North Carolina’s own, Rapsody will take the stage with multi-talent Leikeli47 to perform a tribute in honor of hip-hop icon Missy Elliott at the 2018 Essence ‘Black Women in Music’ celebration. The event is set to take place on Jan. 25 in New York City at Highline Ballroom.
For the past nine years, Essence ‘Black Women in Music’ acknowledges the accomplishments of women who have proven influential ground in their niches specifically during the week of the Grammy Awards.
The Misdemeanor set a new principle for the outlook of black women in music, starting from her 1997 solo debut Supa Dupa Fly. The visuals to the album’s hit singles “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” and “Sock It 2 Me” set in stone the famed abstract perception of Missy’s creativity. She was highly instrumental in curating the works of the late Aaliyah as a noted songwriter. Missy’s sense of nonconformity is notably influential in the development of hip-hop, R&B, and pop music in the millennium, especially with her hand in the chart hitting successes of elites such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and several more class-acts.
Rapsody, who is currently signed to 9th Wonder’s Jamla Records and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, has been nominated for two Grammy awards, Best Rap Album-thanks to her sophomore debut Lalia’s Wisdom and Best Rap Song, “Sassy.”
Leikeli47 is a Bedstuy, Brooklyn breed rapper who gained kudos from Brooklyn legend Jay-Z after her song “F*** the Summer Up” made number one on his Tidal playlist back in 2015. She is a multi-talent, who also pursuits directing and producing hones a signature presence of anonymity with the use of a face mask.
