ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to fuse together various theoretical perspectives through a critical examination of the strategies behind female masculinity. It explores the MC character and how vocal production is central to Missy Elliott's performance of female masculinity. The chapter examines how Elliott is presented to the spectator/listener as the producer and mixing board player. It considers how her choice of instrument, samples and virtuoso production connote masculinity. The chapter reviews Elliott's female masculinity by mapping this against the butch character defined by Halberstam. It turns to the iconic image of Elliott as the queen bee that turns upside down the power structures so often presented in mainstream hip-hop videos. The chapter argues that the beginning of it, the male record producer still dominates in the music industry, with access to females restricted. It concludes with a consideration of the queen bee, who, uncannily, reverses the hierarchy of power in both a mainstream hip-hop video and the recording studio.
