her debut extended play, Iconology (2019) marked her first release in 14 years.

Elliott has received numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards. Her overall discography has sold 40 million records worldwide, making her the best-selling female rapper in Nielsen Music history according to Billboard. She was the first woman rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received the MTV VMAs Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her impact on the music video landscape. In 2020, Billboard ranked her at No. 5 on their list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time. In 2021, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2023, she became the first woman rapper to be nominated and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life
Melissa Arnette Elliott was born on July 1, 1971, at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia, the only child of power company dispatcher Patricia and former Marine Ronnie Elliott. She grew up in an active church choir family, where singing was a normal part of her youth. At the age of four, she wanted to be a performer, with biographer Veronica A. Davis later writing that she "would sing and perform for her family". In later years, she feared no one would take her seriously because she was always the class clown. While her father was an active Marine, the family lived in a manufactured home community in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She blossomed during this part of her life, enjoying school for the friendships that she formed even though she had little interest in schoolwork. When her father returned from the Marines, the family moved back to Virginia, where they lived in extreme poverty.

Life in Virginia saw many hardships, and Elliott has talked about seeing her mother suffer domestic abuse at the hands of her father; she refused to attend sleepovers at her friends' homes out of fear that she would find her mother dead upon returning home. When she was eight, she was sexually abused by a cousin. In one violent incident, her father dislocated her mother's shoulders; during another, Elliott herself was threatened by her father with a gun. When Elliott was 14, her mother decided to end the situation and fled with Elliott on the pretext of taking a joyride on a local bus. In reality, the pair had found refuge at a family member's home, where their possessions were stored in a loaded U-Haul truck. Elliott told her mother that she feared her father would kill them both for leaving. She later stated, "When we left, my mother realized how strong she was on her own, and it made me strong. It took her leaving her home to be able to realize that." She and her mother lived in the Hodges Ferry neighborhood of Portsmouth, where Elliott graduated from Manor High School in 1990. She later said that she occasionally speaks to her father, but has not forgiven him for abusing her mother.

1988–1995: Sista and career beginnings
In 1988, Elliott formed an all-women R&B group called Fayze (later renamed Sista) with friends La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and Radiah Scott. She was introduced to her neighborhood friend Timothy Mosley (Timbaland) by Melvin Barcliff (Magoo) who was trying to recruit his Dj Timbaland to be the group's producer and began making demo tracks, among them included the 1991 promo "First Move". Later in 1991, Fayze caught the attention of Jodeci member and producer DeVante Swing by performing Jodeci songs a cappella for him backstage after one of his group's concerts. In short order, Fayze moved to New York City and signed to Elektra Records through DeVante's Swing Mob imprint and also renaming the group Sista. Sista's debut song was titled "Brand New", which was released in 1993 Elliott took Mosley & Barclif whom DeVante re-christened the duo as Timbaland & Magoo.

All 20-plus members of the Swing Mob—among them future stars such as Ginuwine, Playa, and Tweet —lived in a single two-story house in New York and were often at work on material both for Jodeci and their own projects. While Elliott wrote and rapped on Raven-Symoné's 1993 debut single, "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of", she also contributed, credited and uncredited, to the Jodeci albums Diary of a Mad Band (1993) and The Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995). Timbaland and DeVante jointly produced a Sista album, entitled 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994). Though videos were released for the original and remix versions of the single "Brand New", the album was shelved and never released. One of the group's tracks, "It's Alright" featuring Craig Mack did however make the cut on the soundtrack of the 1995 motion picture Dangerous Minds but by the end of 1995, Swing Mob had folded and many of its members dispersed. Elliott, Timbaland, Magoo, Ginuwine, and Playa remained together and collaborated on each other's records for the rest of the decade as the musical collective The Superfriends.

1996–1998: Supa Dupa Fly
After leaving Swing Mob, Elliott and Timbaland worked together as a songwriting/production team, crafting tracks for acts including SWV, 702, and most notably Aaliyah. The pair wrote and produced nine tracks for Aaliyah's second album, One in a Million (1996), among them the hit singles "If Your Girl Only Knew", "One in a Million", "Hot Like Fire", and "4 Page Letter". Elliott contributed background vocals and/or guest raps to nearly all of the tracks on which she and Timbaland worked. One in a Million went double platinum and made stars out of the production duo. Elliott and Timbaland continued to work together for other artists, later creating hits for artists such as Total ("What About Us?"; 1997), Nicole Wray ("Make It Hot"; 1998), and Destiny's Child ("Get on the Bus"; 1998), as well as one final hit for Aaliyah, "I Care 4 U", before her death in 2001. Elliott also wrote the bulk of Total's second and final album Kima, Keisha, and Pam and Nicole Wray's debut Make It Hot (both released in 1998). Elliott began her career as a featured vocalist rapping on Sean "Puffy" Combs's Bad Boy remixes to Gina Thompson's "The Things That You Do", (which had a video featuring cameo appearances by Notorious B.I.G and Puff Daddy), MC Lyte's 1996 hit single "Cold Rock a Party" (backup vocals by Gina Thompson), and New Edition's 1996 single "You Don't Have to Worry". In 1996, Elliott also appeared on the Men of Vizion's remix of "Do Thangz" which was produced by Rodney Jerkins (coincidentally the producer of the original version of "The Things That You Do").

