After a four-year break, RuPaul is back with a new CD titled ‘Red Hot.’ He
recently told Eclipse: ‘The most political thing you can ever do is be
yourself. That’s invariably going to rub someone the wrong way, especially
if they want to control you.’
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Tray butle
Friday, June 25, 2004
In 1983, a decade before becoming the world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul
had an idea. The then 22-year-old had visited Manhattan and came home to Atlanta
with a bold plan to make his name known. He carefully photocopied a series of
posters of his punk-rock drag persona and the headline, “RuPaul is red
hot.”
Using wallpaper wheat paste, he plastered the fliers all over Midtown. The
slogan became so popular, people would actually drive by his apartment and
yell, “RuPaul is red hot!”
Now, 21 years later, RuPaul is going back to his roots. His new CD, “Red
Hot,” drops on June 22, marking his return after a four-year break from
public life.
“That’s why I called the CD ‘Red Hot,’” says
RuPaul, who now lives in Southern California. “It’s me proclaiming
my arrival again. I’m starting again. I’m hungry again.”
The drag diva’s rise to fame may have started with those homemade posters,
but it took him years to become a household name. Born in San Diego, RuPaul
Andre Charles moved to Atlanta at age 15 and attended the Northside School
of the Performing Arts. He still calls Atlanta his home and spiritual touchstone.
In the early ’80s, RuPaul transformed his love of performing into a
punky drag act, playing with bands like the Wee Wee Poles and the U-Hauls,
and starring in super low-budget flicks. He found his groove in 1989, moving
to New York and changing his look from punk to streetwalker.
Clubbers voted him “Queen of Manhattan 1990.” Then came Tommy
Boy Records, who enlisted RuPaul as its new “Glamazon” and produced
his 1992 album, “Supermodel of the World.” The first single landed
in heavy rotation on MTV — and brought a 6-foot,4-inch drag queen to
Middle America.
His 1996 album, “Foxy Lady,” didn’t match the sales or buzz
of “Supermodel,” but by then RuPaul had become a bona fide celebrity,
with frequent film appearances (18 screen credits to date) and a talk show
on VH1, plus a sweet deal promoting M.A.C. cosmetics.
In 2000, after the unveiling of his wax statue in Madame Tousand’s Times
Square museum, the performer decided to take a step back from public life.
RuPaul’s reluctant now to talk much about this period “going underground,” but
notes his hiatus corresponded with the election of George W. Bush.
“I really shouldn’t talk about me — Ru the man, the person
behind the bitch,” he says. “In my career, people have been a lot
more comfortable putting me in a box as a fabulous drag queen, as someone to
accessorize.
“But I’m at a point where I can’t go on being a cartoon
character,” he says. “Maybe I should just let the album speak for
itself.”
The new CD, which he’s releasing on his own RuCo label, almost didn’t
happen. It sat on a shelf for a year before RuPaul finally dusted it off, recorded
new tracks and created new mixes. Though the first single, “Looking Good,
Feeling Gorgeous” is a bouncy dance-floor ditty (and simply screams for
a big-room remix), the album overall feels more political and personal than
previous outings.
From the tense and preachy “Love is Love” to the coming-out anthem “Superman,” the
record finds RuPaul saying more than, “You better work.”
“When I started in Atlanta, I was punk rock, I was counterculture,” he
says. “I always have been. Every time I’ve gotten into drag, it’ s
been a political statement. I could get on this album and just sing, ‘La,
la, la,’ and it would be a political statement.”
Not that the CD lacks the singer’s signature club influences, what he
calls “shake your booty” tracks. Ru, an avid music collector who
owns more than 5,000 CDs, suggests that dance music is on the decline these
days due to the political climate.
“Right now we’re in a place of fear in this country,” he
says. “That’s why dance music is on the low side right now. And
that’s why I say if you can dance, you can start a revolution. When you
dance, you tap into this other energy that has nothing to do with control.
It has to do with letting go, not with fear.”
These days RuPaul is letting go of his own fears, launching what he calls “act
three” of his life. The new phase is less concerned with show business
and more about personal growth. He’s thrilled about the new CD, he says,
but even more stoked to be able to go out on the road and reconnect with fans.
“I used to put all my energy into wanting to be famous, wanting to be
fabulous,” he says. “But now, I’m more about being in touch
with my feelings, and being in this moment right here. It’s more about
the process, and not being afraid to show other parts of me. I know not everyone
will understand, and I’m OK with that.”
Get out the wallpaper wheat paste; RuPaul is back.
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