Red Hot was released June 22.
By Lawrence Ferber
After some four years out of the public eye, RuPaul is back with a new album, Red Hot, her first full-length effort since 1997's Ho Ho Ho. But while he may look just as glamorous and fierce as he did during the 'Supermodel of the World' breakout heyday, there's a big difference between today and yesterday's RuPaul.
'The RuPaul you see today is not pulling any punches with mothafuckas,' he insists. 'At the end of the 'Supermodel' video I laughed and [sort of] say 'haha, I'm just joking, hahaha, love me.' Now I don't give a fuck if anybody loves me, I really don't, or even if they like me. I do my thing. I love me.'
Born RuPaul Andre Charles in San Diego, the burgeoning performer spent his teen years in Atlanta. Going back and forth between Atlanta and New York, developing his drag persona, RuPaul finally settled in NYC by 1987 and, two years later, was crowned 'Queen of Manhattan.' By 1992, RuPaul became an even more prolific queen, striking mainstream success with singles 'Supermodel (You Better Work),' 'House of Love,' and a duet of 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' with Elton John. RuPaul extended his presence—both in and out of drag—as M.A.C. Cosmetics' first spokesmodel, host of VH-1's The RuPaul Show, a WKTU morning radio show, roles in films like But I'm a Cheerleader, Spike Lee's Crooklyn, The Eyes of Tammy Faye (which he narrated), and Who Is Cletis Tout? the autobiography Lettin It All Hang Out, and his stunning wax immortalization at the Times Square Madame Tussaud museum.
On RuPaul's revealing Web site (www.rupaul.com), the reinvigorated singer lays out his life and times—good, bad, ugly, and even a little raunchy. In the weblog section you'll find his favorite fan letter, e-mailed by someone signed 'Billy The Beggar,' who, making good on his name, begs: 'I want to dress in drag myself as sexy Lil Kim ... as we suck the oozing pre-cum from one another.' House of Love, indeed.
To discuss his energetic new album—which boasts catchy dance tunes and sassy Beyonce-esque R&B numbers with titles like 'My Love Sees No Color,' 'Are You Man Enough?' 'Hollywood U.S.A.,' 'Kinky/Freaky,' a cover of Depeche Mode's 'People Are People,' and appearances by infamous blackface-wearing drag personality Shirley Q. Liquor, seemingly stepping in for the late LaWanda Page—return to the scene, and Starr Jones, I spoke with the currently Los Angeles-based RuPaul, who was in an admittedly 'philosophical' mood that morning.
LF: So it's back to promoting a new record for you, Ru!
RuPaul: How do I know your name?
LF: I've interviewed you a couple of times, and I've probably met you on the film festival circuit.
RuPaul: Do we like each other? [laughs] You never know what angle people are going to do.
LF: Been burned by the press, huh?
RuPaul: Tons of times. Nobody understands what I do. Not even a lot of gay people. I'm always amazed that even the other celebrities, I'm amazed by their talents, who don't get exactly what I'm doing. The truth is it's hard to put me into any category. I'm clearly not a femme queen, my life goal isn't to become a woman. I'm a gay man but I don't fall into any of the sort of categories. It's hard to pinpoint me. It's easier when someone has you pegged, 'oh, I know how to deal with you,' to take on the Queer Eye For the Straight Guy thing. Straight people say 'they're here to serve me, to make me better.' I can get with that. I understand that. But when you bring someone like me into the mix it's not that easy.
LF: Does RuPaul strive to help the world? What is RuPaul's function?
RuPaul: I do shows, I sing songs. That's what I do. Plus I can't change the world. I think the world's perfect as it is. The only thing that's fucked up about the world is my perception of it and I can change my perception. I'm here like everybody else. I'm a spiritual being having a human experience. That's it.
LF: In the press notes it says you were motivated to create this CD because of what's happening socially and politically in the world.
RuPaul: Absolutely. That's for myself. To make myself feel better. Not to change the world's mind but to make it interesting for me.
LF: Did you put any overt politics into the album? 'Love is Love' could address gay marriage ...
RuPaul: I think just my being, putting an album out and being who I am, is the most political thing I can do. Following your heart is the most rebellious thing any human can do.
LF: But did you aim to write an overtly political song about gay marriage or barebacking or crystal or a social issue?
RuPaul: I think the whole album is that. Even the more frivolous stuff like 'Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous.' Feeling lovely about yourself is the most political thing, especially in our consumer culture where you're not clean unless you're Zestfully clean. Or you have to buy this to be fabulous. For somebody to be—for me specifically—to sing I'm looking good and feeling gorgeous, I'm all that, is absolutely the most political thing. Because our culture would tell someone like me 'no, you're not, you don't have it together.' I was on The View once and Starr Jones said to me 'you're not sexy.' On the air she said it. Would she say that to anyone else? Our culture gives people carte blanche to treat someone in drag like less than a second-class citizen. Like on talk shows a drag queen comes out and the audience goes 'boo,' 'boo.'
LF: What will you say to Starr if you're invited back on The View again?
