Does your daddy drive a custom Mustang and fight for LGBTQIA+ rights? Robyn Banks does both in her latest single, which dropped on February 7. Harlem’s drag princess closed out her album Longtime Listener, First Time Caller with Daddy [Right There Remix],” a February heat wave featuring NYC icons Rhiannon Nichelle and Bryce Quartz that’s equal parts leather fantasy and political statement.
Originally slated for Pride Month, Banks moved up the release in direct response to recent attacks on LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. The release comes with a full merch line including a leather-scented candle (yes, really) with proceeds benefiting local LGBTQIA+ organizations. We sat down with Banks to discuss everything from her Harvey Milk High School roots to representation in drag, and why sometimes the best response to politics is being “gayer than ever, Blacker than ever, and louder than ever.”
Chloe Yang (CY): How did you first get into drag?
Robyn Banks (RB): I went to Harvey Milk High School, which was predominantly for people that weren’t able to get proper education in regular public schools because of how they were treated. I was always interested in entertainment, and my guidance counselor told me about their arts program. That’s where I found my chosen family and discovered drag, doing a Tina Turner number when someone needed a replacement. No matter what Harvey Milk asks me to do, I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it for free, because without that place, I honestly don’t know where I’d be.
CY: What was the political and community climate like when you started compared to today?
RB: Around 2008, I felt very safe and secure. My school was by the East Village, and all my friends would always go to the pier on the west side, when it used to be open all night. We would dance on the pier in the summer — that was just the most amazing time ever. The Pussycat Dolls had just come out around that time. We were performing at venues and teen bashes. Cell phones had just kind of come out a little bit. Texting was still fresh, so not everybody was really on their phones. We were in the moment. Being in the moment and having drag at that time was super surreal. People that were doing drag all these years were coming off having to bring blank CDs, and I’m just like, “well, here’s my old iPod. Plug it in.” It lets me know that we are advancing in a way, but we’re also still so far behind.
CY: When you’re performing live, is singing or rapping a big part of it?
RB: Rapping, yes, but not my own music. I actually haven’t really enjoyed performing my own music, I guess because I don’t like my own voice. With drag, it’s fun — I get to perform somebody else‘s song that people already know. But this year I was like, well, if I’m going to put up this video, and this video cost me a lot of money, I should perform it. I should promote it. I should push it. Because any other time when I do singles, once the first two weeks are out, I get over it. I‘ve heard the song a zillion times recording it, then heard it a zillion times from the video. But this time, I’m so excited for the song, the video, and what it stands for. So I’m just like, I’ve got to keep pushing this, even if it’s till July or whatever.
CY: The music video for “Daddy [Right There Remix]” looks something like a hip hop cipher. Was that what it was intended to be?
RB: I just wanted a video that was fun. I’ve worked with the same videographer, Catalin Stelian, for three out of the four singles. I just wanted each song to get better and better. So it wasn’t really a concept idea, it was just like, let’s find a place, let’s see what I can get, and let’s make it work. But it does look like a cipher, so thank you for recognizing that.
CY: Can you tell us more about what it stands for, both in terms of the political statement during Black History Month and also the specific thing you chose to talk about — “daddy” as part of gay culture?
RB: The title actually came from when I was hooking up with a guy, and he was like “who’s daddy?” And I was like, you don’t pay these bills — my father lives in the Bronx. I realized that it is part of gay culture. I feel like maybe I focused on that around 2020 or 2022, when OnlyFans was happening and Twitter started getting a little outrageous. I kept seeing that word. A part of me just couldn’t call somebody that — my father is my father. But I realized it’s something that people use, even sometimes in Black culture when we‘re talking about someone that looks amazing, or they have that dad vibe or that Dad Bod or call them “Zadddy”.
For me, it’s always important to incorporate anything that is Black and unapologetically Black, because that‘s what my drag is. I was born and raised in Harlem, New York. My mom lived in the same place for 24 years, and before that she lived in Central Harlem. I live on the east side, and I love my community. I love being Black, and I love being gay. Growing up, I had like three minorities against me — being Black, being feminine, and being gay. When I came out, my mom said, “I don’t care as long as you’re a gay respectful Black male, that’s all.”
