"This is Hip Hop history!" — Fans celebrate as Missy Elliott’s The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) becomes first rap song to be beamed into space

American rapper and singer Missy Elliott recently made history with her single The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) as it became the first rap song to be beamed into space. In a statement published by NASA on July 15, 2024, the government agency stated that the Deep Space Network (DSN) transmitted Missy's track and beamed it to Venus.

As per NASA's Instagram post dated July 16, the rap song travelled 158 million miles from Earth to Venus in 14 minutes at the speed of light. Digital and Technology Division director at the NASA Headquarters, Brittany Brown mentioned in the press release:

“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries."

Fans of the Work It rapper were ecstatic at their favourite rapper achieving a huge milestone and took to X to praise her. One of the fans referred to Missy Elliot's ongoing Out of This World Tour and wrote:

"This is sooo dope Miss. We gotta get the aliens some trash bags so they can have the full effect😂 Keep pushing the needle forward! This is Hip Hop history! #OutOfThisWorldTour"

"Missy makes history yet again! 😎💜" another fan mentioned.

"First Venus tomorrow other Galaxies. To Infinity and Beyond👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿💚💚💚" a fan shared excitement on X.

"oh my good gd 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 not me cryinggg!! this is so beautiful ❤️🚀👽" a netizen wrote.

Some of the fans jokingly mentioned that aliens would have access to Missy's music now:

"Congrats again Queen uh astronaut @MissyElliott now the aliens can enjoy your music too 😂😂🚀🔥🛸🛸" an X user commented.

"Dooooppeeeee. Now when they come looking for u lol be ready for the concert in space,!" another fan mentioned.

"Still breaking records," a fan wrote, referring to Missy having more platinum albums than any other female rapper in 2022.

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"The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning" — Missy Elliott comments on her song getting beamed into space

Missy Elliott's songs are known for featuring creative visuals of space which NASA also acknowledged in their press release. The government agency stated that her song was the ideal choice for the project owing to her "track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos".

Meawhile, the rapper shared the news with her fans via an X post on July 16, 2024, calling the achievement "crazy." She wrote that her song has officially been transmitted to Venus and that:

"The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning"

Moreover, Missy Elliott mentioned in NASA's press release that she still can't believe her song is going out of this world through NASA's Deep Space Network. The One Minute Man rapper also shared her reason for choosing Venus as the planet for song projection. She explained:

“I chose Venus because it symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment and I am so humbled to have the opportunity to share my art and my message with the universe!”

While Missy Elliot's Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) is the first rap song to be beamed into outer space, it is not the first song overall. In February 2008, NASA beamed The Beatles' 1997 hit Across the Universe into deep space, making it the first track ever to get transmitted into space.

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The rapper is currently on her 'Out of This Word Tour – The Missy Elliott Experience' which began on July 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. It is slated to be concluded on August 23, 2024, in Rosemont, III.