Missy Elliott glows in gold on the cover of Essence Magazine‘s July / August issue.

Arriving just weeks before the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer takes to the stage as a headliner at the Essence Festival of Culture, the feature sees the veteran style and profile.

Beyond the vibrancy of the shoot, Elliott seizes the spotlight to open up about darker times of depression, how she navigates said feelings, and more.

Pics and quotes below…

On Being An Innovator:

“I was having fun when doing the videos/I never even thought, Let me try to do the most outlandish thing. That never crossed my mind, ever. It just spoke to who I was in school.”

I was always just different. So by the time I started doing videos, the music just really spoke to who I was as a person. And so I never thought, Hey, I’m going to do this, and this is going to change the world. It’s going to change the way videos look. Or I want to do the craziest thing ever. Nothing seemed crazy to me.”

On Dealing with Depression and Anxiety: 

“Now I’m fine with being like, ‘Hey, I got anxiety’ or ‘I went through depression. Even the biggest artist, or just the regular everyday working person, we all go through sh*t. We all do. And it’s okay to say, ‘Hey, I’m not okay today.’ Probably we would keep a lot of people around if we were that open,  because we would be able to uplift each other . We’d know that I’m not going to look at you crazy if you say, ‘Hey, I’m having a rough day.’ Maybe you’re thinking things that you shouldn’t think,  or whatever the case may be.

I had a peer of mine say, ‘Hey, look, I’ve been through the same thing,’” she says. “And he was just like, ‘Next time I see you, I’m going to put a mirror in front of your face, so you can remember who you are and all that you’ve done.’”

On Being Content: 

“I think my legacy speaks for itself.”

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Essence / Derek Blanks]

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