The other day, I saw that the president removed numerous web pages and resources related to LGBTQIA+ issues and diversity, as well as public health data. So they’re really trying to erase people. I was holding the song until maybe March or April, because I was like, maybe I should push it into Pride. But I just felt like in this moment … in this time … I needed to be gayer than ever, I needed to be Blacker than ever, and I needed to be louder than ever.
CY: Can you tell us about the performers featured in your music video?
RB: The first person is Rhiannon Nichelle. I met them years ago — I want to say in 2019 — through another friend, and we just clicked because life is one big joke. I just like to have fun. When they started drag, there was no beard, and then the beard kind of started catching on. People look at you like you’re crazy because it’s not the norm in drag, but I think that got people talking and interested. Now you see a lot more bearded drag queens than ever.
When I heard the beat for the song, with the engine in the background, I thought of someone who’s going to really have a good time with it. It reminded me of wet grounds and a motorcycle, like a really dope movie. Rhiannon came over to my home studio, we recorded, I cooked, and we had fun.
Then there’s Bryce Quartz, who’s really big in the bear and leather communities. His music is amazing, and really raunchy. The way the song flows, my verse is very much like “this is what it is and what I want.” Then Rhiannon is just telling the daddy what it is, and Bryce is just like “I’m in it to win it. Let’s have fun. Let’s get wild.”
CY: What are some of your biggest influences? Are there any Black divas you’d like to shout out?
RB: You’ll laugh — a lot of times when people ask for inspiration, I look at Hilary Duff. I have vinyls on my wall, and there’s a bunch of Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan … my Disney people. I love music so much. Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, it was all about the boy bands, the Disney teens, and the pop princesses. Growing up gay, you hear these songs and see how these people are, and sometimes it’s just like, “Oh, I just want this to be me.” Or we’re in the shower singing like we are in the video.
I felt like this song definitely needed that vibe. Because I heard the motorcycle and thought of the wet grounds, I was like, this song needs to have some kind of water scene. I spent a lot of time searching for spaces and studios that could allow it. I put out notifications on Facebook and Instagram for extras to come and have a good time and just live that Christina Aguilera “Dirrty” moment. Because I feel like it’s a moment that you think about no matter who you are — like jamming in the rain, or the shower, or if you‘re by a fire hydrant … you‘re just enjoying it. I wanted people to have that moment.
CY: Can you tell us about the concept for your album Longtime Listener, First Time Caller?
RB: During the pandemic, after releasing an album in 2018, I had writer’s block terribly. I had just bought a blue Volkswagen Beetle, and it had a radio. My arm was hurting from changing songs, but it felt so good to just listen to the radio and discover new music. For 2021 and 2022, I was just obsessed with radio. I would turn on my stereo every morning when I got up, and dance around my living room. The radio really took me back to my younger days with my sister, because we used to listen to the radio and record stuff on cassette tapes.
I heard someone call in to a show saying “long time listener, first time caller,” and I was like, what does that mean? It’s exactly what it is. Because of how the last album was received, I felt like I did have a lot of people listening and getting into it. I wanted a different vibe but wanted to incorporate radio.
I put out the album, and then I wanted it to feel even more special — to feel like you‘re listening to the radio. So I put out the commercial-free version, which is basically the songs playing straight through with radio DJs introducing the songs — like an hour of commercial-free music. I reached out to people that work at radio stations like Z100, KTU, and 97.1, and asked if they’d mind introducing the songs. They were super excited about it because it was totally different.
CY: Can you talk about representation in the community, particularly for BIPOC performers and drag kings?
RB: During the pandemic, people of color got a little rattled because there weren’t enough Latin people or Black people on these flyers. I posted a photo of me in an afro that kind of went viral. I was frustrated because I was tired of seeing just white people on these flyers, and then it’s like “also performing by …” in a small little thing. And it was the same people over and over.
