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Vh1 aired the talented Missy Elliott’s “Behind The Music” last night and Missy revealed astounding personal events of her life, including being molested at 8 years old, growing up in poverty and watching her father attempt to kill her mother. Peep a few excerpts and the full video below:

On working with Aaliyah:

“You’re thinking, ‘diva.’ And she’s gonna come in like, “Why is the heat down? And give me my tea!” But here is this young girl, she’s smiling and she gave us hugs. It made us feel so comfortable. Me, her and Tim were inseparable.”

On working with Sylvia Rhone:

“Sylvia, she really saw something in me and she said, ‘Just be you and make a hot record.'”

On being molested by her 16-year-old cousin when she was 8:

“Each day he wanted me to come to the house after school. It became sexual which for me, at 8 years old, I had no clue of what was going on but I knew that it was wrong. Being molested at such a young age, it don’t disappear and you remember it for the rest of your life.”

On growing up in an abusive home:

“Watching my father be abusive to my mother was like him beating me. I was scared because I never knew when I’d come home and have my mother be dead. He pulled the gun out in front of me. I was screaming ‘Daddy, please don’t kill my mother, please don’t kill my mother!’ I’ll never forget it was the most scariest time in my life.”

For me, Missy Elliott is one of those celebrities that you could totally relate with. She just comes off as so human…so accessible – not like she’s on a certain pedestal that you will never reach. I’ve always loved that about her. Personally, Missy is one of my favorite female rappers because although many of her lyrics are sexual, that’s not what defines Missy as a rapper. She succeeded in being known for her creativity as a singer/songwriter and lyricist than being known for her raunchy lyrics.

Your thoughts?

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