Missy Elliott has explained her prolonged absence from music.
The star has been working on the follow-up to 2005's The Cook Book, but has taken her time to focus on recording a solid collection of new music.
"I don't just throw out microwave records," Missy Elliott told Yahoo. "When you are creating to the magnitude that I try to create your brain is like a computer and you need to refresh."
She added: "Things happen in your life and then you can write something else instead of the same three topics - like, how many times can we write about the clubs?"
Missy Elliott hasn't taken a full break from music, guesting on a remix of Katy Perry's 'Last Friday Night' in 2012 and Little Mix's 'How Ya Doin'?' in 2013.
A release date for her next album - currently titled Block Party - has yet to be confirmed.