Missy Elliott Gets Emotional During Inspirational Speech When Collecting Honorary Degree

In March, The Inquisitr reported the news that Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, and Alex Lacamoire would receive honorary Doctor of Music degrees at Berklee College of Music’s commencement ceremony. On May 11, the event took place at the Agganis Arena at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. The honorary doctorates will serve as a recognition for their musical achievements and influence and for their global impact.

According to The Grapevine, Elliott became the first female hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year.

As of Saturday, she is now officially a doctor.

When it came down to her speech when collecting her honorary degree, she kept it real and got emotional.

In an Instagram upload which she posted on her account, it appears that Elliott has stayed true to her debut album title, Supa Dupa Fly. She starts tearing up letting the crowd know that she needs to just try and soak in the moment. She was wearing bright eyeshadow while owning her long curly locks, looking stunning as always. She explained to the other graduates that they should prepare for a lot of ups and downs. She told them the story of when she was first featured on a song back in the day before her breakthrough. Elliott was thrilled to find out she had featured on a track only to find out that she was replaced by a much slimmer, more typically beautiful woman in the music video lipsyncing her rap. Even though she didn’t specifically mention the video and song she was referring to, it was in fact, Raven Symone’s “That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of” she was referencing.

“That was the first time I realized that maybe I wasn’t the look of beauty that people thought beauty was then. And that discouraged me,” she said.

“But I kept going,” she told them, inspiring the crowd.

“As long as you are breathing, it is never too late. Because people will tell you you’re too old, people will tell you it’ll never work,” the “Pass That Dutch” hitmaker continued.

“You have come too far to quit.”

In another Instagram post, she danced to her success of being declared a doctor in a video upload by influencing her 2.8 million followers to create their own lane.

Recently, The Inquisitr reported a selfie Elliott posted to her social media that included her producer friend Pharrell Williams. The pair who are both in their 40s both looked ageless and like they had frozen in time. While there is nothing wrong with showing signs of aging, their fans were quick to realize their youthful looks and wanted to know their secret.

In her 20-year-plus career, Missy has racked up five Grammy Awards — Best Rap Solo Performance for “Get Ur Freak On,” Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Lady Marmalade,” Best Female Rap Solo Performance for “Scream a.k.a. Itchin,” and “Work It.” Her most recent win in 2006 was for Best Short Form Music Video for “Lose Control.”

If you are eager for new music from the rap legend, then something might be coming your way soon as she revealed that she had just finished a project, according to NME.