YEAR OF GAY Ft. Rebecca Black ｜ Episode 147
Summary
Rebecca Black is a multi-talented singer-songwriter, songwriter, and all-around pop icon. In this episode, we chat about her new album, Trust, and how she came to discover her sexuality.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
If you want to feel like big and mighty on yourself as a boob, boob, man, I meant to say man, hello, as a boob.
00:00:14.640
Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the comment section show starring me, your fave, everybody knows me, who cares about me, on to the guest.
00:00:22.640
Today we have the iconic, the legendary, the multifaceted and talented, Rebecca Black.
00:00:30.000
Woo! Hi. Hello. Welcome to the show, Queen. Thanks for having me. Oh my gosh, I'm so happy. I'm honored to have you.
00:00:36.760
Oh my god. I'm excited to be here. Right. This is our first time meeting in person, but I feel like we've known each other for a long time. It feels like we have.
00:00:43.860
I've admired you from afar in the same room, for sure. Likewise. For sure. Likewise. And not in a weird way.
00:00:51.540
For me, borderline. I'll be honest, mine was. I don't know.
00:00:57.100
Well, how have you been, Queen? How's life? I've been good. I've been just, like, head down, so it's actually nice to, like, sit and chat and talk.
00:01:07.780
And key. Yeah, and key. You have to. I have a lot of key. But I've been good. I've been good, you know?
00:01:13.120
I know, you've been busy. You've been working, you've been in that stew cooking.
00:01:16.660
We've been, I've actually been out of the stew cooking. It's been sitting.
00:01:20.480
Well, now we're seeing the fruits of your stew. Yes.
00:01:22.380
The fruits of your cooking. It's been in the fridge, and we're finally bringing it out.
00:01:26.440
Exactly, exactly. It's time. Yeah, it's been, it's been fun. It's been fun.
00:01:29.900
And your new single, Trust, may I, dare I say, a bop. Thank you.
00:01:34.780
I love it. And I told you this before we started rolling, but I love a cunty gay pop song.
00:01:40.900
I think that's been, like, the year, it's been the year of cunty gay pop, and I'm determined to bring it into the following year.
00:01:46.480
I love it. And also, can I also say, I love your boiler room sets.
00:01:56.980
So I have lots of questions, but first we'll start with the music.
00:01:59.900
So how has your most recent music journey been? Like, how does this differ from your earlier work, would you say?
00:02:06.300
Um, I mean, I've been doing this for a long time. So there's been so many different iterations of, like, me thinking I know what I'm doing and, you know, either falling on my face or just getting my, getting, getting information and figuring this whole thing out.
00:02:25.600
And, um, the last, like, four years have been, like, a really steady, um, I feel like, journey of figuring out how to, like, put what's in my head on a paper, um, with everything that I do.
00:02:39.860
And I definitely think, like, this last, um, this current album that I'm putting out and, um, in the process of releasing, like, feels like it couldn't have existed without literally everything that came before.
00:02:53.280
Um, and it's just exciting to see people really, like, get it.
00:02:59.900
Because I know a lot of people see my name and they think one thing or they have expectations and I love to betray them.
00:03:08.240
Um, so it's been really, really exciting to see people, like, see what I've seen for a long time.
00:03:13.560
Absolutely. And you're, I would say, a gay icon.
00:03:16.400
And I think, I would love to know how your experience has been as far as being in the queer community yourself.
00:03:22.960
And then also, like, having such a strong queer fan base.
00:03:27.500
How has that shown up in your art, in your music?
00:03:32.340
It's been such a long kind of journey of navigating it.
00:03:35.860
And also, the landscape of music has changed so much over the past, like, 13 years.
00:03:42.020
Um, whereas I think even, like, five years ago, I remember, well, maybe it was a little bit long.
00:03:48.220
Whenever it was that I was, like, figuring out my sexuality, which was a little bit longer than five years ago.
00:03:52.400
But, at the point where I was, like, starting to make gay stuff, I had a lot of people tell me, like, I don't know if you want to make this a part of your brand or, like, pigeonhole yourself or anything.
00:04:04.960
And now it feels like every artist is dying to be gay.
00:04:08.800
Like, they wish and pray that they are gay because it's the year of being gay.
00:04:18.860
I mean, for me, like, I've always just lived my life, like, as a huge fan of the pop space, as a queer person.
00:04:29.240
Like, even before I knew my world and my piece of being queer, like, gay people were always the people who rooted for me when everyone was, like, I don't know about her.
00:04:49.780
And it's because of them that I was, like, maybe you're right, I guess.
00:05:01.120
So, whatever the world is, like, shitting on and the gays are loving it.
00:05:13.160
Like, I was loving it and was like, what do you mean?
00:05:21.840
They're like, the gays are like, when they pick shit they like, especially music, artists, culture, they're kind of like that octopus.
00:05:41.620
And I remember seeing, like, a tweet once that was like, every gay is, like, born with essentially, like, not like a godmother, but like a woman that he will have to, or they will have to defend for the rest of their life, whether or not, like, life or death matters on it.
00:05:59.300
So it's, you know, I just, I really appreciate the way that, honestly, it's given me so much confidence over the years to, like, know I have a world there.
00:06:09.420
And gay people are, like, such a big part of my audience.
00:06:17.180
They know who's fierce and who's not, like you were saying.
00:06:20.820
So, like, you guys are going to wish that you were on the ground floor.
00:06:27.860
Like, how do you feel towards the music industry now?
00:06:31.340
Like, as far as, like, your evolution in your career and how you've kind of matured within the industry, honestly.
00:06:37.920
So, like, how do you feel towards it now versus how you used to?
00:06:44.660
I mean, it's a weird place and it's changed so much and it's still, I was just having a conversation about, like, the way it is literally changing in its structure all the time.
00:06:59.560
And I think it's really exciting to watch pop have, like, the renaissance that it's having and see the way that, like, I remember six years ago in 2018, like, we were all vibing to rap music.
00:07:19.000
Like, it felt like there were no, it felt like pop was in a place where it could really be pushed forward, which is funny because that's where you have, like, the Charlies and, like, Sophie and all of these, like, inventors of where pop is now kind of, like, kind of first having their seeds be sprouted.