Combs had hoped to sign Elliott to his Bad Boy record label. Instead, she signed a deal in 1996 to create her own imprint, The Goldmind Inc., with East West Records, which at that time was a division of Elektra Entertainment Group, for which she would record as a solo artist. Timbaland was again recruited as her production partner, a role he would hold on most of Elliott's solo releases. Missy continued to work with other artists and appeared on LSG's song "All the Time" with Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, Faith Evans, and Coko in 1997 on Levert Sweat Gill classic album. The same year, she rapped in "Keys To My House" with old friends group LeVert. In the center of a busy period of making guest appearances and writing for other artists, Elliott's debut album, Supa Dupa Fly, was released in mid-1997; the success of its lead single "The Rain" led the album to be certified platinum. Elliott wore an oversized trash-bag looking jumpsuit in the music video, and at Lilith Fair, an outfit media articles have considered one of her most recognizable "fashion moments".

The success was also a result of the music videos of her single releases, which were directed by Harold "Hype" Williams, who created many groundbreaking hip hop, Afro-futuristic videos at the time. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards, but lost to Puff Daddy's No Way Out. The year also saw Elliott perform live at the MTV Video Music Awards show on a remix to Lil' Kim's "Ladies Night" with fellow rappers Da Brat, Angie Martinez and TLC-rapper Left Eye. Elliott continued her successful career in the background as a producer and writer on Total's single "Trippin'", as well as working with several others in the hip-hop and R&B communities. Elliott co-wrote and co-produced two tracks on Whitney Houston's 1998 album My Love Is Your Love, providing vocal cameos for "In My Business" and "Oh Yes". Elliott also produced and made a guest appearance on Spice Girl Melanie Brown's debut solo single, "I Want You Back", which topped the UK Singles Chart in Brown's native United Kingdom and is Elliott's only chart-topping song in that country.

1999–2001: Da Real World and Miss E... So Addictive
Although a much darker album than her debut, Elliott's second album was just as successful as the first, selling 1.5 million copies and 3 million copies worldwide. She remarked, "I can't even explain the pressure. The last album took me a week to record. This one took almost two months...I couldn't rush it the second time because people expect more." Da Real World (1999) included the singles "All n My Grill", a collaboration with Nicole Wray and Big Boi (from OutKast), a remix to "Hot Boyz" and "She's a Bitch". Also in 1999, Elliott was featured, alongside Da Brat, on the official remix to a Mariah Carey single "Heartbreaker". A music video was filmed for the remix, shot in black and white and featuring a cameo appearance by Dogg. The Desert Storm Remix is acclaimed by music critics and became a cult remix.

Missy Elliott next released Miss E... So Addictive on May 15, 2001. The album debuted at number two in the United States and sold 250,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the massive pop and urban hits "One Minute Man" (as to which MTV wrote: "Missy Elliott Plays Dr. Ruth On New Single"), featuring Ludacris and Trina, and "Get Ur Freak On", as well as the international club hit "4 My People" and the less commercially successful single "Take Away". The double music video for "Take Away/4 My People" was released in the fall of 2001, shortly after the sudden death of Elliott's close friend Aaliyah on August 25 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The "Take Away" video contained images of and words about Aaliyah, and the slow ballad acted as a tribute to her memory. The remainder of the video was the more upbeat "4 My People", contained scenes of people dancing happily in front of American flags and Elliott dressed in red, white and blue. Though "Take Away" was not a success on radio, "4 My People" went on to become an American and European club hit due to a popular remix by house music duo Basement Jaxx in 2002.

Tweet's appearance on Elliott's "Take Away" as well as her cameo at Elliott's house on MTV Cribs helped to create a buzz about the new R&B singer. Tweet's own debut single, "Oops (Oh My)", was co-written by Elliott and released through Goldmind in February 2002. The single was a top ten hit, thanks partially to Elliott's songwriting and guest rap, and to Timbaland's unusual production on the track. Elliott co-produced the Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink cover of "Lady Marmalade" for the album Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film, which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001.

2002–2004: Under Construction and This Is Not a Test!
For her next outing, Elliott and Timbaland focused on an old school sound, utilizing many old school rap and funk samples, such as Run–D.M.C.'s "Peter Piper" and Frankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus". Elliott's fourth album, 2002's Under Construction (see 2002 in music) is known as the best selling women rap album with 2.1 million copies sold in the United States. In 2002, Elliott won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "Get Ur Freak On". In 2003, Under Construction received Grammy nominations for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year. The New York Times designated Under Construction "this year's best hip-hop album". Elliott released two singles off of Under Construction. The lead single, "Work It" reached No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and won the "Video of the Year" award at MTV's Video Music Awards. The second single, "Gossip Folks" featuring Ludacris, became a Top 10 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, was one of the most-played music videos on MTV, MTV2, MTV Jams, and BET in 2003 and was embraced by the dance community, as well as the mainstream, due to a Fatboy Slim remix. A third single was never released, though a video was shot for "Back In The Day" featuring Jay-Z and Elliott was.

In between albums, Elliott produced the "American Dream Remix" (featuring Tweet's additional vocals) of Madonna's single "American Life", was featured rapper on Timbaland & Magoo's return single, "Cop That Shit", and produced "Fighting Temptation" (featuring herself, Beyoncé, Free and MC Lyte) for the soundtrack to the Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles movie of the same name. The track reached No. 1 in Japan but failed to chart in the U.S. Hot 100. Elliott was also featured on Wyclef Jean's "Party to Damascus" and Ghostface Killah's "Tush" singles, the latter of which became a minor 2004 dance hit, and had a pivotal role in the film Honey. Gap approached Elliott later in the year to co-star in a commercial with Madonna, which received much media attention. Elliott furthered her relationship with Madonna by performing the controversial 2003 MTV Video Music Awards show opening alongside Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Also in September 2003, Elliott performed the theme song "The Opposite Sex" for the UPN sitcom Eve starring her good friend and fellow rapper Eve. It lasted for three seasons.

