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"    Photo: Mykki (center); Courtesy of Kevin Amato   Michael David Quattlebaum Jr.&amp;#039;s head-turning alter ego, Mykki Blanco, is a publicist&amp;#039;s worst nightmare. With Blanco being described as a performance artist, poet, provocateur, and hip-hop musician with a penchant for a Beyonc\u00E9-rivaling caramel-hued wig, saying it&amp;#039;s difficult to describe the bombastic persona is an understatement. Still, many have given it a go: The Guardian recently placed Blanco and Zebra Katz as the leaders of the queer rap movement, The New York Times painted a Cinderella story of Blanco as an art school dropout who ran away and then conquered downtown New York as a bona fide entertainer, and even ELLE pegged Blanco as &amp;quot;Hip-Hop&amp;#039;s New Queen.&amp;quot; Here, the self-professed showgirl explains how he squeezed into Amanda Lepore&amp;#039;s   Herve Leger dress from the &amp;#039;90s and fantasies about raiding Vivienne Westwood&amp;#039;s closet. Then, check out his latest music video, &amp;quot;Head Is A Stone,&amp;quot; from the lauded EP, Mykki Blanco &amp;amp;amp; The Mutant Angels. ELLE: What is the concept behind the video for &amp;quot;Head is a Stone?&amp;quot; Mykki Blanco: The director, Nick Hooker, and I wanted to create a strong performance video for the song. The song is so aggressive. Since one of my primary trademarks as an entertainer is my showmanship, we both thought instead of playing with a narrative or heavy plot line, a strong performance would be perfect for the video. ELLE: How was working with Nick?  MB:  Working with Nick Hooker was amazing! I first met him because he bought my poetry book, From The Silence Of Duchamp To The Noise Of Boys, months before my work as Mykki Blanco took off. When we reconnected, we knew we had to work together. Nick has been in the business for a long time and working with him as a director was a very focused but carefree experience\u2014he&amp;#039;s a pro!  ELLE:  Nick has directed for fellow glamorous provocateur, Grace Jones. Do you consider yourself a Grace super-fan? What other entertainers do you identify with?  MB:  I&amp;#039;m a huge fan of Grace! I look up to her, Iggy Pop, GG Allin, Tina Turner, and Beyonc\u00E9 the most out of any entertainers because they are strong performers. It doesn&amp;#039;t matter whether it&amp;#039;s a big production or not\u2014just them alone can tear down a stage. I feel the same way about myself\u2014or, at least, I&amp;#039;m trying hard to!  ELLE:  Did you work with a stylist for the video? What was the fashion inspiration?  MB:  I chose not to work with one. I wanted to choose my clothing and look. Nick and I shot the first portion of the video on top of the Ansonia building on 72nd Street in NYC. I love uptown, I love the history of New York City. So many artists and creatives choose to focus on the downtown New York culture. I love downtown, but the longer I&amp;#039;ve lived here, the more I realize I am an uptown girl! For the video, I wanted to look like a vamp from a Cassavetes&amp;#039; film but dirtier and more grungy. I was inspired by Allen Ginsburg&amp;#039;s Beat Poetry era photographs.  ELLE:  What are your favorite lyrics from &amp;quot;Head is a Stone&amp;quot;?  MB:  &amp;quot;Some people believe in apocalypses. Well baby, I believe in your sweet kisses.&amp;quot; ELLE:  What is your definition of beauty in five words?  MB:  Health, passion, compassion, energy, magnetic.  ELLE:  Out of all of your style icons, whose closet would you love to raid? What would you take?  MB:  I&amp;#039;d love to raid Vivienne Westwood&amp;#039;s closet and take everything from every era!  ELLE:  What would we be surprised to find in your closet?  MB:  I own one of Amanda Lepore&amp;#039;s Herve Leger dresses from the &amp;#039;90s. She&amp;#039;s tiny but somehow I can squeeze into that dress!  ELLE: What are your thoughts on The Guardian&amp;#039;s recent story, which essentially loops you and other acts as the leaders of the queer rap movement?  MB:  I think it&amp;#039;s cool, but very soon. With my new songs, videos, and creative output, I&amp;#039;m going to show my audience that I am much more than a buzzword. I am a five-star entertainer, and I&amp;#039;m going to show the world what I&amp;#039;m worth.  ELLE: What&amp;#039;s next for you?  MK:  I am recording my rap album right now, slated to be release this fall. I just performed this weekend for the launch of Opening Ceremony&amp;#039;s new London location. I have an art show in Malm\u00F6, Sweden in August and then in September I go on a European tour.       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a21911/backstage-pass-mykki-blanco/>