Missy Elliott

“And basically I always said when I was little that if I ever became successful or a celebrity, I would buy her this huge house and she would never have to work anymore. And I've done that. So I feel happy about doing that.”

“I remember having mice in the house and my father taking some newspaper and beating me because mice was running on me while I was asleep.”

“My imagination is so far out there already. People couldn't imagine what goes on in my brain.”

“I know that some people shy away from what I say. They think it is too blunt, but when you don't give people that, they feel like you are being fake and you're not telling the truth. So it's like, you want me to tell the truth, but when I do, it's too much for you.”

“I've learnt to be happy by myself.”

“I want to make something commercial that people can pick up on.”

“Maybe I should find myself one of those sexy British soccer stars. David Beckham is hot. But I've got a hell of a lot of competition.”

“I never drank water. Always soda. I didn't use to like water, but I've had to train myself to drink it.”

“My Struggles is a record close to me. It's about what I went through at home living with an abusive father.”

“It feels different.... When hip-hop was beginning for me, people weren't making the kind of money that they make now. It was for the love of doing it and having fun with it.”

“I want to be cutting-edge.”

“Left Eye is a a rare gem.”

“I feel like, O.K., if I can make it as a singer, then let me try rapping. If I can make it as a rapper, then let me try writing. All right? If I make it as a rap singer and writer, then why not try to produce? I don't feel limited in any way.”

“I always feel the need to work as if I don't have a deal, because that's what's going to keep me around for a long time.”

“I remember, in school, writing Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson and asking them to come get me out of class. I would imagine them running down the hall and asking my teacher, 'Ms. Daniels, can we get Missy out of class? We're here to see Missy.'”

“I love to see women just have on their own, and you watch the guys do it all the time. They go out on the road with each other - probably don't even like each other, but they going to get that money.”

“Lil' Kim is my sister, known her for years, and I'll never turn my back on her, but there is enough room for everybody. I want to see everybody get it.”

“Music is a male-dominated field. Women are not always taken as seriously as we should be, so sometimes we have to put our foot down.”

“My mother helped me to be who I am: to have strength and not to let people run all over me and yet to be humble; to realise that all of this that I have today could be gone.”

“I don't want to be oh-so-brag-about-it, but 'The Rain' is hot.”