A year after Elliott's most successful album to date was released, Elliott felt pressured by her label to release another album hoping to capitalize on her recent success. Elliott's singles, "Pass That Dutch" and "I'm Really Hot", from her fifth album, This Is Not a Test! (released November 2003), both rose the urban charts. However, both were not as successful at pop radio in comparison to many of her previous efforts. This Is Not A Test sold 690,000 copies in the United States and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Elliott has since stated that "the album This Is Not A Test came out extremely too quickly for me. I didn't want it to come out when it did." In 2004, Elliott was featured on Ciara's hit single "1, 2 Step", with her verse interpolating Teena Marie's single, "Square Biz". Elliott premiered her own reality show on the UPN Network, The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott in 2005 even though it was not renewed for a second season. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, she sold more than 7.6 million copies in the United States, being a woman rapper with best-selling albums in the country, followed by Lauryn Hill (seven million), Lil' Kim (four million), and Eve (four million) at the time.

2005–2006: The Cookbook and Respect M.E.
Elliott wanted to "give people the unexpected" by utilizing producers other than Timbaland and a "more to the center" sound not as far left as her other music. Her sixth solo album, The Cookbook was released on July 4, 2005, debuted at number two on the U.S. charts and was later certified platinum in 2022 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. Elliott's work during The Cookbook era was heavily recognized. Elliott received 5 Grammy nominations in 2005, including one for Best Rap Album for The Cookbook. The album's first single, "Lose Control", won a Grammy for Best Short Form Video and was nominated for Best Rap Song. "Lose Control" also garnered Elliott six 2005 MTV VMA award nominations (winning Best Dance Video and Best Hip-Hop Video). Elliott won Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the 2005 American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best International Female Artist at the 2006 BRIT Awards.

"Lose Control" featuring Ciara and Fatman Scoop, became a Top 5 hit in the midyear (peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100). The second single, Teary Eyed, did not chart, although the video charted on MTV's TRL for a few weeks, and BET's 106 & Park for a few days. The third single, "We Run This", was released with heavy airplay on VH1, MTV, and BET. It served as the lead single for the soundtrack to the gymnastics-themed film Stick It. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Rap Solo Performance category in 2006. Respect M.E., Elliott's first greatest hits album, was released outside the United States and Canada on September 4, 2006, only in South Africa, Australia, Europe, Japan, and Brazil. The collection became her second top ten album in the UK and her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seven there.

2007–2014: Production work
Elliott was an honoree of the 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors. In honor of her career, many artists performed some of her biggest hits. Timbaland and Tweet performed "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", Eve and Keyshia Cole performed "Hot Boyz" and "Work It", Fatman Scoop and Ciara performed "Lose Control", and Nelly Furtado performed "Get Ur Freak On (The Remix)". Since 2007, Elliott's seventh studio album has had several different forms with extensive delays. In 2007, she worked with Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Danja, T-Pain and DJ Toomp and planned to release an album at the beginning of 2008. In January 2008, "Ching-a-Ling" was released as the lead single for the Step Up 2: The Streets soundtrack, which also featured "Shake Your Pom Pom" produced by Timbaland. Elliott released the song "Best, Best" in the same year and renamed the albums previous title FANomenal to its tentative title Block Party. She later decided against Block Party and four years later, in 2012, Elliott released two Timbaland-produced singles ("9th Inning" and "Triple Threat") exclusively to iTunes. Though the songs managed to chart on Billboard Hot Digital Songs, in an interview with Yahoo's The Yo Show, Missy talked about her hiatus from making records: "Your brain needs time to refresh! Things happen in your life where you can then write something else instead of the same three topics. Like, how many times we gonna talk about the club? I gotta feel like what I'm giving the fans is 100 percent and that it's game-changing. I don't just throw out microwave records."

In between the recording of her seventh album, Missy Elliott found success behind the scenes. Elliott's writing and production helped her reach No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with Keyshia Cole's "Let It Go" (2007), Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad" (2008), and Monica's "Everything to Me" (2010). Since 2008, songs written and/or produced by Elliott for Fantasia ("Free Yourself"), Jennifer Hudson ("I'm His Only Woman"), Monica ("Everything to Me"), Keyshia Cole ("Let It Go"), and Jazmine Sullivan ("Need U Bad" and "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)") have all received Grammy nominations. Both Fantasia's "Free Yourself" (2005) and Sullivan's "Holding You Down (Goin' In Circles)" reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In mid-2010, Elliott embarked on a two-part tour with stops in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, while she also performed at VH1's "Hip Hop Honors: The Dirty South" in a tribute to Timbaland, performing "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It". In 2008 she made an appearance in "Whatcha Think About That" by The Pussycat Dolls, and performed live in different places with them. In 2011 and 2012, Elliott made guest appearances on "All Night Long" by Demi Lovato, "Nobody's Perfect" by J. Cole, the remix of "Why Stop Now" by Busta Rhymes with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne, and a remix of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" that helped catapult "T.G.I.F". to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also produced Monica's singles "Anything (To Find You)" and "Until It's Gone".

