Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 437 September 25, 2019

What inspired your newest
release, and is there a
message that goes along
with it?
Not many artists can say
that they have recorded
four full-length albums, so
I am really proud of this
new album “Swaggerific.”
People always think I’m
nuts because of the titles
I come up with for my
albums (e.g., “Bandoozle,”
“Ban2oozle”), but the truth
is, these are words I use in
my everyday life! Like, one
of the songs on the album
is called “Team Too Much.”
That is literally something
I say ALL.THE.TIME. It
basically refers to someone
who is being too over the
top/dramatic and always
trying to be the center of
attention. I honestly feel
like it should be a hashtag:
#TeamTooMuch. Can we
start that? Anyway, this
album is hands-down the
most fun album I’ve ever
recorded. I went into the
recording process intending
to make a very nostalgic, old
school/golden age hip-hop,
“party rap” album. But the
really exciting news is that
fans of my “Nasty Boy”
persona will be extremely
pleased with the lead single
“Berenjena” (the Spanish
word for eggplant) and “(Hit
It) From the Back,” where
I let my sexy, man-crazed
alter-ego out of the cage
I’ve kept him in for a minute.
If you could make me ask
you any question on the
planet, what would you
want me to ask you?
If you find out that there is
a “Life TiVo/DVR” that you
can watch when you die,
what scenes/moments of
your life would you have a
season pass for?
What challenges did you
have to overcome to get
to where you are in the
music industry?
You would never know this
by the number of realitybased
competition shows
there are on television, but
the music industry is NOT
for everyone. Sadly, it is isn’t
only about how talented
you are, how much you
love music or even how you
look; a lot of it is timing,
an audience’s taste in
music, the people you align
yourself with and your ability
to hear “no” and keep
going even when everyone
asks you, “How much longer
are you gonna try to make
this music thing happen?”
I actually talk about this a
lot on the songs “Industry”
and “No Talent Rappers”
on “Swaggerific.” I guess
the biggest challenge/
disappoint I personally
faced was that I was signed
to a development deal with
a major label right out of
high school as the “next
hot white rapper.” As I was
recording an album, the
label expressed concern
that an openly gay artist
may not be received well (it
was the early ’90s). I ended
up losing the deal and
feeling frustrated. Another
challenge I still face is that
it is hard
to get
“noticed”
when
you are
emphasizing
how lyrical
you are as
an artist
when we
live in a very
visual world.
A lot of
people have
told me,
“You know,
you could
probably
get a million
views on one of your videos
if you just take your shirt off
or hire hot, half-naked guys
to dance in it.” To be more
true to myself, I am really
proud of how I expressed
myself visually in my two
latest videos (directed by
Spencer Slishman), “All
Systems Go” and “Hotel
Motel.”
What would have to
happen for you to have
your ultimate stage
fantasy?
I’ve always had this vision
of being part of a “gay
rapper super group,”
almost like the Wu-Tang
Clan. I would love to be on
tour with the best of the
best in the LGBT hip-hop
community like Cazwell,
Lady Sovereign, Young
M.A., Lady Leshurr, Le1f, Big
Dipper, Big Freedia, where
we all perform individually
and then all come together
at the end to perform this
monster record that we’re all
featured on. I honestly think
this could be a possibility
and could become
something that people
looked forward to during
Pride season or even on
New Year’s Eve! Just putting
it out there in the universe!