“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries.”
Super Duper
NASA has sent a hip hop song to space for the very first time — and it chose the ineffable Melissa “Missy” Elliott as the first rap artist whose work will grace the cosmos.
In a press release, NASA and CalTech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced that the lyrics to Missy’s 1997 classic “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” — you know, the one where she wears the trash bag in the fisheye lens-filmed music video directed by Hype Williams — have been transmitted to Venus, the artist’s favorite planet.
“I chose Venus because it symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment,” Elliott said in the statement, “and I am so humbled to have the opportunity to share my art and my message with the universe!”
As that same press release notes, “The Rain” is only the second song to ever have its lyrics transmitted to space, after the JPL beamed The Beatles’ “Across The Universe” out in 2008.
Stay Fly
The lyrics to the nearly 30-year-old hit were broadcast the 158 million mile distance to Venus via NASA’s Deep Space Network, which uses a series of three giant equidistant radio dishes in Australia, California, and Spain to communicate with spacecraft and transmit signals to other off-world bodies, too.
What’s even cooler: the lyrics to the ethereal track, which feature a sample of soul artist Ann Peebles’ 1973 single “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” were conveyed to Venus at the speed of light. It got from the DSN’s American radio antenna near Barstow to the acid rain-hosting planet in about 14 minutes, NASA notes.
“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries,” enthused Brittany Brown, the director of NASA’s digital and technology division at its Washington HQ who initially pitched the idea to the artist’s team. “Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting.”
Coincidentally enough, the radio dish at the DSN’s California complex, named DSS-13, is apparently nicknamed “Venus.”
More on Venus: Astronomers Spot Epic Flows of Lava Oozing Out of Venus
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