Gay&Night-ZiZo April 2014

There’s a German version of Drag
Race in the works. Are there any
other countries that have expressed
interest in the format, and how
closely involved would you like to
be with international versions of
the show?
I know that they’ve been talking to some
other countries that I can’t talk about now.
I’d love to be involved. Obviously there are
different flavors in different countries that
I may not know about, but overall drag is
really there to remind the culture to not take
itself too seriously. So in that regard it’s all
the same. So certain cultural things may be
different in other countries, but they’re not
that big of a difference.
You’ve just released a new album,
how many do you have under your
belt now?
It’s been ten albums in my career, but this is
my best album ever! It’s called Born Naked
and I cannot stop listening to it, I swear to
god. I had it on in the car driving over here,
I fucking love it so much. It was produced by
Lucian Piane, he’s my musical soul mate. We
get on so well, and our musical tastes are so
similar. We love working together. A lot of
times we’re just sitting in the studio talking,
going to lunch and having fun. And that really
shows in the music.
What was the inspiration for the
title of your new album?
My creed for these past 32 years has always
been “you’re born naked and the rest is
drag”. With the inspiration for our songs, we
needn’t look further than just what’s there
on our show. All of the titles and content of
the songs comes from my experience on Drag
Race and my experience in life.
Exactly how does one ‘sissy that
walk’?
We live in a male dominated culture, especially
in America. To sissy that walk is to walk
without any of those shackles around your
mind. And you don’t care if you are being
butch or masculine. You get out there, and
you let those bitches have it. You sissy that
walk, with all pride and no shame.
Last year you recorded a song with
LaToya Jackson, and previewed it
on the nale of the last season of
Drag Race. It hasn’t appeared on
Born Naked, what happened to it?
It’s a really great song! You never know
where it might just show up somewhere.
Of course Michelle Visage does
appear on the album. Was it hard
to get her to sing again? Wasn’t the
last time she recorded a song on
your ’97 Christmas album?
Right. It wasn’t difficult. She has been
performing on the road with the Drag Race
Battle of the Seasons Tour in the US all year
round. She’s been doing songs in that, and
she’s ready to get back into it. I’m so happy
to have her on the record. In fact, that song,
‘Let The Music Play’, is one of my favorites.
I tear up every time I listen to that song,
’cause it’s very special to me.
You’ve had people on the show
from Puerto Rico, and there’s a girl
from Australia on season 6, even
though she now lives in the States.
Are you looking for any applications
from The Netherlands and
Belgium for season 7? Or do we
have to wait for our own version of
the show?
The thing is: it has to do with the government,
and papers to be able to work in
America. Obviously, Puerto Ricans can work
in America, and Courtney Act, who is Australian,
has actually got American papers.
So that’s really what it is. I’d love to have
an international version of the show, but
we’d have to get past the government first.
It’s a shame! Everybody misses out. It’s the
olympics of drag, you know. We’d love to
have some girls from The Netherlands and
Belgium on the show if we could.
You really like Amsterdam, don’t
you?
I just love Amsterdam. The people are so
open and lovely, and the culture feels so
non-judgemental. Every time I go there I just
love it so much. And I love Mayday, who is
my buddy. I hope to be back in Amsterdam
soon.
You’ve recorded albums, hosted
several tv-shows, acted, written
books, launched your own clothing
and perfume lines – what can we
expect from RuPaul in the future?
I’m gonna have a baby!
That’s good. Any specic place
you’re going to get it from?
[laughs] Oh, I don’t know. I’m always inspired
by color, beauty, laughter and joy. So you
never know where that next big idea is coming
from. And that’s been true throughout
my career, it’s never been about the money
and the fame. It’s always been about “what
is fun? Let’s have some fun!” Life is short,
man. Life is so short. I want to do everything.
There’s a chocolate bar that’s coming out
this month, and there’s a little porcelain
maquette doll. I’ve had dolls before, but this
is a different kind of thing. There’s always
something around the corner.
RuPaul’s Drag Race wordt elke
dinsdagavond om 21.30 uur
exclusief uitgezonden door
OUTtv. Ook benieuwd hoe het
achter de schermen gaat? Zap
dan niet weg voor RuPaul’s Drag
Race Untucked dat direct daarna
wordt uitgezonden.
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