NEWS
Billy Porter: 'My first album came out in 1997 the R&B music industry was violently homophobic at the time. They kicked me out'
14 November 2023
Billy Porter spoke with Yahoo Entertainment’s Lyndsey Parker to discuss his new album, Black Mona Lisa. During the conversation, Porter opened up about returning to mainstream music, surviving the AIDS crisis and defying ageism in the music industry.
Select quotes include:
Reflecting on the response to his debut album: “My first album came out in 1997, Billy Porter, and the R&B music industry was violently homophobic at the time. They kicked me out. They kicked me out of the business. There was no place for me. They shut me down. Nothing. At that time there was a lot of talk about, ‘Oh, just be who you are!’ — that performative ‘authenticity’ conversation. But it's easy to be who you are when what you are is what's popular. In 1997, my truth was not popular, and I had no place to go.”
On embracing his age: “I'm alive. What an accomplishment. That’s the first lyric [on Black Mona Lisa]: ‘I'm alive. What an accomplishment for my kind.’ Our government means to kill Black men, Black people. They are shooting us in the streets every day for no reason. On paper, being a Black man, I'm not supposed to be here. Being a Black queer man, I'm really not supposed to be here. But I am. Yeah, I'm 54. I earned this age. This is what 54 looks like, honey. I'm at the top of my game, baby. I've never felt better. It's like a fine wine, it's true. And we have to learn how to embrace that. … I love myself enough at 54 years old to be able to talk about my age, and now everybody else will learn to love that age too. I love it first.”
On why he’ll never be silenced: “The AIDS crisis, and living through that, starting as a teenager. And being in a Broadway show, opening in Miss Saigon on April 11, 1991, and by April 11, 1992, there were four people in our cast dead. It was Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS who taught an entire generation how to activate and how to speak. Nothing gets done unless the people show up. … My humanity has been up for legislation since the moment I could comprehend. I'll never be silent, and this music happens to be protest music. That's what Stevie Wonder used to do. That's what Aretha Franklin used to do.”
You can read the full interview here.
Select quotes include:
Reflecting on the response to his debut album: “My first album came out in 1997, Billy Porter, and the R&B music industry was violently homophobic at the time. They kicked me out. They kicked me out of the business. There was no place for me. They shut me down. Nothing. At that time there was a lot of talk about, ‘Oh, just be who you are!’ — that performative ‘authenticity’ conversation. But it's easy to be who you are when what you are is what's popular. In 1997, my truth was not popular, and I had no place to go.”
On embracing his age: “I'm alive. What an accomplishment. That’s the first lyric [on Black Mona Lisa]: ‘I'm alive. What an accomplishment for my kind.’ Our government means to kill Black men, Black people. They are shooting us in the streets every day for no reason. On paper, being a Black man, I'm not supposed to be here. Being a Black queer man, I'm really not supposed to be here. But I am. Yeah, I'm 54. I earned this age. This is what 54 looks like, honey. I'm at the top of my game, baby. I've never felt better. It's like a fine wine, it's true. And we have to learn how to embrace that. … I love myself enough at 54 years old to be able to talk about my age, and now everybody else will learn to love that age too. I love it first.”
On why he’ll never be silenced: “The AIDS crisis, and living through that, starting as a teenager. And being in a Broadway show, opening in Miss Saigon on April 11, 1991, and by April 11, 1992, there were four people in our cast dead. It was Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS who taught an entire generation how to activate and how to speak. Nothing gets done unless the people show up. … My humanity has been up for legislation since the moment I could comprehend. I'll never be silent, and this music happens to be protest music. That's what Stevie Wonder used to do. That's what Aretha Franklin used to do.”
You can read the full interview here.