Throughout 2013, Missy Elliott was featured on Eve's album cut "Wanna Be", as well as international artists singles, Little Mix's "How Ya Doin'?" and "NiLiria" with K-pop musician G-Dragon, which was named by Complex magazine as one of the "50 Best Songs of 2013". Elliott also contributed to her protégée Sharaya J's two releases, "Banji" and "Smash Up The Place/Snatch Yo Wigs". In December 2013, Elliott received a Grammy nomination with Fantasia and Kelly Rowland for their song "Without Me". As early as July 2013, Missy Elliott and Timbaland held recording sessions for Kat Dahlia's debut, My Garden (2015). In August 2013, R&B singer Faith Evans revealed that Missy Elliott would be featured on her sixth studio album, tentatively titled Incomparable. In March 2014, Evans revealed one of the tracks was named "I Deserve It", featuring Missy and her protégée Sharaya J, in which Evans cited it as a "banger" and "feel good" record. Evans also revealed that in total Elliott contributed three tracks to her album. On July 7, 2014, fellow R&B singer Monica confirmed that Elliott would be a feature on her upcoming eighth studio album. On July 29, 2014, a snippet of a Missy Elliott–produced song, nickname "I Love Him", premiered on Monica's official Instagram account.

2015–2018: Super Bowl XLIX halftime show and new music
In 2015, Elliott performed at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show with Katy Perry. Elliott performed a medley of "Get Ur Freak On", "Work It", and "Lose Control". The performance was well-received, and boosted digital sales of Elliott's work that week, with a twenty-five-fold increase in album sales (to 2,000 units) and a ten-fold increase in sales of the three songs she performed (to 71,000 units) compared to the week before. It also became the most watched Super Bowl halftime show in NFL history, receiving 118.5 million viewers in the United States. On February 3, 2015, it was confirmed that Elliott would be a feature on the upcoming remix to Diplo and Skrillex's "Take Ü There". On February 11, Elliott stated that she was still in the process of recording her seventh studio album, Block Party, with Timbaland. On April 2, 2015, Pharrell Williams confirmed that he was working on Elliott's album during an episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. On November 12, 2015, "WTF (Where They From)" and its music video were simultaneously released to digital outlets. By November 19, the song and its video had been streamed 6.1 million times in the US alone, with an additional count of 16 million views per YouTube viewing.

On February 7, 2016, the day of the fiftieth Super Bowl, Elliott released a promotional single, "Pep Rally". Later that month, Elliott reunited with former protégée Tweet and frequent collaborator Timbaland on the cut "Somebody Else Will" taken from the former's third studio album, Charlene. By March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama proclaimed that she had assembled a collaborative track featuring vocals from Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monáe and Zendaya alongside production credit from pop songwriter Diane Warren and Elliott titled "This Is for My Girls". The iTunes-exclusive record will be used to both coincide with Ms. Obama's SXSW speech and to promote her third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn.

Following a surprise appearance with TLC on the 2016 televised special Taraji's White Hot Holidays, Elliott announced plans to release a documentary chronicling her impact on the production scene in both audio and video. The midnight of January 27, 2017, saw the full-length release to a new Elliott single titled "I'm Better", featuring production and vocal assistance from recurring sideman Lamb and shared directing credit by Elliott and longtime colleague Dave Meyers.

In July 2018, Missy Elliott teased fans by appearing on a snippet nicknamed "ID" by Skrillex, released in 2023 as RATATA. One month later, Elliott appeared on the Ariana Grande number "Borderline", taken from the singer's fourth studio album Sweetener (2018). In October 2018, Elliott announced that she is working on her new album, which would be released in 2019. On March 20, 2019, Lizzo released a collaboration with Elliott titled "Tempo".

2019–present: Recognition and Iconology
On June 13, 2019, Elliott was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rapper to receive this honor. Elliott received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. She was also the first female rapper to receive the award. Elliott received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2019 in recognition for her achievements in music and being a leader. This award was placed in the Congressional Record.

Elliott released her first extended play on August 23, 2019, titled Iconology. The five-track EP features a variety of musical genres that cover the breadth of her career as an artist and has received favorable reviews from critics. Upon release of the album, she also released the lead single, "Throw It Back", with a music video featuring Teyana Taylor. Musically, Iconology is a pop, hip hop and R&B EP reminiscent of Elliott's previous work. The opening track, "Throw It Back" contains "trap snares and a serpentine bassline", which along with the second track, "Cool Off", were described as "woozy, futuristic romps" containing "distorted bass lines and frenetic production". Lyrically, "Throw It Back" contains references to Elliott's history, as well as previous collaborators Tweet and Heavy D. Maura Johnson of Entertainment Weekly described "Cool Off" as calling "back to hip-hop's two-turntables-and-a-mic early days". "DripDemeanor" has been described as a slow jam that explores Elliott's "sensuous side". Musically, it contains "plush synths [that] skip-step underneath" the song's beat. "Why I Still Love You" is a doo-wop song with gospel influences and jazz influence that lyrically chronicles the singer's "conflicted emotions about holding on to a cheating lover". The EP closes with an a cappella version of "Why I Still Love You".