00:07:38.600
So, it's just exciting to me to see pop be in a place where people are, like, really appreciating world building.
00:07:46.380
And I think, like, the Chapels and the Sabrinas and the Charlies and all of the girls that are out there right now are, like, really opening up a landscape to show that, like, people want to see you take a risk.
00:08:01.560
And that's something I've always known about my audience from, like, the jump when I started making my, the music I really wanted to.
00:08:09.660
And it's, it just makes me excited to keep going.
00:08:12.860
And I hope everyone sees this as an opportunity to, like, do more.
00:08:21.180
And also, like, leaning into what makes you different as opposed to conforming, which is typically what goes the pop route or, like, women who are fitting a very specific mold.
00:08:31.040
But now it's, like, a renaissance, like you said, of pop where it's, like, they're almost craving something completely different than people haven't seen before.
00:08:38.880
Which is also, like, nice because I think there was a period where, like, TikTok started popping off.
00:08:49.220
I don't, I drive, but I, like, just watch and learn.
00:08:53.620
But it's nice to see people, I feel like, time and time again, no matter who tells me it's not true, like, people appreciate an album.
00:09:02.080
Even people will say time and time again, music videos don't have a return on investment.
00:09:10.600
All what people pass around time and time again.
00:09:14.240
And I see it with, like, Gaga music videos from 10 years ago.
00:09:19.740
Like, people pass around something that shows you who they are.
00:09:26.060
And, like, that's, that's what raised me are those girls.
00:09:28.920
So it's really exciting to, I don't know, be in a place where I can be, like, see, I told you we needed to do that.
00:09:37.260
I mean, the trust, like, music videos, as an independent artist, like, it's not easy to put something like that out.
00:09:51.660
And it's just really, like, exciting to see people embrace that because it lets me do more.
00:10:01.100
I was going to ask, too, like, what were some of your pop influences?
00:10:10.860
Every time I look back, because my sister's a lesbian.
00:10:13.080
But every time I look back, and I'm obviously not, I just fucking hate men.
00:10:17.680
But at least once an episode, I have to mention that my sister's a lesbian.
00:10:30.740
So my gay sister and I were, like, every time I look back, because when my sister first came out to me, I was like, what?
00:10:42.880
Because we learned the entire bad romance choreography in 2009.
00:10:55.460
I've always loved, like, especially culturally, has been what women and gay people love always.
00:11:07.960
We all, like, there's, yeah, there's, there's, like, societal counterpoints that you can be like, okay, yes, that makes sense.
00:11:16.440
Another diva that they picked and everyone shat on when she was first out.
00:11:20.060
And when you look back at, like, old, like, early day Gaga videos.
00:11:25.880
Even just, like, the random shit she was doing.
00:11:29.320
Because she was doing a lot of crazy random shit.
00:11:32.600
Like, the references and the things she was putting in front of, like, such a large mass scale of people are shocking.
00:11:40.900
It's literally, like, so far ahead of her time.
00:11:44.340
It's like, this bitch was living 25 years in the future.
00:11:49.000
It's sick to know that, like, a 22-year-old or 24-year-old, however she was when she did, like, paparazzi and bad romance and all those, like, it's so cool to know that, like, guys, people have been ready for this for years.
00:12:04.300
I mean, Madonna, like, it goes, Bowie, it goes so far back for what people are down for.
00:12:08.600
But, yeah, Gaga is a huge influence for me, Madonna, Gwen, honestly, like, early, like, Gwen Stefani, Orange County Girl, and Lana.
00:12:23.180
And not to pivot, but kind of to pivot, I'd love to talk about your boiler room sets.
00:12:32.140
Obviously, other than the gay underworld, because I know, and by that I mean underground.
00:12:42.720
I know that it's huge for them, but I feel like boiler room is kind of moving to, like, people are starting to see it a lot more now because it's traveling around on social media.
00:12:53.380
I started DJing, like, I think it was at the end of, like, probably this time, 2017, which was seven years ago, six years ago.
00:13:11.480
And basically someone just had a controller and would, like, kind of play at house parties and just, like, nights where we would all hang out.
00:13:18.520
And I just wanted to try it and thought it was cool and thought it was, like, could be something really fun.
00:13:29.160
And then I started playing, like, little L.A. raves and, like, parties around town.
00:13:36.740
Like, there used to be this night called Candy Pop at this place called The Satellite that's no longer existing.
00:13:42.420
But I would just, like, I mean, that's kind of how you start DJing is literally, like, I'm a DJ now.
00:13:53.280
And I remember, like, my first few gigs, like, I was clueless because you get up there and now you're not on a tiny controller.
00:13:59.540
You're on, like, CDJs, which are, like, big and a lot more buttons.
00:14:03.780
And so I really just learned through, like, playing gigs over the last six years and practicing some more.
00:14:10.780
And it's been, like, a thing that I think not a lot of people have known about.
00:14:16.660
But that's been a big part of my life and love.
00:14:23.380
Boiler Room was something I was really surprised to get an offer for at that point because that's, like, I've been such a huge fan of electronic music for so long.
00:14:32.140
Like, I remember being 12 and hearing, like, Skrillex's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites that my little brother put me on to and being, like, this is crazy.
00:14:46.080
And so it's been something that I've loved for so long.
00:14:50.340
And it was just so cool to get the offer to do it.
00:14:57.580
And how was the energy in there while you're doing it live?
00:15:05.680
So I was nervous because I was like, hmm, I'm in Washington, D.C.
00:15:10.320
Gay people don't leave their house before 6 p.m.
00:15:18.500
And I went up there and, like, 15 minutes in my set, someone offered me poppers next to me.
00:15:53.920
I mean, the barricades, like, broke in the middle of the set.
00:15:56.940
So you see, like, security behind me trying to, like, get everyone off the stage.
00:16:00.600
The CDJs also were literally, like, moving like this throughout the whole set because it was just so lit in there.
00:16:13.660
But they were, like, they were ready from the beginning.
00:16:16.020
And I just get excited because I, like, I spend usually the week before I do a set literally just, like, deep on SoundCloud looking for the, like, most unhinged remixes I can find.
00:16:26.720
Like, I opened the set with this Hannah Montana Nobody's Perfect, like, 150 hard techno remix.
