Mykki Blanco (born April 2, 1986) is an American rapper, performance artist, poet and activist. She[a] has collaborated musically with artists including Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and Blood Orange.
At the age of 15, Blanco won an Indies Spirit Award for the performance collective she founded, Paint In Consciousness Experimental Theater, in Raleigh.[6][7]
Blanco's debut album, Mykki, was released on September 16, 2016.[14]
Blanco's ad-libs appeared on Teyana Taylor's song "WTP", from her June 2018 album K.T.S.E.; she also has writing and production credits on the track. Blanco notably was not paid for these contributions until July 2020, more than two years later.[15]
In 2018, Blanco collaborated with Kanye West on the track "Bye Bye Baby" for West's scrapped album Yandhi; the track was later leaked.[16]
Blanco has been called one of hip hop's queer pioneers; although she struggles to identify with the label of "gay rap" or "queer rap", she has begrudgingly "accepted it".[21][22] Blanco also disagrees with those who portray her as a drag artist, saying "You can't tag me as the rapping transvestite. I never vogued in my life. I'm from a punk and Riot Grrrl background."[21] Blanco has often described herself in terms of other artists, saying that she's not a "Marilyn Manson" or even a rapper, but rather says she wants to be Yoko Ono.[22] In fact, her album Mykki was originally going to be named Michael in reference to Michael Jackson.[23] Blanco, along with Rosie O'Donnell and Anderson Cooper, presented Madonna with the GLAAD Advocate for Change award on May 5, 2019, in Manhattan.[24]
Blanco has also tried to bring her "persona" closer and closer to her non-artist self, having to repeatedly say through interviews and alike that she is indeed transfeminine, and that the aesthetic evolution of Mykki Blanco over the years is the aesthetic evolution of her entire self, rather than just a "drag performance".[23] Mykki Blanco places a lot of emphasis on her music videos and art performances, often taking complex and fresh new takes on her ever-moving aesthetic, and is constantly trying out new looks and performances just as genre-defying as her musical style.
Personal life
In June 2015, Blanco revealed via her Facebook page that she has been HIV positive since 2011.[25][26] Blanco initially worried that being HIV positive would be detrimental to her career, saying of the decision to make finally that information public, "I did it for myself. At a certain point, my real life has to be more important than this career".[27] She made this information public via Facebook during Pride season. Over 12,000 users liked the post and over 700 shared it.[27]
Blanco had expressed concern that the music industry would shut her down because of her public announcement: "I thought when I came out that was going to be the end," she says. "Mykki Blanco is fun. Talking about HIV is not fun. How could I be fun and have HIV?" She mentions that during that time period she had made plans to become an investigative journalist to report on LGBT issues on a global scale, yet that the flood of positive reactions in response to her coming out as HIV positive have made her determined to continue her artistry.[28]
As of 2019,[update] Mykki Blanco identifies as transgender and uses she or they pronouns.[29] Blanco has used different gender pronouns throughout her career.[25] She began hormone therapy for her gender transition in 2019.[5]
^Azzopardi, Chris (January 6, 2020). "Mykki Blanco Finds Power in Transparency". POZ. Retrieved May 22, 2020. In that spirit, Blanco disclosed in November 2019 on Instagram that they started transgender hormone therapy. "I'm not gay," Blanco wrote, "I'm trans."
