Mykki Blanco

American performing artist Mykki Blanco grew up bouncing between San Mateo, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina. He moved to New York City at the age of 16 and once there, he discovered and embraced the transgender lifestyle. After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, Blanco moved back to N.Y.C. and began to write, publishing a book of poems From the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys in 2011. Looking to bring some art to the mainstream, Blanco began to perform crushing industrial rock under the name No Fear, and glamorous, ghetto-fabulous riot grrrl rap under the name Mykki Blanco. In 2012, Mykki made a grand entrance with the Mykki Blanco & the Mutant Angels EP, featuring cuts like "Join My Militia (Nas Gave Me a Perm)" and "Gay Dog." Dubbed "Hip-Hop's New Queen" by Elle magazine's blog, Blanco joined Death Grips on tour, opening for the avant hip-hop group on its late 2012 tour of America. The mixtape Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss arrived at the end of the year, while the EP Betty Rubble: The Initiation followed in 2013. In January of 2015, Blanco formed the DOGFOOD Music Group label in partnership with !K7. Their initial release was Mykki Blanco Presents C-Ore, a compilation issued in September of 2015. Blanco next issued a Woodkid-produced single, "High School Never Ends," in May of 2016, which preceded his September 2016 debut album, Mykki. ~ David Jeffries