00:16:36.720
And I heard it and immediately was, like, this is what I will play first.
00:16:43.640
I opened with that knowing, like, y'all are either going to get this or you're not.
00:16:47.760
And immediately people were in and I was, like, okay.
00:16:51.740
How would you compare performing, like, sets as a DJ versus, like, singing like a performer?
00:16:59.380
I mean, I have a live show that has dancers and choreography and props and boobs.
00:17:06.280
And can I say, when Rebecca Black does choreography, bitch, she does choreography.
00:17:17.820
I mean, I've been working with this choreographer, Richie Jackson, who did, like, Bad Romance and,
00:17:22.700
like, all the early Gaga stuff that he just, like, gets what I want to do.
00:17:28.020
And we work so well together and I live for that.
00:17:37.420
I watched that Boiler Room set and I was like, girl, have some fun.
00:17:46.640
Like, I am literally just, like, where is everything?
00:17:52.400
And so it can, it just is so, it's so different.
00:18:00.780
And with, like, a live set, like, and also that's the difference with DJing is I don't
00:18:06.700
Like, I plan my first song and I might plan my last song and everything else I just kind
00:18:12.220
of, like, throw a bunch of shit in there and I'm like, let's see what I feel.
00:18:20.060
And with a live show, like, it's, you know, we know what we're doing to the minute and
00:18:25.180
So it's just, like, a different kind of adrenaline.
00:18:29.680
DJing I get way more adrenaline, I think, beforehand because I'm like, what is going to happen
00:18:35.480
Probably, too, because it's, like, you're a vibe curator at that point.
00:18:42.600
Whereas, like, my live show, I'm like, you come and you get it or you don't.
00:18:55.060
So you're like, I hope you're having a good time.
00:19:06.240
And I was honestly, like, scared to DJ, I think, for a long time on bigger stages because
00:19:12.520
I was like, I am relinquishing a piece of control into, like, technology.
00:19:17.960
Which, again, with my show, I'm like, even if the whole system fails, I'll just be like,
00:19:25.380
Whereas I think with tech, like, CDJs, there's always something fucked up in there.
00:19:34.560
I will ask, too, when it comes to DJing, it's a very male-dominated field.
00:19:38.600
Like, how has it been navigating that as a woman?
00:19:45.560
And then throw the fact that you're Rebecca Black on top of that and it's a little bit
00:19:48.100
Yeah, I mean, that's what was so interesting about Boiler Room is, like, I did that knowing
00:19:55.280
that, okay, either people are really going to have opinions on this or they're not going
00:20:03.480
And I think it was fascinating to see a couple clips, like, get posted from Boiler Room before
00:20:10.640
And everyone was like, oh, not another celebrity DJ who, like, doesn't know what she's doing
00:20:15.460
and, like, is not pressing any buttons or whatever.
00:20:18.100
And it was just, like, a very fast kind of, this is not going to be good.
00:20:24.660
Even though they'd seen maybe, like, 15 seconds of an hour-long set.
00:20:29.160
And it's fascinating to watch the, like, electronic world and dance world, I think, is still, like,
00:20:40.240
It's in this place where, like, people are really embracing dance music and queer people
00:20:44.620
are really, like, being, I think, pushed to the forefront thanks to a lot of, like, amazing
00:20:49.940
trans DJs and drag DJs and even, like, someone like Charlie, like, bringing Boiler Room and,
00:20:59.180
But a lot of, like, white boys had a lot of thoughts and opinions.
00:21:12.940
Like, I always think, like, I'm here and you're there.
00:21:15.560
So, like, one of us is clearly more skilled than the other at the craft.
00:21:19.960
That's why I'm like, you're never truly alone because there's always a man waiting to tell you something you could have done better.
00:21:28.540
And at this point, like, I think being on the internet for so long, I love to watch the conversation happen.
00:21:37.120
Like, I will sit back and just let, I feel like Regina George and Mean Girls where, like, I'm like, I just give you, I gave you the info.
00:21:44.520
Yeah, standing there on an off the shoulder top.
00:21:47.980
Like, if you want to feel, like, big and mighty on yourself as a boob, boop?
00:22:03.780
But, like, I think, if anything, these conversations are only, like, lighting the fire under all of the women in music and gay people and, like, marginalized people in music to, like, fight for their voices harder.
00:22:22.820
I was like, well, you guys have the chain smuggers, so go look at them.
00:22:37.260
You could point to any two white guys and I'd be like, that could be the chain smuggers.
00:22:43.860
But that's actually a good transition into, I want to talk to you about dealing with hate
00:22:47.320
online because you're a seasoned vet, I feel like, as am I.
00:22:52.880
Why did something happen on social media that I should be familiar with?
00:22:58.900
I don't know who that was, but I would love to, first off, before we talk about that,
00:23:03.220
I do want to commend you and I find, I admire you greatly just for your, obviously you're
00:23:07.900
very real and valid talent, but also for how you've like grown throughout the industry
00:23:13.960
and how you've like really like in a, in a very awful time on the internet, you're,
00:23:28.620
Like, especially online, especially at the time.
00:23:31.680
Like the way it was like unparalleled hate, like, like on another level.
00:23:38.860
I feel like, and you're still here and you're succeeding.
00:23:42.600
Because, and where the fuck are those people at?
00:23:45.620
Well, they are at the chain smoker sets naturally, you know, and no hate to the chain
00:23:58.880
The jury will check back in with me, but I do want to give you your flowers for that.
00:24:02.800
I just think, I think you're incredibly strong and talented and courageous.
00:24:06.800
And I'm so, I commend you for not letting that stop you from putting your art onto the
00:24:17.080
But I do want to talk, ask you about hate, like how, how have you been able to kind of
00:24:25.600
I mean, it honestly has been, well, it's been something I've done a lot of therapy on and
00:24:33.060
I have, God, I've talked about this so much and sometimes I really don't even know what
00:24:38.780
But I think I am lucky to have an urge to dissociate at times and that has been one of the protective
00:24:50.040
mechanisms that has really helped me and also probably hindered me at moments of growth.
00:24:55.400
Um, I think it's, it's really the big, like challenge that I had to face within myself
00:25:11.500
Like when Friday hit the, hit the second tower, I don't know.
