Bob The Drag Queen’s Pick For ‘The Sound Of Pride’ Captures ‘The Black Queer Experience’
For ‘The Sound Of Pride,’ stand-up comedian and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ winner Bob The Drag Queen shares which song she’s ‘living’ for, and one that shows ‘how it feels to be othered within your own community.’
It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is running The Sound Of Pride, a month-long feature where members of the LGBTQ+ community pick songs that should be on your Pride 2022 playlist. Kicking the series off is a podcaster, stand-up comedian, music superstar, the Ball Emcee of A Black Lady Sketch Show, and winner of season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bob The Drag Queen.
Bob is also one of the stars of We’re Here, the Emmy-nominated (and two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning) HBO reality program that sees Bob, Shangela, and Eureka O’Hara visit small towns across the United States to put on drag shows with residents. During Bob’s conversation with HollywoodLife, his protégé in the second episode of Season 2 came up. “James,” said Bob. “Yeah, I really like James a lot. James is really, really cool. His drag name was Captain James of Atlantis. And I was able to introduce him to Bon Jovi. He was very young. He’s like 21. So he didn’t know much about Bon Jovi. So I was able to introduce him to some classics.”
Similarly, Bob shared a couple of classics with HollywoodLife for our ongoing The Sound Of Pride playlist. We also included Bob’s “Purse First” on the list to hold us over until the new EP drops.
Shea Diamond, “I Am Her”
Bob The Drag Queen: “I really love Shea Diamond’s “I Am Her.” That’s just one of my favorite songs. I think it’s just a remarkable experience about the black queer experience, specifically the black trans experience, and how it feels to be othered within your own community, whether it be the black community or the queer community.”
RuPaul, “Just What They Want”
Bob The Drag Queen: I also love–I live for RuPaul’s music, so I would put this song “Just What They Want” on the list. And I would put one of my songs from my upcoming EP on the list, too.
HollywoodLife: What can you share about this upcoming EP?
Well, I haven’t released the tracks or anything yet, but I’m very excited about it. I’ve already shot two music videos. It’s going to have maybe between three and five songs on it. So I’m very excited about it.
When you dropped “Purse First,” that went harder than most expected. It showed your wit, your lyricism, and the genuine talent that we all fell in love with on the show. With this upcoming EP, did you experiment with different music genres?
Well, I really love sissy music, and I love to rap. So sissy rap music is really my brand. It’s really my favorite kind of music to listen to. So I just stuck to what I love. I created music that I would want to listen to. Although I do have a really wide palette.
There’s a filthy joke to be made about that.
And maybe I will make it on the album cover. Who knows?
Will you perform any of these songs at your Vegas show on June 12th?
No, Vegas is going to be all stand-up comedy. All stand-up comedy, honey! We are going hard on the stand-up comedy realm, which I’m very excited about. Stand-up is my first love. That’s really how I started my whole drag career. So I will always feel inclined to perform strict that up. [The Vegas show] is also just to show a lot of people who don’t know that I am a stand-up [comedian]. So this is a really exciting opportunity for me to show that and to amplify that.
It’s shocking that people don’t automatically recognize you as a comedic force.
Humor’s a big part of my personality. I think people realize that I’m funny, but they don’t know that I was an actual, full-on stand-up comedian. A lot of them are like, “Oh, wow. I didn’t know you actually did stand-up.” And I was like, “Yeah, girl. Of course.”
The crowds are probably a bit different between a drag show and a stand-up show?
Well, yeah. I enjoy myself no matter if I’m doing stand-up or if I’m doing a lip-sync drag show. The crowd is more raucous at a lip-sync drag show, that’s for sure. That I can assure you. The crowd is wild at a lip-sync drag show. But given the right comedian and the right stance, the laughter and the joy, and also queer comedy shows are just so much better than straight comedy shows.
If you’ve ever been to a comedy show where the headliner was queer, or the whole lineup was queer, it is a very different experience.
What else do you have set for June?
Oh, so I’m filming We’re Here. We’re actually in the middle of filming our third season, which takes up a lot of time. Each episode takes a lot of careful consideration and time, and just it’s a really meticulous show. But I am going to be in LA hosting LA Pride with Eureka O’Hara, who is my co-star on We’re Here. And, of course, I have my Vegas show, which I’m very excited about. And I think that’s really it for my Pride. We’re Here, Vegas, and LA.
Is anything else happening later in 2022?
You can also catch me and Monét X Change — my best friend and arch-nemesis Monét X Change will be going on tour for our first big US tour.
That’s awesome. Thank you for your contribution to The Sound Of Pride.
My pleasure. I’m excited to do so. I recommend everyone go check out Shea Diamond. She’s just such an amazing talent. And I also want to tell everyone that please feel free to on June 9th, please check out Stand Out on Netflix. It is the biggest queer comedy show in the history of all time, more queer comedians on one show than literally ever. And I was lucky enough to emcee it.
One final question: is Thorgy Thor really light for their height, or are you just secretly strong?
I’m very strong. I’m not going to lie to you. I am a very strong lady.
You carried Thorgy quite a ways in that video.
Well, I think it just shows my dedication and how far I’ll go for a laugh.
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Sibling Rivalry Live
Tickets are available at www.BobandMonet.com. Ticket prices range from $35 – $100, with upgrade packages ranging from $125 – $150.
9/14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
9/16 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
9/17 Columbus, OH Southern Theatre
9/19 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
9/22 Boston, MA The Wilbur
9/24 New York, NY Town Hall
9/25 Philadelphia, PA Franklin Music Hall
9/26 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre
9/28 Richmond, VA the National
9/29 Raleigh, NC Carolina Theatre
9/30 Charleston, SC The Charleston Music Hall
10/2 Orlando, FL The Plaza Live Orlando
10/3 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater
10/6 Houston, TX Cullen Performance Hall