Elliott was motivated to write uplifting music to counter mainstream trends and encourage more dance music to feel good. "DripDemeanor" was released as the album's second single on October 22. "Why I Still Love You" was released as the third single on January 17, 2020. "Cool Off" was released as the fourth and final single from the EP on April 21, 2020. On June 26, 2020, Elliott appeared on the official remix to Toni Braxton's single "Do It". Elliott co-produced the track alongside Hannon Lane. On August 13, 2020, Elliott appeared on the remix single "Levitating" by Dua Lipa which also featured Madonna. The remix was produced by the Blessed Madonna. Unlike Madonna, Elliott appeared in the video. The music video was directed by Will Hooper.

On January 11, 2021, Elliott appeared on the single "ATM" by Bree Runway. She directed the music video for "Twerkulator" by the City Girls in July 2021.

On February 17, 2023, Elliot appeared on the track "RATATA" produced by Skrillex and Mr. Oizo, the second track on Skrillex's LP "Quest For Fire". This release confirmed rumors from 2018 regarding this collaboration, rumors that resurfaced in the months before the track's release as both Skrillex and Elliot teased the track on social media. On 23 March 2023, British group Flo released the single "Fly Girl", featuring Elliott; the song interpolates Elliott's "Work It", plus new rap section.

Personal life
Elliott said in 2008 that she wanted to start a family but was afraid of giving birth, stating, "I don't know if I can take that kind of pain. Maybe in the year 2020 you could just pop a baby out and it'd be fine. But right now I'd rather just adopt."

In June 2011, Elliott told People magazine that her absence from the music industry was due to having Graves' disease, with which she was diagnosed after she nearly crashed her car from having severe leg spasms while driving. She experienced severe symptoms from the condition and could not even hold a pen to write songs. After treatment, her symptoms stabilized.

Legacy
Elliott has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap", "Queen of Rap":
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * the "Queen of Hip Hop", "Queen of Hip Hop"
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."
 * and the "First Lady of Hip Hop" by several media outlets. Elliott's experimental concepts in her music videos changed the landscape of what a hip-hop video had as themes at the time. Her catalogue of songs have included themes of feminism, gender equality, body positivity and sex positivity since the beginning of her career, being one of the first to center on these topics among hip-hop and R&B performers. The Guardian and The Observer considered her America's first Black female music mogul, as she gained in 2001 total control over her image and music, and the opportunity to sign artists.  The Observer's Ted Kessler stated that, with her studio albums, she has "revolutionized the sound of R&B and hip-hop" and reintroduced the notion "of fun and fantasy" to urban Black music—a style that matched the "futuristic, much-copied new sound" of her 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. Destiny's Child, Eve and Macy Gray have credited her for "clearing a path" in the American music industry towards "their own pop pre-eminence" as Black female R&B/hip-hop performers. The Recording Academy and Evening Standard have called her a "hip hop icon".  The Economist considered that Elliott "is to rap what Prince was to R&B" due to their "impact upon the genre" and her ability to "weave in styles and strands from outside it."

The New Yorker stated that Elliott became the first Black female rapper to reach the mainstream in Middle America. An article from Vibe credits Elliott's debut album Supa Dupa Fly for "changing the rap game for women", noting the rapper's "refusal to be pigeonholed" with her image, and instead, embraced "the complexities inherent with Black womanhood", with the author commenting that female rappers tend to be placed into one of two categories: androgyny or hyper-sexualization. The New York Times and The Bulletin have called her the "Queen of the Beats". Jem Aswad of Variety commented that Elliott and longtime collaborator Timbaland "reshaped the sound of hip-hop", as they made songs "out of pings and bips and bloops (both vocal and electronic) that quickly became part of the foundation of virtually all that followed." Similarly, Doreen St. Félix of The New Yorker wrote that her debut album "expanded the definition of rap" and "defined a new hip-hop aesthetic", with Elliott and Timbaland developing a grammar by "collecting extra-musical noises", "crafting" a new R&B sound, and incorporating a "singsong technique" in her flow. The author noted that, a generation later, the majority of rappers "are also vocalists". For Los Angeles Times writer Gerrick D. Kennedy, Elliott "ushered in a new era of creatively ambitious music videos." The aesthetic for the music video for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" inspired several others released afterward. Commercially, Missy Elliott led female hip hop album sales during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Missy Elliott in addition to Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and The Clipse are considered to have an intricate part of establishing Virginia as one of the East Coast's strongholds in hip hop. As of 2015, she has remained the best selling female rap album artist in the US. ABC website editor Gab Burke expressed that Elliott "railed against the male-dominated mainstream rap scene throughout her career, constantly pushed the boundaries, and cemented a place for women in hip hop."

Elliott has influenced various musicians, both visually and vocally. Her work has been cited as an inspiration by acts such as Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Lizzo, Tyler, the Creator, Solange Knowles, Chloe Bailey, M.I.A., Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Rapsody, Ciara, Bree Runway, Doja Cat, Ivy Queen, Ari Lennox, Tayla Parx, Sean Bankhead, ASAP Ferg, Leikeli47, Tierra Whack,  Noname,  Okenyo, Little Simz, Coda Conduct, Dawn Richard, Banks, Rich the Kid, Crystal Caines, Coi Leray, Lady Leshurr, Stefflon Don, Flo Milli, Krept and Konan, Rye Rye, Le1f, Qveen Herby and Erica Banks

Awards and nominations
Elliott has won four Grammy Awards, eight MTV Video Music Awards, two American Music Awards, six BET Awards, and a Billboard Women in Music award for Innovator. On June 13, 2019, Elliott was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, becoming the first female rapper to receive this honor, and the third overall, following Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri. Also in 2019, Elliott received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, and became the first female rapper to receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award by MTV.

