Missy Elliott's influences include a dizzying array of inventive artists from the worlds of hip-hop, funk and R&B. Fellow MCs who defied gender expectations include old school rappers MC Lyte and Monie Love, and contemporaries Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa. Other visionaries who shaped her sound include socially conscious MCs LL Cool J and Heavy D and R&B legends Chaka Khan and Millie Jackson.