MTV News
September 1997

If you've seen the super-slick video for "The Rain," you might be wondering where Missy Elliot came from, but if you think the singer/songwriter came out of nowhere with the hit single, think again.

In the past, Elliot has written songs for Jodeci, Aaliyah, and Adina Howard, as well as having sung on tracks with New Edition and MC Lyte. Next week her debut album "Supa Dupa Fly" will hit stores, but she's still giving material to other stars. The latest is Mariah Carey, who's got a new album of her own due in September called "Butterfly."

"Her people called and wanted me and (producer) Timbaland to do a song with her," Missy told MTV News about the union. "So she flew down, I guess in her private jet, to Virginia where me and Timbaland live, and we went to the hotel, and kicked it for the whole night... Just sat in the hotel, and wrote a song called 'Baby Doll' which is hot, it's hot. It looks different because me and Mariah have two separate styles of writing and they come together, it's gonna be something nice."

Next month a single and video called "Honey" should be released off Carey's new album. Next week she'll shoot a second video for the title track, "Butterfly."