Mykki Blanco

Biography

Mykki Blanco (born April 2, 1986) is an American rapper, performance artist, writer, poet and activist. They have collaborated musically with artists including Madonna, Charli XCX, Blood Orange, Michael Stipe, Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, Big Freedia, and Devendra Banhart.

Early life

Blanco was born in Orange County, California. As a child, they lived in San Mateo County, California, near their paternal grandparents, before moving to Raleigh, North Carolina. They attended Enloe High School.
At the age of 15, Blanco won an Indies Spirit Award for the performance collective they founded, Paint In Consciousness Experimental Theater, in Raleigh.
At the age of 16, Blanco ran away from home before moving to New York City. They then spent time in California, before winning a full scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but dropped out of college after two semesters in 2006. They also briefly attended Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 2024, Blanco graduated with a master's degree in fine arts from The Art Institut Gender Natur (FHNW) at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland.

Career

Blanco's book of poetry, From the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys, was published on OHWOW's imprint on June 17, 2011.
Blanco has contributed essays to several publications, including The Queer Bible and We Can Do Better Than This. They have also written for magazines such as Vogue and Them. In 2018, they served as a guest editor for Dazed magazine.
In 2012, Blanco made their musical debut with an EP, Mykki×Mykki16 September 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1I'm in a Mood2Loner3Highschool Never Ends5:324Interlude 15My Nene6The Plug Won't3:397Hideaway8Interlude 29You Don't Know Me10Fendi Band11For the Cunts12Shit Talking Creep13Rock 'n' Roll Dough Blanco & the Mutant Angels.
In November 2012, Blanco released the mixtape Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss×Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss9 November 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1…0:172Haze.Boogie.Life3:073Kingpinning (Ice Cold)3:274Fuckin the DJ3:115Riot5:106Wavvy3:557Virginia Beach3:578Yungrhymeassassin5:519Squanto3:5010…0:0611Betty Rubble4:5212MB’s First Freestyle1:4113Teenagedream1:3814…0:1715Mendocino California3:36. The mixtape was produced by Brenmar, Flosstradamus, Gobby, Le1f, Boody, Matrixxman, and Sinden. They make an appearance in the album Junto by Basement Jaxx.
In 2013, Blanco released their second EP Betty Rubble: The Initiation×Betty Rubble: The Initiation21 May 2013 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Angggry Byrdz4:192Crisp Clean3:023Feeling Special3:264Bugged Out4:115The Initiation3:336David Blaine Bitches3:097Ace Bougie Chick3:488Vienna4:41. May 2014 saw the release of the Spring/Summer 2014 EP, followed by their second mixtape Gay Dog Food in October. Gay Dog Food features a spoken word track with Kathleen Hanna, and contributions from Cities Aviv, Cakes Da Killa, and more.
Blanco's debut album, Mykki, was released on September 16, 2016.
Blanco's ad-libs appeared on Teyana Taylor's song "WTP", from her June 2018 album K.T.S.E.; they also have writing and production credits on the track.
In 2018, Blanco collaborated with Kanye West on the track "Bye Bye Baby" for West's scrapped album Yandhi; the track was later leaked.
Blanco released Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep through Transgressive Records in June 2021.

Artistry

The persona Mykki Blanco began as a teenage girl character for a YouTube video in 2010, but evolved into a musical and performance art piece. Blanco's name is inspired by Lil' Kim's alter ego Kimmy Blanco. Their influences include Lil' Kim, GG Allin, Jean Cocteau, Kathleen Hanna, Lauryn Hill, Rihanna, Marilyn Manson, and Anaïs Nin. They are also inspired by the riot grrrl movement and queercore, namely the director Bruce LaBruce and the drag queen Vaginal Davis.
Blanco has been called one of hip-hop's queer pioneers; although they struggled to identify with the label of "gay rap" or "queer rap", they have begrudgingly "accepted it". Blanco also disagrees with those who portray them as a drag artist, saying "You can't tag me as the rapping transvestite. I never vogued in my life. I'm from a punk and Riot Grrrl background." Blanco has often described themself in terms of other artists, saying that they're not a "Marilyn Manson" or even a rapper, but rather says they want to be Yoko Ono. In fact, their album Mykki×Mykki16 September 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1I'm in a Mood2Loner3Highschool Never Ends5:324Interlude 15My Nene6The Plug Won't3:397Hideaway8Interlude 29You Don't Know Me10Fendi Band11For the Cunts12Shit Talking Creep13Rock 'n' Roll Dough was originally going to be named Michael in reference to Michael Jackson. Blanco, along with Rosie O'Donnell and Anderson Cooper, presented Madonna with the GLAAD Advocate for Change award on May 5, 2019, in Manhattan.
Blanco has also tried to bring their "persona" closer and closer to their non-artist self, having to repeatedly say through interviews and alike that they are indeed transfeminine, and that the aesthetic evolution of the Mykki Blanco persona over the years is the aesthetic evolution of their entire self, rather than just a "drag performance".

Personal life

In June 2015, Blanco revealed via their Facebook page that they had been HIV-positive since 2011. Blanco initially worried that being HIV positive would be detrimental to their career, saying of the decision to make finally that information public, "I did it for myself. At a certain point, my real life has to be more important than this career".
Blanco is transgender, and has used different gender pronouns throughout their career. As of 2021, Blanco uses they/them pronouns.