In 2018, Elliott received Essence magazine's Black Women In Music honor, and in 2019, she was presented with the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award at the United Nations. In 2020, Urban One presented her with the Music Innovation Award.

In May 2021, Elliott was among the inaugural inductees for the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. In November 2021, Elliott was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2023, she became the first female hip-hop artist to receive a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when she was nominated in her first year of eligibility; she was later inducted the same year, becoming the first female hip-hop artist to be inducted.

In December 2022, Elliott received a second honorary doctorate, this time from Norfolk State University, who also helped rename a Portsmouth street after her.

In November 2023, Elliot became the first female rapper in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Other ventures
In 2005, there were plans to make a biographical film about the life story of Elliott. It was to be co-produced by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, and written by Diane Houston. In mid-June 2007, Elliott said she was still working on the script with Houston in order "to come up with the right stuff 'cause I don't want it to be watered down. I want it to be raw and uncut the way my life was." Initially, it seemed Timbaland would not be a part of the movie. When Missy asked him, he refused, believing this dramatized his character; "the movie is about her life, her story, that goes deeper than putting me into the movie".

Philanthropy
In 2002, Elliott wrote a letter on behalf of PETA to the mayor of her hometown Portsmouth, Virginia, asking that all shelter animals be neutered/spayed before being adopted. For the reality TV show The Road to Stardom, there was a contest for viewers to create a public service ad for the Break the Cycle fund.

In 2004, she joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to promote their "Viva Glam" campaign. In addition to the ad campaign, Elliott promoted the MAC Viva Glam V lipstick from which 100% of the sale goes to the MAC AIDS Fund.

In 2007, Elliott appeared on an ABC's Extreme Makeover and awarded four scholarships for a weight loss program to four underprivileged teens.

In August 2017, a 27-year-old Virginia man named Nathan Coflin began a Change.org petition that gained over 30,000 signatures in support of a statue to honor Elliott's philanthropic endeavors to be erected in her hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia. On the petition's proposed site for this statue a Confederate Monument previously stood. This led to widespread media coverage in several national publications including The Washington Post, HuffPost, Newsweek and Time Magazine.

In October 2022, a portion of McLean Street in Portsmouth, Virginia was renamed "Missy Elliott Boulevard".

Discography

 * Supa Dupa Fly (1997)
 * Da Real World (1999)
 * Miss E... So Addictive (2001)
 * Under Construction (2002)
 * This Is Not a Test! (2003)
 * The Cookbook (2005)

Concert tours
Headlining
 * Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience Tour (with Ciara and Busta Rhymes) (2024)

Co-headlining
 * Lilith Fair Tour (with various artists) (1998)
 * The Verizon Ladies First Tour (with Beyoncé, Tamia and Alicia Keys) (2004)
 * Hip Hop: Don't Stop Tour (with Kelis and Talib Kweli) (2004)

Special guest
 * All for You Tour (Janet Jackson) (2002)
 * Anger Management Tour (Eminem and 50 Cent) (2003)
 * Return of the Queen Tour (Lil' Kim) (2012)

Opening act
 * Rainbow World Tour (Mariah Carey) (2000)
 * Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special (Michael Jackson) (2001)
 * Rock the Mic Tour (Jay-Z and 50 Cent) (2003)
 * Re-Invention World Tour (Madonna) (2004)
 * Unbreakable World Tour (Janet Jackson) (2015)

title: Missy Elliott


text:
ITV Channel Television

ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the network ITV schedule. Until November 2011, Channel Television was one of four ITV companies independent from ITV plc alongside the two STV regions in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland. The station has been owned by ITV plc since 2012 and the licence was transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited in March 2017.

Until the takeover by ITV plc, Channel Television also had a responsibility to ensure independent productions for ITV complied with the regulator Ofcom's broadcasting rules. Until the regulations changed, Ofcom could only impose a maximum fine of 5% of the revenue of the company responsible for compliance, and as Channel was by far the smallest ITV contractor, this minimised the potential fines to which ITV as a whole would be exposed. Channel handled compliance for programmes including The X Factor, Midsomer Murders and the British Comedy Awards.

The station's main competitor is the BBC, which operates an opt-out of the South West England news programme Spotlight.

Launch
Channel Television was awarded the licence for the islands in 1960 by the then regulator the Independent Television Authority (ITA). However, the ITA pointed out that the Television Act 1954 that established ITV did not include provision for the Channel Islands and as a result, if the ITA was to operate an ITV service there, it would have to be permitted by means of extending the Act to the islands with an Order in Council. In addition, the new station faced difficulties connecting to the rest of the ITV network. The solution was the construction of a microwave relay station on the northern island of Alderney that would connect with another ITV station, initially Westward Television. At first, the station received difficulties in getting permission for the new mast, but these were overcome in September 1961.

Channel Television finally went on the air on 1 September 1962, the 16th ITV station to launch. It served the smallest population of any ITV station with only around 150,000 people in 54,000 households.

1960s and 1970s
The size of Channel's audience made the station initially vulnerable to any disputes and disturbances to the ITV network as a whole. When technicians went on strike in the summer of 1968, Channel was the only station not to be affected. While Channel did survive the 1968 strike, it was badly affected by the Three-Day Week of 1973-4 which restricted the hours of television stations to save electricity. However, Channel managed to escape the large ITV strike that blacked out the rest of the network in August–October 1979, on the same understanding as before. Channel managed to provide a service based mainly on films, imports, extended local news coverage and regional programming, with the biggest problem coming from difficulties in transporting film to the Jersey studios.

