‘Drag Race’ Winner Yvie Oddly on Wanting to Be the Gay Drake: ‘He’s Breaking All These Rules’ (Guest Interview)
It’s hard to keep a good drag queen down.
Fresh off her victory on Season 11 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Yvie Oddly was cast in the “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!” residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas. The process of putting together and performing the show is featured on VH1’s “Drag Race: Vegas Revue,” which features Oddly alongside castmates and fan favorites like Vanessa “Vanjie” Mateo and Asia O’Hara.
However, less than two months into the Vegas show’s run, it was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Oddly was forced to do what the best performers are able to do seamlessly: pivot. She’s used this newfound freedom as a time of creative exploration, focusing on her aspirations to be a rapper. Following in the footsteps of the music video for her song “Hype” — which features Vanjie and has over 1.3 million views on YouTube — Oddly released the video for her new song “Drag Trap” last month. The video, directed and produced by Oddly herself, shows the queen in her most natural state: avant-garde, DIY and just the right amount left-of-center.
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Oddly points to Drake as inspiration, who has followed his own unconventional path to rap superstardom.
“He’s somebody who traditionally shouldn’t have made it in American hip-hop culture in the way we like to digest it,” Oddly explains, citing the rapper’s Canadian and mainstream acting background. “If he’s breaking all these rules, maybe there’s a space for a gay Drake.”
She’s never shied away from doing things her own way, so why start now?
Check out Daniel Trainor and Sam Stone’s interview with Yvie Oddly about for more about her music, Drake’s influence, her health and why an influx of drag content on TV is nothing but a good thing in the interview above.
“Drag Race: Vegas Revue” airs Fridays at 8/7 on VH1.
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