Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah were among the artists honored by President Joe Biden with National Medals of Arts on Monday (October 21). The award is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. Past recipients have included writer Ralph Ellison, painter Georgia O’Keeffe, singer Ella Fitzgerald, actor James Earl Jones, and actor/activist Harry Belafonte.
Missy and Latifah were both honored for their contributions to music — Missy in 2022 and Latifah in 2023 — and actually given their medals by Biden at Monday’s ceremony, alongside fellow recipients Ken Burns, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Idina Menzel, and Eva Longoria. The two rappers were the first rappers to receive National Medals of Arts since the honor was established in 1984. Incidentally, both were the first recipients of other prestigious honors; in 2023, Latifah was the first female rapper to become a Kennedy Center honoree, while Elliott became the first female rapper inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
On Twitter (not “X,” which is a horrible name), Missy wrote: “I am HUMBLY GRATEFUL! Crying Tears of JOY! Thinking of the days I wasn’t so strong but through FAITH & PRAYER I kept going..I’m SO THANKFUL @POTUS & CONGRATULATIONS to the other amazing ppl who was blessed with this honor. And a BIG CONGRATS to my sis @IAMQUEENLATIFAH who deserve all the bouquets she also was honored today! Thank you for kicking down doors QUEEN for me & those after you.”
Unfortunately, there’s no report on whether Biden put his thang down, flipped it, and reversed it, but one can only hope.