Channel also made advances during this period to enhance its service. In 1970, Channel formalised its relationship with South West England ITV franchisee holder Westward Television allowing a greater share of programming between the two franchise holders. Channel finally converted to colour television on Monday 26 July 1976, the last region to do so (five years after the next to last contractor, Grampian Television, began colour transmissions) and seven years after the first. Delays were due to the cost of upgrading the studios and purchasing new equipment and the need to provide a stronger network feed as the region's northernmost areas got better signals from Southern and Thames/London Weekend. All local programmes were being made in colour by the following year with Channel donating all of its old cameras to local museums. Just before the 1979 ITV strike began, Channel became only the second TV station in Europe to introduce electronic news-gathering (ENG) to its local news operation (BBC1 had used ENG for London-originated news since at least 1978), ending the use of film.

1980s and 1990s
The new decade began with a new franchise round for the islands in which Channel was unopposed. However, there was to be a change of franchise in the South West of England with Westward being replaced by Television South West (TSW), requiring a new agreement with TSW. However, in 1986 Channel changed from whom it sourced its network feed, instead changing to Television South (TVS) which served the South and South East of England from Southampton and Maidstone. A side-effect of this change was a disruption to serials airing on the station in the afternoon due to the serial having begun on TVS at a different time to TSW so that they were at a different point through the serial's run. For instance, Channel had to miss over 100 episodes of The Young Doctors, the first nine episodes of Prisoner Cell Block H which had been screened on TVS in 1985, and it had to re-show 60 episodes of Sons and Daughters as TVS was behind TSW. The new feed also meant that Channel simulcast TVS's night time schedule following the launch of this programming area in 1988. Channel's night time schedule from that point onwards always simulcast the service seen on TVS and its successor Meridian.

During this period, the station began to invest in technology. A local service for the Oracle teletext service began in 1981, delivering local news and information. Local news was also enhanced with the first underwater ENG camera, created for footage of a Roman shipwreck, and a year later with the introduction of a computerised newsroom, the first of the ITV regions to convert.

In 1991, the station faced a new challenge: that of a new franchise round. Following the Broadcasting Act of the previous year, the allocation of regional franchises had changed to become a blind auction in which the franchise went to the highest bidder. This process was further complicated by a quality threshold, in which a higher bidder could be disqualified for having a poor business plan or if its high bid would result in a lack of funds for the programmes themselves. In the franchise round, Channel bid £1,000 (the lowest bid accepted) and was out-bid by challenge consortium CI3. CI3, formed in part of ex-Channel employees, bid £102,000, but was disqualified as it failed to pass the quality threshold. Channel had won the right to continue broadcasting beyond 1993. As another consequence of the franchise round, Channel began local news broadcasts during breakfast time as part of GMTV's new service.

In 1996, Channel began a subtitling service for its local programmes.

2000 to present
In 2001, Channel was bought by the Yattendon Investment Trust, although the buy-out did not lead to a noticeable change on screen. The buy-out occurred at the same time as the full scale amalgamation of ITV with many of the regional franchises becoming owned by one of four consortia: Carlton, Granada, United News and Media and Scottish Media Group. Channel subsequently remained one of two franchises to be not part of a consortium (the other being UTV). When Carlton and Granada (which by then also included the United News and Media franchises) merged to form ITV plc in 2004, Channel remained separate from this new merger. Channel's independence from ITV plc also saw it retain its much loved regional non-news programmes when other regions saw this type of programming dropped.

Despite being a small station, Channel took on a role in ensuring that ITV's independently produced programmes complied with the UK's guidelines and laws. On 18 May 2008, The Sunday Times newspaper reported that ITV plc was using Channel's compliance role as a loophole, enabling it to lessen a possible fine for breaching Ofcom regulations during the 2005 British Comedy Awards. During the programme Robbie Williams presented an award to Ant and Dec which should have gone to Catherine Tate who had received a greater number of phone-in votes. For this breach, Ofcom fined the broadcaster, which was worked out as a maximum of 5% of the offending broadcaster's advertising revenue. However, as the programme was independently produced Channel is seen as the offending broadcaster for not ensuring compliance, despite Channel having no role in commissioning the programme. Therefore, any fines received are minimal as Channel's advertising income was by far the smallest of all the ITV companies.

In early 2008, Channel began broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen, approximately a decade after the rest of the network became widescreen capable with the launch of digital terrestrial television. The Channel Islands also completed the switchover from analogue to digital television signals in November 2010.

In 2011, Channel Television was bought from the Yattendon Group by ITV plc. The deal was announced on 18 October, subject to approval from the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, and was completed on 23 November. Although not announced, the deal was thought to have been worth at least £10 million. Following ITV's 2013 rebrand, Channel's presentation and the title of its news programme have been brought into line with the other ITV regions, although sporadic non-news programming remains.

Studios
Channel Television operates two studios: the Jersey headquarters at Castle Quay on the St Helier waterfront and a Guernsey studio at Television House in Bulwer Avenue in St. Sampson, a building shared with BBC Radio Guernsey.