00:25:29.780
But anyway, I like, I being that young and having so many people, um, be so quick to be
00:25:45.440
Was it bad or did you just like not care for it?
00:25:47.720
Like those are two very different trains of thought.
00:25:50.440
People on the internet really use the internet as a tool to like unleash their frustrations.
00:26:00.240
At the time I didn't know this being that I was a kid, but, um, yeah, I just, I took,
00:26:07.820
I think I was in a place where I had no sense of self and I was just like trying to figure
00:26:16.700
Um, and being that young, it just was really hard to, I think, develop like a, uh, identity
00:26:26.080
that wasn't based around what other people thought of me and being accepted.
00:26:30.400
And so that's been a challenge and doing that in an industry where like people hate women
00:26:36.560
a lot of the time and, um, have such unreasonable expectations of, of women, um, just made that
00:26:45.960
I've had, I have crazy, crazy stories about crazy people I could tell for many days, but,
00:26:50.500
um, I just feel really lucky again to like have always had, even when at times it was
00:26:56.880
maybe two people online rooting for me and being like, you got this.
00:27:03.740
And, and also to be in a place where like, I would not be where I am now if it weren't
00:27:09.240
for the people who I've met in the industry over the past few years who have been like,
00:27:14.640
no go, like you got it, I'll step back, I'll help you out, but like do what you gotta do.
00:27:21.300
Um, and it's so, it like paid and opinions and, and all of that, like just feel so outside
00:27:35.080
I think I, I've watched so many people on the internet, like really struggle with, with,
00:27:39.380
um, criticism and it's not even criticism, like criticism is one thing.
00:27:44.240
And hate, hate and, and like the cancellation and everything.
00:27:48.540
And like, it feels like a war that you have to win by like saying the last word.
00:27:54.000
What I've learned is like the last word is being so unbothered by it.
00:27:59.900
And I feel grateful to like be at a place where like, I'm pretty unbothered.
00:28:14.840
Like sometimes when, you know, uh, there's criticism about like influencers, for example,
00:28:20.120
cause I'm a dickhead influencer, but when like, there's criticism about it and they're
00:28:24.140
like, Oh, you know, when influencers complained about shit, um, it's annoying.
00:28:28.340
Like I would get, I would die to do something like that, which I'm always like, I get it.
00:28:32.500
I worked a lot of fucking regular ass jobs before I did this.
00:28:35.700
This is not by any means the hardest job in the world.
00:28:37.740
Um, but sometimes when people say that shit, I'm like, you think that you think anybody
00:28:45.120
Cause all you see is the good stuff, the fun stuff.
00:28:47.980
I was like, but what you don't see is when everybody turns on you.
00:28:51.420
And I said, that's a feeling I wouldn't wish on anybody to be quite honest with you.
00:28:56.780
And like, Oh, having only done this for like the last three, four years, like obviously
00:29:01.120
given my niche, it's to be expected that I will get hate when I run and punch someone
00:29:07.200
in the back of the head, I have to expect they're going to turn around and want to swing
00:29:10.440
That's just typically what happens when I attack awful men.
00:29:13.100
But like, so if I thought like getting hate was like, like that kind of hate was, you
00:29:18.200
know, unfair to me or whatever, that would make me a hypocrite.
00:29:21.420
But I always tell people, I'm like, every time y'all think of hate, you only think of
00:29:25.660
Like just trolls, which are a facet of hate, obviously.
00:29:29.260
But the other side of hate you don't see is like hate that's disguised as like valid
00:29:34.140
or it's disguised as like, Oh, this is a reasonable, like way for me to talk about
00:29:50.620
So we grew up on the internet around the same time.
00:29:53.480
So like, I've never in all my years of being a voyeur on the internet before I became this
00:29:59.140
person, like, I've never been like, I'm gonna leave a fucking hate comment.
00:30:09.980
Any sort of unsolicited, I literally cannot relate to it.
00:30:12.760
So I, it's, it, it's like what you said, like, there's really no rhyme or reason to it.
00:30:18.380
And there's, and trying to figure out why or trying to fix why is like, you're going to
00:30:25.460
Because everyone, someone's going to hate you regardless.
00:30:28.260
I mean, they'll, like, we're all figures to people and we're all not real.
00:30:33.040
Like, I, there was actually this one thing I did years ago.
00:30:36.860
There was a show that aired for like three episodes and I think it was called Hater.
00:30:42.240
And it was like some random CW, like kind of coming out of the early 2000s, trash reality
00:30:48.780
TV situations where there were like all those really bizarre shows.
00:30:52.780
And basically, um, kind of like, like punked or like one of those type.
00:31:01.160
And I was probably 15 or 14 at the time where basically you would have, they would find,
00:31:14.900
And every episode, like I think Kim Kardashian did an episode, a few other people.
00:31:28.980
And the whole point was to like, in some very unsettling way, like get this hater to humanize
00:31:36.520
with you and for the person to humanize with the hater or whatever.
00:31:43.860
I think it was a woman in her like late 20s, early 30s.
00:31:50.360
And we had a conversation at the end of the interview where like I basically was like
00:31:57.560
Like not understanding why this girl was just like going off.
00:32:17.480
But basically at the end of the point I'm getting to is at the end of the day we got
00:32:23.760
to this conversation where she, something literally like clicked in her brain and she was like,
00:32:34.500
And it took 12 hours of literally being next to this girl like in every Uber we were together,
00:32:44.600
Like we were, she just couldn't get this like out of her mouth of like, I hate you.
00:32:52.160
And then we probably got into this whole conversation, blah, blah, blah.
00:32:55.000
But it's really real that people don't, they really see you as like, you're there for their
00:33:07.060
Like I'm there to entertain and do, you know, choreo for you and make you feel good about
00:33:15.120
Um, but the depths that people take it to is, I'm just like, I, and I promise I'm not
00:33:23.720
I just find it absurd that like a woman in her aunt, like thirties is going like, God,
00:33:32.240
Like just the thought of her sitting there with a camera.
00:33:41.280
It never aired, but I would love, I just would love if anyone knows.
00:33:50.020
Like, honestly, I wish, I wish they did just to show how fucking stupid people like that
00:33:57.140
look when they're like, they're airing out what they feel is something very valid.
