[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ykki Blanco is constantly evolving as an artist. After enduring a stint of press interest as part of the so-called “gay hip-hop” movement that has emerged in recent years, the gender fucking stage persona of New York performing artist Michael Quattlebaum Jr. stands with a foot in two different worlds. Blanco has had success with clubby songs which have her spitting tough-as-shit rap verses against sexy beats, while touring a live show that features mosh-pits and a hardcore element. Faced with that situation, any artist would feel under pressure about what to do next, and Blanco decided to draw inspiration from her more animated live shows. “It had been nine months since I had released my last EP which was Betty Rumble: The Initiation and I was like ‘I really need to put some new music out there’,” says Blanco. “I wanted to make music that was more reflective of my live shows, way more punk. I needed to do something from my heart and really substantial.”
With the assistance of friend and producer Gobby, they set about creating Gay Dog Food, an EP which has massive riot grrrl and queercore influences all over it, exemplified perfectly by the track A Moment With Kathleen, on which Blanco duets with Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin, and Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna. “The day with Kathleen was so serendipitous,” gushes Blanco. “I had never met her before and all of a sudden I get a text message that says ‘Kathleen Hanna knows that you’re going to be in the studio today, she knows you’re going to be there all day and all night and I think she might come by and pay you a visit’. I had read in interviews that she was a big fan of what I was doing and that she kind of had this artistic respect for me, so when she came into the studio I was just like I gotta make this work even if I just get her recording a monologue or talking or something.” The song has a tearfully happy Blanco recount to Gobby the chance meeting, before a heavy guitar line kicks in and Hanna wails about setting boyfriends’ clothes on fire and reminisces on punk music. Musically it’s incredibly faithful to its influences and fully reflects Hanna’s place in punk history. “I was thinking of [doing] the kind of thing of where I’d rap and she’d sing the hook, that that would be so cheesy and it would not work, but Gobby was able to honestly capture exactly the right mood. When I first heard [the song] I was like ‘oh my God, you fucking genius’ this is so in sync with exactly what a true 2014 Kathleen song should sound like.”
I want people to understand that it’s not like RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’re not coming to see me be pretty in some over the top costume, that’s not what this is about.
One wonders whether Blanco might have anything else in common with Hanna, who would famously demand that “girls [move] to the front!” at her Bikini Kill concerts. “I kind of have gotten into my ‘a straight man’s perspective don’t mean shit to me’ chant at shows”, Blanco admits. “It’s kind of a really nice, powerful unifying statement to have that I feel a lot of people in the audience can relate to and I definitely feel [Hanna’s] influence in that kind of political showmanship.” Blanco’s live shows are sweaty, high energy affairs featuring queer kids of all sorts dressed up in mesh, glitter and homemade outfits. There’s an empowering frankness about a queer performer refuting criticism by straight artists in such a way, a defiance of the kind of politeness that is expected when you’re an upstart bringing something new to the scene. “I’m 28 this year and I kind of had to make the decision that I could keep making these club songs and kind of just roll through culture but that’d take away my depth, but that’d take away the artistic ideals that I try my hardest to filter through Mykki Blanco.”
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I could keep making these club songs and kind of just roll through culture but that’d take away my depth, but that’d take away the artistic ideals that I try my hardest to filter through Mykki Blanco.
One of Blanco’s latest performances took place in the Museum of Modern Art in New York at an evening organised by streetwear collective Hood By Air. The party was a cross between Halloween celebration and fashion show, and seemingly is one of the most uninhibited events MoMA has ever put on. Appearing in a ripped mesh full body piece and a pair of white briefs (“I got to wear that for the whole weekend!”), Blanco commanded the audience to make a circle and then unleashed a ferociousness which has been the hallmark of her live performances. “I think I started maybe the first mosh pit that’s ever been in MoMA! That’s the kind of live show that I want to go with.”
Blanco’s use of costume has also changed since her early days of appearing in full feminine drag. Frequently appearing bare chested and without a wig, Blanco maintains that drag is still an important aspect of the performance. “I haven’t really moved away from drag, I just wanted people to become comfortable with seeing either or. I want people to understand that it’s not like RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’re not coming to see me be pretty in some over the top costume, that’s not what this is about.” This exploration of new frontiers for drag and playing with identity is something that goes hand in hand with Blanco’s use of female pronouns, which stemmed from frustration with media discussions of homosexuality. “People were in the media literally just picking apart homosexuality every single day with a gay marriage debate. That’s why I started to do the kind of gender fuck stuff like refer to Mykki Blanco ONLY as ‘she’ in all my interviews, even though sometimes there’d be a photo of me definitely as a male. And honestly it’d piss people off because they would never be able to wrap around the idea that by saying ‘she’ I’m obviously trying to subvert whatever belittling qualities they’re trying to give to females or the homosexual community.”
Ultimately, Mykki Blanco is carving out a very specific place in music, and laying the groundwork of a new direction to come. “I knew that I didn’t want to just be a party rapper and I don’t want that to be my legacy,” she confidently admits. “People call me a queer icon or some kind of burgeoning gay icon or something like that, I want people to know that I’m a strong performer, that my legacy will be this body of creative work.” With GDF and a European tour underway, Blanco is well on her way to cementing a bold legacy based on determination and genuine artistry
