Raising the Bar: BabiBoi at Cheer Up Charlies (Photo by Jana Birchum)
The spitfire and highly danceable musicality of BabiBoi developed alongside their founding member in the House of Lepore. Before the house made waves as a harbinger of the growing ballroom scene in Central Texas, BabiBoi and matriarch Natalie “Mrs. Girl6” Lepore connected in a former performance group based in San Antonio called the Plastic Collective. At the time, BabiBoi, originally from San Antonio, was studying acting at UT-Austin.
Among burlesque dancers, drag performers, photographers, and more, the seasoned performer started making original music.
“Mom was obviously the vogue of the collective, and I started doing hip-hop,” recalls BabiBoi. “Then in 2020, Mother decided that we were going to create the House of Lepore. A few members of the collective followed, but it was really just me and Mom, and now we are a ballroom. We are going to be at an event and look at yourself like, ‘Damn, can you believe?'”
Recent landmarks include the first official ball at South by Southwestas good as Majestic Cabaret Ball by legendary mother Natalie Lepore last weekend at Primordial – where BabiBoi competed with dizzying heels. The musician adds, “A lot of great kiki houses even expand outside of the United States. We’re out of Texas, but I feel like one day we’ll be universal and Lepore will sing across the world. “
Since their freestyle debut in 2018 Nicki Minaj songs, BabiBoi has developed a formidable catalog of darkly endearing and sex-positive singles in the realm of bouncy club beats and electronically heightened raps. A set to come at Local Music Pridenext Saturday outside long center, will sound in the new single “Boyz 2 Men”. The percussive empowerment anthem, released the day before the festival, highlights the artist’s relentless flow in his first release since 2020. BabiBoi promises to show his softer, emotional side on more singles ahead of a debut LP .
“I hope the audience will think, ‘Maybe BabiBoi is more versatile than I imagined,'” they add. “I think of the project as a mixtape – house, hip-hop, trap sounds. I started doing dance music just because I was booked in clubs, but these days people are calling me ask to play for one-day festivals and I can ‘I don’t really do the same dirty, tough rap. I’m like, ‘Wow, I need to do more pop.'”
At the Long Center, BabiBoi plans to invite a few Lepore sisters to dance on stage, along with the guest musician from San Marcos Maikeru. (The two collaborated on the track “Legends Only” last year.) Expanding into the booking business, BabiBoi also recently launched a monthly live music showcase called Waiting line ! with great choices Ayo Tamz and thelonious love. Next month’s traveling iteration will take place on July 1 at coconut clubis connected neon cavewhich happens to be the artist’s birthday.
“There’s not a cohesive show in Austin that has queer musicians every month, so I wanted to do that and bring in different genres,” they said. “It was the first show I personally hosted, because I usually do house stuff. I was a first-time DJ — mostly female hip-hop and gay rappers.”
Local Music Pride
The lawn at the Long Center, 701 W. Riverside
Saturday June 25, 12 p.m.-9 p.m.
The all-day Pride in Local Music party continues with America’s Got Talent finalist Brian Justin Crum and BeBe Zahara Benetthe very first winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2009. Casper’s Caleb brings prismatic pop tones from the latest Woman Boywhile Basin wrestling celebrate addition to Birmingham label’s roster Earth Libraries. Presented by Dell Technologies with the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commercethe range also includes Tje Austin, bleached rosesand Julie Nolan. Tickets start at $34 at prideinlocalmusic.com – with a $129 VIP deck also hosting Tina G and Melissa Carper. All proceeds will go to the House Education Fund.
The Dicks’ Gary Floyd Talks Lifetime Creativity and Austin’s New Exhibit
Dicks bass player Buxf parrotnext to Todd Cassens and Walter Danielsplayed the opening night of gary floydthe new art collection from last Saturday. Due to health issues, Floyd was unable to leave San Francisco, where he moved after founding Austin’s seminal ’80s band the Dicks, one of hardcore music’s first openly gay vocalists. The show at Austin Arts & Letters Prize The gallery will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment until July 9.
The the Chronicle called Floyd, where the gay icon offered wisdom on lifelong creativity, sobriety, chosen family, and more. Struggling with walking difficulties due to diabetes and congenital heart failure, the 69-year-old still hopes for a visit to Austin soon. He said Prizer Director Carrie Kenny chose the exhibition title “Maybe We’ll See Butterflies” from an artistic statement he provided. Read the full Q&A on our Daily Music blog.
“It makes me a bit of a hippie, doesn’t it? said Floyd. “What good punk rocker would call something after love butterfly? I’m happy to break all those molds and not be too sealed in one idea. So hippie butterfly, let it be. It’s that stubborn Texas part and stubborn. I’ll say I’m a hippie, but if you say I’m a hippie, I’ll say, ‘Well, wait a minute now, I’m a punk rocker.’ And if you say, ‘Well, okay, you’re a punk rocker,’ I’ll say, ‘Just wait a minute now!’ It’s always fighting the titles hanging around your neck.”
Crosstalk
Together Vol II marks a ‘June 19 house and soul music takeover’ for two nights at the Eastside wine bar Lolowhich also houses snack bars and vinyl turners. DJ Shaniaka citywide hub presence Shani Hebertlooks like the Groove Temple – his longtime radio show originated in Chicago WLUW 88.7FMnow residing monthly on Austin’s Split-Frequency Radio. The Chicago native invites a prolific underground presence Demarkus Lewis (Dallas) and exploratory deep addiction host Tobi G. (Atlanta/Chicago) to start this Friday, June 17, from 7 p.m. to midnight. The following evening, Tobi G and Shani team up, from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Belle and Sebastian performed last Saturday at Stubb, spanning their back catalog including an acoustic snippet of “Lord Anthony” by fan request. Conduct Stuart Murdoch desperate not to be able to invite fans to dance on stage, but hand in hand in the front row anyway. He remembers a visit to Austin’s Angelina Eberley statue, and said his friend Ramesh Srivastava of Voxtrot told him about “Lead Singer Disorder” (LSD) in a podcast conversation that morning. Before, the London-based SXSW stars Los Bitchos Austin employee Ryan Fitzgibbon on rhythm guitar (and shaker). the old American weekly Player joins the UK band’s cumbia-inspired rock makeover for a month-long tour with the headliners.
Triple-digit days could threaten outdoor summer music. The Austin Symphony Orchestra canceled an ensemble performance, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening at the Concert Hartmann To park in front of the Long Center, “for the safety of our musicians, their instruments and our patrons…due to the extreme heat.” The free Concerts in the Park series continues this Sunday, June 19 with a string quartet. Waterloo Park also changed last Saturday’s schedule for the day Rainbow over the creek celebration to include an “event break” from 2-6 p.m. due to the extreme heat.
A version of this article appeared in print on June 17, 2022 with the title: Faster Than Sound: BabiBoi’s Spitfire Soundtrack for the Club and Beyond