00:34:02.460
And then to say it out loud, it's like reading your hate comment out loud to the person you
00:34:07.140
Like, yeah, do you hear how fucking dumb you sound?
00:34:10.060
Like, do you hear how mentally unwell you sound in this comment?
00:34:15.540
And like, I, I get, I get why the internet is like a place for people to use their anonymity
00:34:21.340
to kind of like, you know, again, like unleash whatever it is on people.
00:34:25.740
But there's so, there's so many other ways we can work that out, girl.
00:34:30.480
Like, I, I think it's exciting that we're in a place where clear, like times are weird.
00:34:37.000
The energy in the air, not great right now in the world.
00:34:41.400
And I think people are looking for a way to cope and seeing the way that like dance music
00:34:45.540
and pop music and like everything can be a real, a real escape, like a real unleashing
00:34:51.720
of energy, a real, like, like voodoo doll that you can use on yourself to, to experience joy,
00:35:03.180
That I'm, I'm hoping in time we're in a place where things will work itself out.
00:35:08.720
But I'm, I'm not always, you know, confident, confident.
00:35:13.780
And the internet doesn't help with that either.
00:35:16.060
And I, and it's funny too, because I like in a few interviews I've done, I've like talked
00:35:22.200
Cause obviously like given what I do, I see very awful parts of it.
00:35:26.460
And I've like said before, I'm like, I think the internet, like, like most things in the
00:35:31.160
world, like as much good as it comes with, it comes with a lot of bad too.
00:35:34.260
But I feel like the good definitely outweighs the bad in a lot of ways.
00:35:37.780
So that's why I'm always like, as much as the internet pisses me the fuck off sometimes,
00:35:41.600
like for the most part, generally speaking, it can be a really beautiful place to find
00:35:49.060
And like, I even had Mary Beth Brown on my show not too long ago and she is a comic and
00:35:57.220
And so she was saying like, she loves the internet because it allows people to build audiences
00:36:03.540
Whereas like before you'd have to go these very traditional routes that are very exclusionary.
00:36:08.980
So like, I've said that before too, like if I didn't have the internet, like chances
00:36:12.820
are someone who looks like me and talks like me and thinks like me wouldn't be given a
00:36:19.200
So it's kind of like, you have to build it yourself.
00:36:21.400
And like, because of your consistency and your talent, like you've been able to establish
00:36:27.320
It's just growing and growing and growing with time.
00:36:29.420
And now you just have people being like, I've been known about her.
00:36:33.920
And girl, I knew you were there because again, there weren't many.
00:36:48.300
Well, actually my, my fans, I think are truly like some of the coolest people I've ever met.
00:36:57.620
People who recognize you and then there's fans.
00:37:00.900
I've never had like a, I'm trying to think if I've had for like a rude fan moment, even
00:37:05.340
though that would be fierce, honestly, if someone was just like brashing through.
00:37:11.180
But no, I've, what I've heard from, from people who come to my shows and, and who I've met
00:37:15.400
is like that the, it's such a welcoming energy, which is, which I think is like on, that comes
00:37:22.440
from what we set forth and like the, you know, kind of rhetoric that we give our people
00:37:29.320
because that, that is the thing is like, you are building an audience and cultivating like
00:37:34.060
And even though I don't think we're entirely responsible for every, you know, every little
00:37:39.100
action that everyone can make, cause that would be impossible.
00:37:42.180
And I think there is something to be said about how safe your fans feel in your audience,
00:37:46.940
like when they come to your shows and I feel like that's a hallmark of who you are as a
00:37:50.800
person, but also as a performer, it's like, you're able to create a space where people
00:37:54.500
can feel totally and 100% safe and like have a good time, which is rare, especially for
00:38:01.680
public outings and for marginalized people in general.
00:38:07.660
And like, it's, um, I forgot what I was actually going to say right there.
00:38:14.520
As far as like, as far as rude people who recognize you, have you ever had any of those
00:38:22.580
I mean, back in the day, yes, like I remember being in like a mall and like people never
00:38:34.080
want to like really come up to you and do something in your face.
00:38:38.120
Again, that would be like pulling up a hate comment and reading it to them.
00:38:42.880
But I've just had so many like weird, sly interactions and all of that.
00:38:48.260
And, um, I like, I think as a kid and especially being like maybe when I was in my hometown,
00:38:53.820
that felt scary, but it's been a really long time since I've had a weird moment like that.
00:39:00.240
And now I'm just like, if that were ever to, I'd be like, you're weird.
00:39:06.180
I had, I had an interaction recently in the airport that I'll probably think about for
00:39:13.260
Um, and it was like, it's because like being perceived in public, like, I don't know if
00:39:23.820
But I think I'm, I'm probably a little bit more extroverted.
00:39:28.140
And I feel like I've always loved being in public until I started being perceived.
00:39:32.060
And now it's kind of a nightmare for me to go anywhere in public just because I hate
00:39:39.580
And so recently I was in an airport with my whole family and like, I was talking to,
00:39:45.240
I was talking to my family, like my back was turned and this girl stopped and she was like,
00:39:52.920
I heard it the entire fucking day I was in the airport.
00:39:59.600
So then I start turning around and she looks me in the eyes and she goes, oh my God, Teffy.
00:40:03.880
She's looking me in the eyes by the, like, she's looking me in the eyes and going Teffy.
00:40:13.140
And then I could feel like in her head, I felt like she was going different brown girl,
00:40:22.160
We don't look anything alike, like not even fucking close.
00:40:24.380
Like, and if you look at build, it's even more confusing because like Teffy's this big
00:40:51.900
But you have like, you have like podcasts, right?
00:41:00.540
And then she's like, your last name starts with an A.
00:41:10.920
So like, sometimes when I have it, fan, it's not a fan, but like encounters like that in
00:41:19.460
And they're, and you know, you've been in the industry for a long time.
00:41:22.540
It's like, it's not something you ever like really get used to.
00:41:27.080
It's just something you kind of learn to deal with, like as time goes on.
00:41:30.440
And people like that, like I've definitely had similar experiences like that where people
00:41:34.760
will confuse me for the wrong person or think we went to high school together or something.