Two years ago, I did this thing called Black and Bougie. It was an event that I put on by myself, with help from friends, because I wanted to showcase new talents — talent that wasn’t at the same venue you always go to. Because I feel like you can go to three different bars on three different nights and see the same person. I‘ve done a lot of interviews, traveling, and performances, and I wanted other people to have that opportunity.
During the pandemic, it was kind of like, “Oh, we’re going to try and put people of color in the front.” I think it has gotten better, but I also see people who were really adamant about change and adding people of color … It was just kind of all talk, which is really sad. A lot of times people take culture from Asian culture or Black culture and try to make it their own. It’s so frustrating because instead of trying to mimic it, why don‘t you just give that opportunity to someone or a group of people that can really turn it? We have amazing drag kings and things out there, and I showcased a few of them in Black and Bougie because there is no reason these people should not be given the same space and opportunities.
Even with this video, it was about wanting different bodies, people, and communities in it, because it’s time. I’m just so sick of the same repetitive thing.
CY: Where do you think is the best place to have conversations about these important issues in the community?
RB: I think these conversations need to be happening online, but it’s about how you present it. I feel like you can’t present it in a boring way, because life, politics, what is fair, and what’s not fair are kind of boring topics for some people — the attention span these days is like 30 seconds. If you’re going to have those conversations, you have to make it fun, or word it in a way that may stir some trouble, get people talking, or get them interested.
Every February, I try to use my social media, especially because I have a big Instagram following, to push the narrative without offending people, without making people feel like they need to do X, Y, and Z. Just put it out there and whatever people get from it is what they get from it. But I don’t ever want people of color to feel like they cannot be their authentic selves. I think my overall goal for what I do is just to be yourself. I know that sounds really cliché, but I’m just funny. I’m natural. I like to go out, I like to have fun, and I’m a little shady. So my music, candles, and my life is just who I am. And it’s opened a lot of doors for me. I didn’t have to fake a persona or fake an identity — I just was myself.
CY: What advice do you have for indie musicians and performers who are just starting out?
RB: Send those emails, just like I did. Word of mouth is great, but that can only get you so far. In the world of TikTok and Instagram, if something is not on the market, or people are not getting it, they‘re going to go right by it. There’s so much new music and so many artists and performers because you‘re able to be an independent artist and put your music out.
I would sit at my computer every Wednesday and just send out emails and flyers. I used to get a bunch of sponsorships because of that — here’s what I can do, and this is what I can offer. The most they can say is no or “not at this moment, we’ll get back to you.” Everyone asks me, “How do you get these sponsorships?” I just ask. Google is amazing. We have these phones that cost more than our rent — I use my phone for everything it can do.
Last year during Pride season, I was like, “Well, everyone’s getting these gigs, and everyone’s doing this and that.” But they put the work into that. I had to get out of that moment of “why are they getting everything and I’m not getting much or anything at all?” I didn’t put in the work, and that’s just the reality of it.
To anyone starting out, just Google whatever you can. Even when I was sending emails today, if I couldn’t find the email or contact person on the website, you can just Google their name, whoever they work for, and their email. It comes up because it’s public knowledge. We’re in this generation where these phones are everything. Take a moment to invest in yourself and invest in your happiness. No one’s going to do it for you. And when things don’t happen, you’re going to be upset, and you have no one to blame but yourself.
CY: What are your plans for the future? Where do you see yourself in five years?
RB: I know I don’t want to do drag forever — getting older, my body’s doing what it’s supposed to do. But I love my community, I love nightlife, and I feel like because of the amount of work I’ve put in, my name is already kind of a brand. So I created a candle line. I’m releasing a candle called Leather Daddy for the single, and it actually smells like fresh leather.
The company’s called Graffiti Candle, because I live in Harlem and there’s this really amazing graffiti wall that they change every two years near me. I thought it’d be a great way for me to still represent where I come from and who I am. One thing about my candles is that they’ll have a regular version, but because I still want to create and be a part of drag, the deluxe one is going to be rhinestoned. You can put the wax in the freezer, chop it out, and the label is easy to peel off — now you have this amazing jar that you can put your pens or brushes in. It’s a part of me and who I am — being Black and a drag queen — without being in drag.
