Her Eyes Were Watching the Stars: How Missy Elliott Became an Icon

She’s been making ahead-of-the-curve music and mind-bending videos for 20 years—and that’s no fluke. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah goes behind the curtain with the ultraprivate creative genius. This article appears in the June 2017 issue of ELLE, on newsstands now. At the photo shoot, the accoutrements of being her precede her. A tray of acrylic nails… Read More Her Eyes Were Watching the Stars: How Missy Elliott Became an Icon

Regular, Degular, Shmegular Girl From the Bronx Only in 2017 could this particular strip-club, reality-television, rap-fame fairy tale have come true. And maybe only for Cardi B.

Only in 2017 could this particular strip-club, reality-television, rap-fame fairy tale have come true. And maybe only for Cardi B. Cardi B thinks nobody is watching her as she practices in the backstage holding pen at Brooklyn Academy of Music, where Jimmy Kimmel Live! is taping a special. Everyone is, though: She’s built to watch,… Read More Regular, Degular, Shmegular Girl From the Bronx Only in 2017 could this particular strip-club, reality-television, rap-fame fairy tale have come true. And maybe only for Cardi B.

Future: Syrup, Strippers and Heavy Angst With the Superstar MC

“I embraced what I thought people was gonna hate about me. I was gonna turn the hate into love” Outside, it’s rush hour, a still-sunny spring evening in Atlanta, but in here, you’d never know it. This room is windowless and dark, illuminated only by a projector shooting shimmering green stars onto the ceiling, a… Read More Future: Syrup, Strippers and Heavy Angst With the Superstar MC