00:41:39.140
And like people have these knee jerk reactions where they don't think they just, again, they
00:41:47.820
And it's like, oh, the amount of years I would have left on my life if people just
00:41:56.460
The one that really sticks out for me is I was like 15 and I was at Disneyland and I
00:42:01.620
don't go to Disneyland much because like, even though I grew up in Orange County, that's
00:42:07.680
Um, so I was at Disneyland and I remember I was in the like pizza parlor, the like space
00:42:12.740
pizza situation and I was mid spaghetti bite and someone just like ran over, posed for
00:42:20.040
a photo next to me as I'm literally like, uh, and then just ran away.
00:42:32.120
It feels like I post like that type of shit makes me feel like I posted a whole pic on
00:42:36.920
Like I just feel like I'm, I'm just showing, bearing my soul to the world and like people
00:42:43.240
Like, and I talked to chapel about it a lot when she was here, but it's like, and Ravina
00:42:47.660
when she was here, she said that it's almost like a trauma that you learn to just deal
00:42:51.860
with, like, as you, you kind of grow around the trauma and just kind of figure it out.
00:42:55.960
So that's why when people are like, I would love to do that.
00:43:01.220
It's definitely one of the, one of the stranger parts.
00:43:03.580
And like, I really respect everything that chapel has done this year and inserting a boundary
00:43:09.580
for itself because there's so much about, uh, so much conversation about, you know, well,
00:43:16.060
of course you knew what you were walking into or you asked for this as part of the job,
00:43:20.460
but like not many jobs have like unclockable hours and it is, it's just a, it's not super
00:43:31.260
And so many people are, um, but the few that aren't, you are remembered.
00:43:39.420
And every, every city we go to venues will ask for a list of faces that you don't want
00:43:45.500
to let in the door and like, sometimes people do things that are really scary or like uncomfortable
00:43:56.620
And that's important that you like pay attention to that shit, which you don't, you, you don't
00:44:03.000
That's like, I'm signing away my right to, to not have people grab me in public.
00:44:09.100
Like, even when she set that boundary too, I like made a video about it too.
00:44:14.260
Anytime anybody says anything, if they were in this chair, they're like, what the fuck
00:44:19.500
Like every time they're like, and where's drew at?
00:44:22.240
Like, I don't know why the fuck I'm just, everything's my fault.
00:44:24.880
I know I'm like, and if anything happens, consider that a warning, Rebecca.
00:44:28.440
But even then, when I talked about it, I said like, you guys aren't, you know, it's disingenuous
00:44:34.020
and it's not a good faith conversation to just automatically chalk that up to like, oh,
00:44:39.160
you signed up for this or like your fans love you.
00:44:42.840
I actually don't like, I actually don't owe you the right to grab me in public.
00:44:47.240
Like I actually don't owe you the right to not remember my name, but take pictures of
00:44:52.440
I don't owe you anything really other than the art that I put out or the, the thing that
00:45:00.760
Anything past that is extra credit in my opinion.
00:45:04.840
I, I think like, I, I see people trying to have a conversation in a way that's constructive
00:45:11.020
and what I, what I think would be more constructive for everyone globally is like, let's question
00:45:18.580
the way that we idolize people and the relationships we have with the way that we, I think this goes
00:45:24.900
even back to like the, um, ways that the expectations people set for people on the internet and all
00:45:31.560
Like, I think every figure on the internet and I've seen this with people like Trisha or,
00:45:36.640
um, or like chapels or doja or who you could put every Brittany, like you could put every
00:45:46.120
I think I've seen the way that like the internet and, and not just the internet culture
00:45:51.260
historically uses people like us and, and women particularly to build up when they're
00:46:03.180
And then once they are comfortable, take them down for the story and the conversation and
00:46:10.260
as like a catharsis piece and then they'll build them back up and then they'll take them
00:46:15.140
back down and then they'll do it as much as they can until someone just like really becomes
00:46:21.960
And I truly, I am always curious to see like where culture will go in the ways that like,
00:46:28.900
again, people really are building these like deep, deep parasocial relationships with, with
00:46:37.980
Like we're all, cause at the end of the day, like we're all human people just using our
00:46:44.420
So of course we come across as like friends and people you really know.
00:46:49.160
Um, so I don't know, I don't know what the answers are to fix it.
00:46:58.960
Something you have to keep your finger on the pulse.
00:47:03.280
I just think like, I, I check in with myself as this is like people who I really idolize.
00:47:07.840
Like, why am I so let down by this thing that they did?
00:47:13.800
And I think the, I I've said this before too, when I've defended women, like I defended
00:47:18.360
Dylan Mulvaney when she put out her fun song and like people like turfs were fucking losing
00:47:26.620
But I remember when I made a video, like I made a couple of videos defending her, but
00:47:30.340
when I made another one, I said like your, your internet going experience will be improved
00:47:36.840
a thousand percent when you like digest and internalize the idea that not everything that
00:47:46.760
When you realize the world doesn't fucking revolve around you, you're going to have a lot
00:47:51.800
I just cannot imagine like going through and being like, this isn't catered to me.
00:47:56.460
So I'm going to tell everyone how much I fucking hate it.
00:48:00.960
Like when I see shit, I don't like swipe, you know what I'm saying?
00:48:04.820
So, and I think it's like what you said too, as far as hate goes, like, and, and, you know,
00:48:09.740
entitlement to people's bodies and time and whatever people who are on the internet, famous
00:48:13.760
people, it's like you said, they don't see you as a human.
00:48:16.760
Like they see you as a figment of their imagination, uh, an imaginary friend, if you will.
00:48:22.580
Like, it's all very like parasocial, like you said.
00:48:26.000
And add on, on top of that, like in the ways that Twitter and TikTok and Instagram and everything
00:48:32.160
restructured, one other piece of this that I, again, don't know what to do about this.
00:48:39.140
I'm just witnessing it is like everyone's opinion now has a way to be uplifted and be
00:48:46.060
Like, I think that like when something happens or someone does something and it creates
00:48:51.100
conversation, now any person's opinion has the ability to get a hundred thousand likes
00:48:56.620
And now you see them in the comments and they're promoting some like sunset lamp and like they're
00:49:01.480
So everyone's benefiting or like trying to benefit off of these conversations.
