Hip Hop icon Melissa ‘Missy Elliot’ Arnette has made history as the only hip hop artist whose soundtrack has been chosen by NASA to play for aliens. ‘The Rain’ soundtrack from the ‘Supa Dupa Fly’ 1997 album took approximately 14 minutes to travel from earth to the planet Venus, a distance of 254 million kilometres.
NASA made an announcement on Monday, that the song was transmitted last week Friday, 12 of July 2024 via NASA’s Digital Space Network (DSN) from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The song was selected because of its inspirational message. Director of Digital and Technology Division at the Office of Communication at NASA”s headquarters in Washington pitched the idea to Missy Elliot’s team to do a collaboration with the space agency. She said, “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries.”
Missy Elliot began her musical journey 30 years ago and the DSN that started spacecraft communication over 60 years ago has her soundtrack travelling outside of human existence. While speaking on this great achievement, Missy Elliot said, “I still can’t believe I’m going out of this world with NASA through the Deep Space Network when “The Rain” (Supa Dupa Fly) becomes the first ever hip-hop song to transmit to space!.” She also said that she chose the Venus for this project because it is a symbol of strength, beauty and empowerment.
This is the second song transmitted by NASA after ‘Across the universe” by the Beatles was sent to North Star Polaris in 2008. Missy Elliot has often used space iconography in her work by infusing futuristic aesthetics and space-eccentric storytelling techniques in her videos. This is also another aspect that influenced NASA’s decision to collaborate with her.
Missy Elliot is currently busy with her North American headlining tour featuring Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland. This is one of her biggest performances since becoming the first-ever female artist to be inducted in the Songwriter’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
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Written by: Sema Fonkem
Images: Elvele Images /Alamy , Spotify & Aaron J. Thornton/WireImage
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