The Misconceptions of Drag Music Stops Today
by Maximo Aguilar Lawlor
I’ve heard it too many times before. “Drag music is not real music.” Granted, I do have to give some credit to the haters. The drag music I tend to listen to happens to be the DJ-produced house tracks that tend to receive criticism from my heterosexual counterparts. But it’s time that I did justice by my queer community and bring light to the many diverse drag musicians that are out there today.
Drag artists are rising the charts of mainstream media as a whole thanks to television shows including RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars and Dragula. Furthermore, drag artists are utilizing social media platforms to gain popularity in measures that are increasing exponentially each day.
From pop to folk to camp, drag musicians are all over the musical spectrum. I challenge you to not be deceived by the flashy fashion or the caked-up makeup. I promise, you will be surprised.
RuPaul
It would be absurd to not recognize one of the pioneers of drag music today—RuPaul. Once “Supermodel (You Better Work)” was released in 1992, there was a major shift in perceptions of what drag performers can be. Over the years, RuPaul has been releasing music that could be categorized as your typical “gay music”. With 13 studio albums and three Christmas albums, RuPaul’s full-length projects always make you want to get up and dance to every single song, but he often mashes some unconventional genres into his music. As an example, “Lady Cowboy” takes pop and meshes it with a little bit of country to make a catchy hoedown bop. One of RuPaul’s most popular songs is “Sissy That Walk”, and if this track doesn’t make you feel as if you are the fiercest person in the world, then I don’t know what will. The song is laid out on a techno beat with undertones of voguing music. Not only has RuPaul snatched and sustained the attention of millions of LGBTQ+ people over the decades, but he recently caught the eye of one of the most influential artists working today—Miley Cyrus. The song, “Cattitude” was released on Cyrus’ SHE IS COMING album back in 2019, and it seems as if a lot of inspiration from the song comes from RuPaul’s music. Using gay terminology such as “The library is officially open” in the opening monologue of the song just alludes to the gayness of the song itself. Ultimately, age is just a number for RuPaul, and based on his current celebrity status, it doesn’t look like his music releases will be slowing down anytime soon.
Trixie Mattel
If there’s any drag artist that is going to defy your stereotypes of drag music, it’s Trixie Mattel. Mattel is a folk/country artist with a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7, Mattel took the fan base by storm after showcasing a side of drag that was never seen before on such an international platform. It was this fame that prompted her to release her first studio album in 2017, Two Birds. This album set her apart from every mainstream drag performer at the time. One of the most successful songs from this album is the folk number, “Mama Don’t Make Me Put on the Dress Again” where Mattel expresses her exhaustion of doing the art of drag and her struggle to keep her career alive. According to a user on Genius Lyrics, “(Mattel) turns to alcohol (‘bottle in my basket’) while asking herself if she’s doing the right thing, and compares her feelings to being in a prison (‘doing time’).” After releasing her first album, Mattel returned to the television by starring in RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars Season 3 in 2018. In the season finale, not only did Mattel come out victorious as the winner, but she announced the release of her second studio album, One Stone. The single from this album was “Moving Parts” where Mattel even previewed the song in the season premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars Season 3. This song, another folk number, is centered around all the things that life has to offer. From the heartbreaks, the moving away from home, the friendships and more, this song has it covered. Fast forward to the present, Mattel released her third studio album, Barbara in early February 2020. The single from this album is “Malibu” and departs from her folk roots by adding a pop alternative sound to the discography. On it, Mattel expresses her desire to drive down the California coast with a loved one with no care in the world. Give Trixie Mattel a listen; I promise you’ll be surprised.
Aja
Death dropping into a completely different side of the music spectrum, Aja is a drag hip hop performer who often identifies as “banjee” and “kawaii.” According to Urban Dictionary, banjee means, “Young man or woman (usually black/latino) who has a Hip Hop/ghetto/street swagger, look, and demeanor. (regardless of sexuality),” and kawaii is defined as, “An adjective in Japanese meaning ‘pretty; cute; lovely; charming; dear.’” Aja competed on Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars and took the fandom by storm. While Aja is a fierce lip sync performer, she can also rap the house down. In a 2018 tweet, Aja said she identifies as a “queer artist” and a “rapper”. Her discography includes 10 singles, two EP’s and two studio albums that display a versatile side of Aja’s rapping skills. One single that showcases Aja’s skills is “Finish Her!” featuring WNNR & DJ Accident Report. From the electric sounds to fast-paced lyrics, this song establishes Aja’s demand to be respected by her fellow artists and fans. In 2018, Aja released her first studio album BOX Office and established herself as a true hip-hop artist. Aja even collabs with mainstream hip-hop artist Cupcakke in the song “Safari Zone” and blends perfectly with other mainstream hip-hop artists on the market today. Most recently, Aja collaborated with Shilow in a studio album labeled Nail in the Coffin which targets a darker side of music. The album crosses hip-hop/rap with heavy metal and undertones of screamo music. Examples of songs in this album include “The Purge”, “Haunted Haus” and “Paranoia”. If these titles don’t give you an idea of how dark and savage this album is, you’ll just have to listen for proof. Aja is an artist that defies the stereotypes of drag performers, and she has the capability to appeal to the mainstream with her rap/hip-hop style.
Alaska Thunderfuck
Now it’s time to reinforce drag stereotypes. Whatever your perceptions of drag music may be, Alaska Thunderfuck multiplies these perceptions by 10. Another RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni and winner of Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, Thunderfuck snatched the hearts of many drag race fans. It’s hard to describe this music, but the words that come to mind are “rhythmic trash”, “catchy” and “GAY”. Thunderfuck’s discography includes 15 singles and three studio albums. It might be difficult for some to understand Thunderfuck’s body of work, but a good start would be to list the names of her three albums—Anus (2015), Poundcake (2016) and Vagina (2019). Anus was Thunderfuck’s debut album, and it showcased a few previously released singles. One single in this album is “You’re Makeup Is Terrible”, which is a gag to a comment that she made on a challenge from Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s more of a spoken-word piece with a catchy electronic beat in the background, but I still count it as music. In Poundcake, one song, “The T”, Thunderfuck elaborates on many different aspects about her life and “dishes the T”, which means expressing the truth about a certain situation. In Vagina, Thunderfuck’s most recent album, one of her most catchy songs is the title track, “Vagina”, as it stays very true to Thunderfuck’s brand. Ultimately, Thunderfuck’s music is campy, comedic and fun. Just give it a listen, I’m sure you will be intrigued.
Blair St. Clair
Now let’s bring it back to a more mainstream sound. Blair St. Clair, a season 10 alumni from RuPaul’s Drag Race, is fairly new to the drag music scene. With only one studio album and three singles, St. Clair’s music is similar to the sound of many top 40 artists. Her first single, “Now or Never”, was released in 2018 after her elimination on drag race. Following this, she released another single, “Irresistible”, which led to her first, and only, album thus far in her discography—Call My Life. For the most part, St. Clair has stayed true to her brand and consistently delivers pop/dance music. Most recently, she has released a single in late 2019 called “Easy Love”, and I’m personally excited to see what she has to offer in the near future. If you love top 40 hits, I promise you that Blair St. Clair will satisfy your needs.
Now that I’ve gone over five drag musicians, I want to reiterate that these individuals are only a few of many talented performers. I challenge you to defy the past perceptions you may have about drag performers and give these artists a listen. If you like some of these artists, do some research and find some more drag musicians! There are hundreds upon hundreds. I’ll leave you with this: dressing up in drag does not undermine talent in any way, and it’s time that we give these individuals the attention and recognition they deserve.