00:49:07.540
So it's just a, it's a weird one that whoever did this, whoever got us here.
00:49:16.760
Because I look at, I have a nine year old sister and she doesn't know yet.
00:49:23.420
I don't think like she's, she doesn't have socials or anything like that.
00:49:30.320
But I, I watch as a big sister and, and try to learn from her because there, I'm so curious
00:49:38.500
And it scares me, you know, to, to know what it was for me, I get scared for what it'll
00:49:45.120
And the, and the, like you said, the gift of virality has really poisoned like the ability
00:49:52.000
to have like genuine discourse and conversation with respect.
00:49:56.160
And we're talking about valid, like, you know what I'm saying?
00:50:02.020
In fact, I don't think you dog pile them enough in my fucking opinion.
00:50:08.580
That's why I'm like, I think too, that's another reason why, um, you know, a lot of iconic
00:50:14.640
women like yourself have found me on the internet because, uh, I think the way I deal with hate,
00:50:23.740
Like, I'm big, I, I personally am having a ball.
00:50:26.940
I think a lot of other people are enjoying it as well.
00:50:29.600
Um, and that's why I think when I get like, when men say shit about me, kind of like how
00:50:34.740
they were talking about, you're giving you some very unsolicited advice on how to be
00:50:39.260
Um, and you know, honestly, that's them being jealous.
00:50:43.960
Um, especially awful white men, like, Oh, if they could, they'd be a DJ and a standup
00:50:57.360
Do you get a lot of unsolicited advice on your DJ sets?
00:51:16.120
So to circle back to music, I would love to know who's a dream collaborator of yours.
00:51:23.440
Um, I have so many, honestly, I'm obsessed with FK twigs have been for so long.
00:51:34.880
Um, there's so, there's so many artists though that I would love to work with.
00:51:40.980
Um, I, gosh, I mean, I've like always, the people who know are the people who know I've
00:51:47.900
been like a Charlie truther literally since 2013 in my room in high school.
00:51:56.820
I love like, I think there's so many amazing people out there.
00:52:04.600
I did say there's so many people that are good.
00:52:09.120
What if you could collaborate with someone who's not alive anymore?
00:52:22.000
Um, I don't know what we would do, but it'd be something.
00:52:25.460
Um, honestly a weird one for me because I really grew up listening to so much of his music and
00:52:30.960
I, you know, I don't know if I would make the choice today, but I was a huge Michael
00:52:42.320
And again, did you have the Michael Jackson Wii game?
00:53:06.460
Um, I don't know why he came to my head as like the only dead person I can think of other
00:53:21.440
So were you a big fan girl when you were young?
00:53:28.280
I was like, apparently I was like leaking Lana songs.
00:53:32.080
People love to like bring that up and I don't remember that at all, but I guess so.
00:53:45.720
This is, this is a sort of type of, so I, yeah.
00:53:57.760
Um, but yeah, things have, things have grown, but I, I mean, I feel like 2014 was like prime,
00:54:12.220
I was, I was, uh, Oh, like just in general fangirl.
00:54:15.280
Well, actually the first thing, the first group I truly remember being like a diehard
00:54:20.400
fangirl when I was like nine or 10 was my chemical romance.
00:54:25.260
And like, that was my very first concert when I was 10.
00:54:27.820
I saw them in Anaheim across the street from Disneyland.
00:54:44.240
And that's why I was, I laugh when I think about it.
00:54:48.320
Like my whole family was because it was fucking weird.
00:54:53.200
It's just like the shit they talk about is so like, they have very dark themes and like
00:54:58.080
skylines and turnstiles, like three cheers for sweet revenge, like an on black parade.
00:55:04.760
Like we would literally put on, like we would get their deluxe, deluxe CDs with all the extra
00:55:14.700
And they're like yelling, fuck shit, bitch, like over and over talking about doing drugs.
00:55:22.520
That is kind of giving white, white noise in some way.
00:55:28.720
And like, I was, I was convinced at like 10 years old that I was going to marry the guitarist,
00:55:37.580
I was like, I was like, well, obviously we're going to get married.
00:55:45.220
And then as I got older, went into like middle school, did a hard left to the Jonas Brothers.
00:56:07.920
It's all, you just have to like get a little like.
00:56:13.920
And I hope these men know that it's a compliment and they should feel very lucky.
00:56:36.700
I remember I would like collect all the J-14 like mags and put them all over my walls and
00:56:42.820
And I thought that like the P.O. box addresses on the back were just their home addresses.
00:56:53.800
And so basically, and so one year, I remember I cut my yearbook photo out of my yearbook
00:57:02.620
and I saw Zac Efron had a P.O. box situation there.
00:57:07.660
And I was like, well, I'm just going to mail him a letter.
00:57:09.680
And so I put my little yearbook photo, which I had my full retainer.
00:57:18.060
And I sent it thinking like, I'm, this is my new pen pal.
00:57:27.340
He's going to be, he's going to think I'm gorgeous, first of all.
00:57:40.820
Uh, and yeah, I, I'm still waiting, I guess, for a response.
00:57:48.380
Zac Efron, if you're here, he's also like five, six.
00:58:01.760
And if you clip that, I'm going to be fucking pissed off.
00:58:09.520
If you're, if you're a bad man and you're short King.
00:58:27.180
No, people think I'm tall, but I'm really average.
00:58:30.060
I didn't think you were as tall as me, but I thought maybe you were like five, seven.
00:58:36.260
Well, everybody in this industry is like this big.
00:58:43.160
Like, and when I say everyone, bitch, I mean everyone.
00:58:45.580
Like I tell, I, sometimes I tell my team, I'm like every room I go into, no matter how
00:58:50.340
high the caliber of celebrity or not, I look like when Alice in Wonderland drank that potion
00:58:56.100
that made her too big for the fucking house and her arms pop out the side, that's what
00:59:01.220
Everyone's like, ah, like two little rascals stacked up on top of each other.
00:59:05.900
That's, and that's why I'm always like, can everyone tell me why everybody is so small
00:59:15.380
Like I, I saw Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Wicked premiere and I talked to Cynthia
00:59:19.720
for a little bit, this big, dude, little figurines.
