Rapper, producer and songwriter Missy Elliott will receive MTV’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award on August 26 at the 2019 VMAs, Variety has learned exclusively. She will perform live at the awards show for the first time in 16 years. “Missy’s impact on the music landscape is indelible*,” said Bruce Gillmer, MTV International. co-brand head and Viacom music and music talent head. “Her creative vision across production, performance and songwriting is unmatched*.” Elliott, a five-time Grammy Award winner and the first female hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has sold more than 30 million records worldwide, thanks to hits like “Work It,” “Get Ur Freak On” and “WTF (Where They From).” She is the only female rapper to have six studio albums certified platinum. Jennifer Lopez was the 2018 winner of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Pink, Rihanna and Kanye West have also received the award in recent years. In spite of recent reports that MTV was considering changing the name of the award in the wake of backlash from recent documentary “Leaving Neverland,” the network has not done so. The VMAs will air on MTV at 8 p.m. on August 26 and will be hosted by comedian, actor and author Sebastian Maniscalco, live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (SD-Agencies) | 