Missy Elliot vs Erykah Badhu

Missy Elliott (Formerly Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) (born Melissa Elliott on July 1, 1971 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is the first female hip hop superstar, known for a long series of hits. In the summer of 2003, Elliott was the featured rapper on Timbaland and Magoo's long-awaited return single, "Cop That Disc". The song became a hit on urban radio. Elliott's newest singles, "Pass The Dutch" and "I'm Really Hot", from her fifth album, This Is Not A Test! (released November 2003), both rose the urban charts.

Erykah Badu was born Erica Wright in Dallas, Texas, in 1972. Her mother raised her single handily along with Erykah's brother and sister, since their father had left the family home early on in their lives.

Having been influenced significantly by her mother, Erica Wright (or Erykah Badu as she would later become known to her legions of fans) had her first taste of showbiz at the tender age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre.

Free-styling at a local radio station by the age of 14, Erykah was known to be at her local radio station alongside such talents as Roy Hargrove, who, incidentally, was a talented beat-boxer back in the 80's and who is now a very successful session musician in his own right.

In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her 'slave' name. The term 'kah' signifies the inner self, which, when translated from Muslim, means 'can do no wrong'.

Her surname, Badu, derives from an Arabic word which means 'to manifest truth and light'.

Missy Elliot vs Erykah Badhu