In Jersey, Channel's first headquarters were a purpose-built centre at the corner of Rouge Bouillon and Val Plaisant, housing one main 1,000 sq.ft. studio for all local productions and a continuity suite. As the company expanded, Channel moved into larger facilities in 1988 at La Pouquelaye, converted from the former offices of Rediffusion's Jersey operation. Initially, the La Pouquelaye centre housed two production studios (the smaller studio B was latterly converted into offices) and a continuity studio, later used exclusively for Puffin's Pla(i)ce. Channel moved to its current, smaller premises at Castle Quay in June 2015.

Channel's Guernsey operation was founded upon the station's launch in a hotel in Saint Peter Port, moving to Market Square in 1967, from where a microwave link with the Jersey headquarters was established in 1971, allowing live studio contributions from the island to be broadcast for the first time. In 1983, Channel in Guernsey moved again to larger facilities at St George's Esplanade, from where Channel Report was presented on a regular basis. The current Guernsey base in St. Sampson, including a small multi-camera studio, was opened in 1997.

Channel also previously had a London office, latterly based near to The London Studios, from where it ran its third-party compliance business.

Identity
Channel Television's first on screen logo featured six hexagons, laid out five below linked together with one on top with a stylised cat's head inside it. The five hexagons below represent the five main channel islands: Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm. The ident was animated so that each hexagon appeared in turn accompanied by one note of the jingle along with the name. This ident lasted until colour came to the region in the mid-1970s with only one slight variation in the positioning of the channel name.

The first colour ident used by Channel involved a striped CTV, which would serve as the station logo until 1999. The first ident featured this static logo made of orange stripes on a white outline against a blue background with a soundtrack of a brass fanfare titled "Superstar Fanfare", composed by Keith Mansfield. This same fanfare was later used when Channel launched its next ident, featuring the lines of the CTV logo spinning into place, coloured gold against a black background. This was introduced around 1985 and was utilised for the station's 25th Anniversary in 1987, when each line of the CTV logo was drawn out before spinning back to be joined by a striped 25.

In the early 1990s Channel aired its first computer generated ident, featuring the CTV logo, initially silver but turned gold by two sideways flashes, falling backwards onto the gradiented blue background. This logo was accompanied by a dramatic score which was later improved, along with the ident, in 1993. The improvements kept the theme and repositioned the logo, changed the background to a navy blue, made the logo itself bigger and gold throughout and, most noticeably, improved the music making it less dramatic and giving it a softer feel.

Both during this period and before, Channel used an on-air clock. The other ITV regions in the 1970s up to the very early 1990s, commonly used a clock as well, but it had been gradually been dropped. Channel kept the clock up to 2002, using it to introduce news and, more unusually, announce the local temperature and tide times prior to the following programme (something not seen elsewhere in the ITV network).

In 1998, Channel adopted a different style of presentation. The CTV logo remained, both on end captions and as the company logo, while on screen Channel utilised the device of the word 'Channel' written in a variety of fonts arranged in circles and moving, spinning and pulsating to a tune of a simple jingle. This look was not to last as the second ITV generic look occurred in 1999, which Channel adopted. This look, based on the theme of hearts, also provided Channel with a new logo, featuring a globe with the Channel Islands on it being orbited by two comets whose trails make a heart shape. Channel used the generic look, albeit with its own soundtrack, until 2002. The generic look was used for network programmes with regional ones using a large Channel logo over the spinning hearts background. When the celebrity idents came Channel used a variation, where the left side of the screen was taken up by its logo. A number of idents were used featuring different celebrities and some local ones made by Channel themselves were used; in 2002 a special ident to celebrate the channels 40th Anniversary was introduced featuring former station logos.

In late 2004 Channel used idents of scenes from around the Channel Islands, with the logo in a stripe down the left side of the screen. Some elements of the network branding were also used.

In 2006, Channel, whilst being fiercely independent and regional, adopted a variation of the national ITV1 network branding and shared continuity, due to it receiving a non-clean feed of networked programming from ITV Meridian. While the branding was very similar to regions owned by ITV plc Channel Television used an older ITV1 logo with white letters on its idents supplemented by the wording 'Channel Television' and pre-recorded local continuity announcements are used at key junctions - including prior to national and regional news and on the handover from ITV Breakfast at 9.25am. Typically this is "This is Channel Television, ITV in the Channel Islands", or at the handover from ITV Breakfast, "It's 9.25 and you're watching Channel Television, your local ITV station". These idents also use music from the original emotion idents rather than the updated jingle and music. It was the only ITV company to take the network branding without being a part of ITV plc.

Following the takeover in November 2011, Channel began using ITV1's 2010 logo and updated its idents.

On 14 January 2013, the station's on-air identity was changed to ITV, along with all other ITV plc-owned franchises. There are no specific idents stating Channel Television but the name is instead verbally referred to at the 6pm junctions before ITV News Channel TV and for a time it was used overnight.

Local shows

 * ITV News Channel TV
 * Puffin's Pla(i)ce
 * Channel Islands Sports Awards

Contributions to network and multi-region series
Although Channel made little for the ITV network it did contribute to a number of roadshow and anthology series which were collaboratively produced in a number of the smaller TV regions, such as Highway.

Other programmes

 * The Lonely Man (1963)
 * The Bitter Years (1970; about the occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War)
 * Jambo: The Gentle Giant (one-off documentary, 1986)
 * Gallery (1986–92)
 * The Dodo Club (1987–89)
 * Cyril Fletcher's TV Garden (1990–92)
 * Bertie the Bat (1990)
 * Island (1996–97)
 * The Story of the Battle of Flowers (two-part documentary, 2002)
 * Simply the Best (2004)

title: ITV Channel Television