Missy Elliott Makes NASA History With First Hip-Hop Song Ever Transmitted To Space – Venus

According to a news release, lyrics from Missy Elliott’s song “The Rain” (Supa Dupa Fly)were transmitted about 158 million miles away to reach Venus through NASA’s DSN (Deep Space Network). The transmission was made by the 34-meter (112-foot) wide Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13) radio dish antenna, located at the DSN’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow in California. Brittany Brown, NASA’s director of digital communications, was the one who pitched the opportunity to Elliot to take a foray into space.

“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries” said Brown in the news release. To date, NASA has only done this for one other song, which was The Beatle’s “Across the Universe”. Elliot still makes history in the process, as “The Rain” (Supa Dupa Fly) is the first Hip-Hop song to be transmitted to space.

“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,” Elliot expressed in the news release.

“YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with @NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network,” she wrote on X. “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.”