00:59:23.700
I could put them on my shoulders like devil and angel.
00:59:33.160
Well, I'll circle back to your music, but, um, tell us about the new album and what are
00:59:40.200
Um, I'm so excited for people to hear it at all because it takes a long time to get
00:59:49.220
Uh, and it's called Salvation and it's, it's something I'm really deeply proud of.
00:59:56.380
And, um, I think it's the most risks I've ever taken in, in making an album before.
01:00:03.920
Like, um, when people see me do Boiler Room and see me do all of the things that I'm doing,
01:00:15.600
Um, and I am just excited for people to get to see where I've been.
01:00:20.640
Um, and I think I've really like put my head down and, um, over the last, like really, I
01:00:32.200
I've been just trying to get to the place where I feel like I'm making some of the songs
01:00:37.660
Um, they just feel like things that I'm like, see, I knew it.
01:00:47.000
Um, and I, yeah, I, again, I feel really grateful to be in a landscape where like people
01:00:58.960
What do you hope people take away after they listen to it?
01:01:13.100
I just, that like, I, I hope people really take the universe with them and it inspires
01:01:22.980
Like I am truly who I am because of like the albums that raised me and, um, created the
01:01:33.340
And I think that was what I really wanted to do with this album was like tap into a version
01:01:38.620
of myself that I want to be more, which is like, I think I'm a pretty like normal person.
01:01:48.360
Um, but I look at like the most delusional, like grandiose, like crazy people.
01:01:59.760
Every time I see a Jojo Siwa TikTok and I'm like, that's so wrong, but that must feel so
01:02:07.020
Like that must feel so stunning to be that like, you know, I feel that way when I see
01:02:14.040
like influencers that are like, for lack of a better word, fucking awful or, or just stupid
01:02:20.460
like, and just unaware and don't give a fuck about anything ever.
01:02:28.500
I know it's miserable, but there's a second where I'm like that.
01:02:37.680
And I think that like this record was just me tapping into like what that would look
01:02:44.280
In a way that is like, I am understanding something about myself that you don't get.
01:02:49.940
And it's not about that because I'm feeling freedom and I'm feeling empowered and, you
01:02:59.300
My last question to you is what would you say is your best piece of advice for anyone
01:03:05.720
who's, I mean, I would say any marginalized person at all who's pursuing music, but even
01:03:10.640
more specifically, like people like, like you who, who grow up on in the industry or on
01:03:16.720
the internet and not everybody has a story like yours, obviously, but there is something
01:03:20.460
to be said about the way you've been able to navigate like, and really like come out
01:03:24.640
from under like all of this awfulness and kind of still pave a way for yourself.
01:03:29.940
Like for people who feel maybe fear of being perceived or fear of putting out art and getting
01:03:34.540
criticism or hate, like what would you say is your best piece of advice to them?
01:03:42.220
I think that like if you do the work and put your head down and focus on creating something
01:03:50.320
that means something to you, it doesn't matter if it doesn't hit the first time.
01:03:55.760
It doesn't matter if like at first it's not totally realized.
01:03:59.460
If you continue to look around you, gather and put substance into what you're doing, that
01:04:10.680
There is there the best like artists that I know and the best musicians I know, I true
01:04:17.820
I know that there is this like banner for success or like measure measure of success that we all
01:04:28.000
But some of my the artists that have meant the most to me in my life are songs with like
01:04:36.420
And I I think those artists are you never know where your art is really truly hitting
01:04:43.700
until suddenly one day you look back and you're like, wow, where have I been for the last 10
01:04:47.660
And I think no one knows or will ever know what you're trying to do better than you.
01:04:55.260
So like it's like cheesy as it is, like get in there, get in there, write it down, get
01:05:02.200
it out and and finish it like that's that's also the biggest piece of advice I can give
01:05:08.320
is I talk to so many artists or like people I know that are really talented and want to
01:05:12.320
be artists and they're like, oh, I've been making this album for like 10 years.
01:05:15.280
And I'm like, well, we'll put it out because then when you finish it or even just finish
01:05:21.480
Then you can start again and make something better.
01:05:24.160
And that's like what that's all I've done for the last 13 years of my life is make really
01:05:31.200
That's the secret so that it can get a little bit less.
01:05:35.100
Well, and I think to your point to like it defeats the purpose of art if you only create
01:05:46.680
So putting it out there should mean more to you or finishing it.
01:05:50.500
Like you said, it should be more than accolades or rewards, which are great.
01:05:54.940
And unfortunately, they are a big way to make money off the art.
01:05:59.160
But to like you said, to focus on that being like your measure of success, it kind of defeats
01:06:06.980
And I feel like real culture shifters like someone like you or like Lady Gaga early in
01:06:11.660
the day, like that's not why they're making it.
01:06:13.880
Like they're not making it so they win a Grammy.
01:06:15.520
They're not making it so it has two billion streams.
01:06:17.220
They're making it because it's important to them and it means something to them.
01:06:20.460
And then, like you said, sometimes 10 years down the line, the octopus picked and then
01:06:25.560
all of a sudden everybody, everybody all of a sudden remembers.
01:06:32.780
So I want to, I want to tell everybody here now that I was on the ground floor with Rebecca
01:06:49.640
That's the question I was hoping you would ask me when I came in today.
01:07:03.620
And I think you're so talented and so incredible.
01:07:18.800
And all the gays in front of me are going to be like, oh, get in line, bitch.
01:07:26.000
And thank you all for tuning into this episode of the comment section with my amazing guest,
01:07:31.820
If again, someone is nine years old, like your sister, and they aren't following
01:07:40.660
It's Ms. Rebecca Black or Rebecca Black, wherever.
01:07:47.740
And that actually is perfect because for those of you that don't remember or don't know,
01:07:52.780
new episodes of the comment section come out every Wednesday.
01:07:55.280
You can stream all audio on all streaming platforms, but the video lives exclusively and
01:08:02.320
And that's why it's perfect because you can listen to Rebecca Black's music and you can
01:08:05.520
watch our episode and then everyone can be happy and fulfilled and awesome.
01:08:09.420
You can just make an autoplay of trust and then the episode.
01:08:21.060
Thank you so much for joining me on this episode.