RuPaul: I've been on since then. And I'm not a hater. God bless her, poor thing. I understand where that comes from. Look at her, look at me, and you can understand why she would say to me, 'you're not sexy.'
LF: She hasn't learned to love herself yet.
RuPaul: Well, a lot of people haven't.
LF: Are you in fact 'Kinky Freaky?'
RuPaul: I'm everything. We're all. There's only one of us here on the planet. Honestly. I don't mean to get so philosophical but it's just the way I am.
LF: Do you think people have been looking forward to RuPaul's return?
RuPaul: I think so. With everything so homogenized and corporate, two companies own the whole world and the communications and everything, I, RuPaul, represent a true underdog. I chose years ago to take the last taboo as the palette I do my art with—the most judged thing you can do is for a man to use femininity or manufactured femininity as a palette. I love the danger of it, I love being an outsider. It's the ultimate in punk rock to do what I'm doing. [But] I understand nothing is punk rock, every star has his style, every story has a spin on it, everything is so polished and done. There's nothing raw anymore. As a fan of pop culture I'm excited to see RuPaul out there again.
LF: You fell into a depression for a while? You seem to address this on the song 'Coming Out of Hiding.'
RuPaul: They did an A&E biography a few years ago and at the same time a Bravo one, and they were so hard for me to watch. [In them] I see this young kid who really wanted love from everybody and would do anything to get that love—short of loving himself. It's like watching yourself in a blackout —holy god, what am I doing? I'm looking for all this approval from the outside world when that's not going to do it. The approval has to come from the inside out.
LF: Did Billy the Beggar help you come to love yourself?
RuPaul: Billy the Beggar is just genius. It's just so funny because the way people deal with drag and femininity; everybody has their own recipe for what that is to them. Because over the years I've come to represent everything trannie, everything drag, everything, I get all this information and it's just so funny because I always feel like I'm reading somebody else's mail. I have always been outside the box, looked at our culture from outside the box, I was always an outsider and it's funny to me to go in and fuck around with things our culture holds dear, like a big busty blonde, and for a man to take on femininity is fucking outrageous. My whole persona is commentary on our culture. Not a lot of people are savvy or sophisticated enough to get that and that's fine. Whatever level you get it at, whether you want to lick my heels like Billy the Beggar, or as high art like 'oh my god, here is this man parodying pop culture by creating this character that's a sample of manufactured femininity our culture is so embroiled with.' But for me to get Billy the Beggar's e-mail or to get the kid from Alabama who says 'my parents doesn't understand me, I want to be a girl,' whatever level, it's cool with me but it's an interesting trip for me. Bottom line, this time it's important that it's funny for me. It's a gas, man. I love Billy the Beggar.
LF: He misspelled 'Juicy' in his e-mail. And many other words.
RuPaul: His intent was sweet and he's actually very funny. You can always read between the lines of what somebody is really saying.
LF: Speaking of reading between the lines, years ago I saw you at Pyramid and you sang 'House of Love' and you repeatedly invited the audience to your house, like 'I mean it, come to my house, we''ll hang out.' Did anyone actually try to follow you home?
RuPaul: Oh, you know what, I have had so much of that kind of stuff in my life and career, people with my name tattooed on their bodies or showing up in places they shouldn't be. It says a lot about how people are looking for a connection and what they don't know is they're really looking for a connection with themselves. It's never gotten too dangerous for me but it's gotten close.
LF: To be honest, your invite sounded sincere. I wondered if we should go to your house, like for cocktails.
RuPaul: Well, it's really just a metaphor for opening up and visiting my heart. And I'm a real sweetheart and I ain't gonna hurt ya or put ya down or hate ya.
LF: How much of your life and experience went into the song 'Hollywood USA'? It begins with the lines 'Stone cold city took a bite out of me ... said I love you but I hate it, it's not for me, I'd rather take my chances back in Tennessee.'
RuPaul: Well, there's a lot of my real life experience there. On this album I was able to do a lot of the things people expect from me, the positivity and optimism, but I was also able to sneak in a little bit of my own personal life and what my experience has been this past four years I've been away from the public eye.
LF: You're in LA right now, so you haven't fled Hollywood because you hate it. Is it a place you love or a necessary evil?
RuPaul: I've grown to love LA. I'm from Southern California and I came back here for a lot of reasons. Ultimately it's been a positive experience. I don't know how long I'll stay here, I've always been a person who moved around but I've enjoyed it. It didn't feel really great initially because LA is different from the East Coast, especially NY, in that you get energy coming at you from the outside in there. Here you have to generate it from the inside out. It takes a lot of effort and introspection.
LF: Let's talk love life before you go. Are you single or taken?
RuPaul: I'm married to Satan actually.
LF: Is he a good lover?
RuPaul: Oh, the best.
[Don't miss Peter Mavrik's two-part interview with RuPaul in the June 9-16 Nightspots, and Emmanuel Garcia's RuPaul piece in Identity's July's issue, available June 30 in Chicago. All at www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com .]
