Missy Elliott’s iconic 1997 single “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” has become the first hip-hop song to be transmitted into space, reaching the planet Venus. This groundbreaking event took place on Friday, July 12, facilitated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

The song was sent using NASA’s Deep Space Network, covering an astonishing distance of 158 million miles at the speed of light, taking nearly 14 minutes to arrive at Venus, according to Billboard.

Missy Elliott expressed her excitement on social media, sharing, “YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment. The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”

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Brittany Brown, Digital and Technology Division Director at NASA’s Office of Communications, proposed the idea to Elliott’s team, noting the parallels between space exploration and Elliott’s artistic work. Brown stated, “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries. 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.”

“The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” is a track from Elliott’s breakthrough album, Supa Dupa Fly, produced by Timbaland. The album marked Elliott as a significant force in the hip-hop and R&B scenes, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 129,000 copies sold in its first week. It also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album’s innovative production and distinctive music video, directed by Hype Williams, established Elliott’s reputation as a creative trailblazer.

Elliott’s song is only the second song ever transmitted into deep space, following the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” in 2008.

This historic event underscores Missy Elliott’s enduring influence and her role in pushing the boundaries of both music and technology.