Grizzly Kiki | Pop Culture & Interviews With Queer Artists

Jasmine Rice is the latest incarnation of New York's preeminent Korean Drag Queen. She was formerly known as Kimchichi Shamulan Carr, Maiden China, Chinky Crash Carr. Most recently, she changed her name to Jasmine from Leontyne after recording this interview. In a world where identity is becoming increasingly fluid, Jasmine fits right in! Jasmine is a Juilliard trained opera singer and multifaceted performer whose art is a melting pot of urban, Korean, and theatrical influences. Her repertoire includes Hip Hop, Pop, KPop and an array of arias she sings live. Most recently, she won the title of Miss New Jersey Continental Plus 2015, aided by her drag mother, Kizha Carr. Of all Kizha's drag children, Jasmine competes in pageants the most and, more often than not, wins the crown. Our interview with Jasmine delves into the depths of her life in Korea and move to the United States, her views on sexuality and gender, and how to navigate and survive in the drag world. As a queen with more lives than Catwoman, Jasmine has stories to tell and gallons of tea to spill.

Jasmine Rice is the latest incarnation of New York's preeminent Korean Drag Queen. She was formerly known as Kimchichi Shamulan Carr, Maiden China, Chinky Crash Carr. Most recently, she changed her name to Jasmine from Leontyne after recording this interview. In a world where identity is becoming increasingly fluid, Jasmine fits right in!   Jasmine is a Juilliard trained opera singer and multifaceted performer whose art is a melting pot of urban, Korean, and theatrical influences. Her repertoire includes Hip Hop, Pop, KPop and an array of arias she sings live. Most recently, she won the title of Miss New Jersey Continental Plus 2015, aided by her drag mother, Kizha Carr. Of all Kizha's drag children, Jasmine competes in pageants the most and, more often than not, wins the crown.   Our interview with Jasmine delves into the depths of her life in Korea and move to the United States, her views on sexuality and gender, and how to navigate and survive in the drag world. As a queen with more lives than Catwoman, Jasmine has stories to tell and gallons of tea to spill.

On today's episode, we kiki with the feisty latina from Miami who's setting the concrete jungle on fire, Pixie Aventura!!! Pixie Aventura is a constant presence in New York City nightlife. For her, drag is both an art form and a business, which has enabled her to turn it into a full-time career. Pixie approaches drag with a level passion, polish, and professionalism which can be seen as a "how-to" manual for Drag Queens. A Miami native, Pixie experienced drag for the first time through the performances of legendary queens TP Lords and Daisy Deadpetals. After leaving Miami to attend college in Ohio, she found herself in the company of the West Family, headed by Nina and Virginia West. Needless to say, Pixie was getting an ivy league education in drag. All of these experiences eventually led to the birth of Miss Aventura at Otterbein College, where she performed at an annual charity event. After graduation, she moved to New York to pursue a career on Broadway. Finding herself typecast and limited by the roles offered to Hispanics and Latinos, she broke free from the system by unleashing Pixie full force and hasn't looked back since!

Daniella TwoSpiritz Mendez is a reality tv star of MTV's "True Life" & E!'s "Botched." Over the past three years, Daniella has been thrust into the public eye, using these shows as a platform to tell her story. While many are vaguely familiar with trans identity and the processes of transitioning, de-transitioning is both a controversial and rarely discussed topic. Daniella, who hails from New Jersey, began performing as a drag queen in New York City, most notably at Escuelita. Escos introduced her to many trans women who accepted her into their community, and would eventually provide the support and guidance to embark on her gender journey. Prior to her appearance on MTV's "True Life," Daniella began having conflicting feelings about her gender as her transition progressed. MTV's production team stepped in and captured this moment in her life, where Daniella halted her transition and took a step back to reassess her gender identity. She was later featured on the popular E! series, "Botched," where she wanted to correct the deformations caused by the removal of her breast implants. Daniella didn't feel comfortable identifying as solely male or female. Instead, she falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, where she can present as the person she is most comfortable being. Daniella's de-transition has been met with a lot of negative criticism, but her journey is a very personal one that she has chosen to share with the world. After much soul searching, she identifies as the most comfortable of all signifiers: Human.

"Dissecting Divas" explores and breaks down the powerful and influential women that have inspired drag queens and gays alike. Judy Darling is the modern-day embodiment of two of the 20th century's most tragic beauties, Judy Garland & Candy Darling. These women are icons of film and art, respectively, and have left a lasting impact on pop culture. Their lives were replete with extremes, both good and bad. Judy Garland became a child star at the age of twelve and followed a bumpy trajectory of fame, alcohol, and pills. Throughout her life, she clawed at fame, fighting against the studio system that kept her prisoner and helped her attain her dreams, but at a very high price. Candy Darling was one of Andy Warhol's Superstars. A native of Queens, Candy was a trans woman at a time when resources for trans people were far more limited than they are today. However, she dreamt of being a hollywood star and created an artifice that mirrored the beauties of the Silver Screen. It was through her involvement with Andy Warhol that Candy became an icon. Although she passed away at the age of 30, Candy will always be remembered as the Andy Warhol darling with candy floss hair, soft voice, and an irreverence for life that only a star could have. Judy Darling has turned to Judy and Candy as inspirations for her drag and life, although with an albeit much more positive approach. In our interview, we dig deep and discover how these divas have influenced Judy and changed her life.

Scarlet Envy is a Kentucky transplant with a uniquely New York sense of style and attitude. Her drag aesthetic is a mixture of high fashion and bargain finds, which explains her titles of "The Cheapest Woman with the Highest Price Tag." As with many younger queens in New York City, she moved in 2010 for school and never left. Scarlet's first time out in full drag was when she competed in the Miss F.I.T. pageant. Although she didn't take the crown, she'd been bitten by the drag bug, originally stirred while growing up in Louisville and sneaking out in a tutu and Converse to go to midnight showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. She started early and knew exactly how to do it. We can't give away anymore or there would be nothing about Scarlet to learn! Listen to our interview and find out why she is the Envy and Rage of everyone who meets her!

Jada Valenciaga is a Midwestern girl who came to New York from Kansas City, Missouri to hone her dancing skills and be on broadway. In just a few short years, Jada has done all of that and more. In the New York drag community, Jada is known for her unique dancer style - she never choreographs any of her numbers, but rather lets the music and her mood inspire her movements. She has also toured with broadway shows and travels back and forth from her hometown to direct dance productions. As Logan Slaughter's sister in the truest sense of the word, Jada provided us with the ultimate KiKi during the time she spent with us. It was more of a gab session than a traditional interview, as she recounted story after story of her nightlife adventures, especially with Logan. She left our bellies and cheeks aching from laughter.

It's been a while since we've KiKi'd with the girls of The Haus of Mimosa, Anita Buffem & Gina Marie Rittale. On this episode, we meet up with them after their Saturday Brunch show at KTCHN Restaurant and dish about all the latest pop culture news and gossip. We talk about American Horror Story: Hotel, Halloween and Heidi Klum's gag-worthy Jessica Rabbit costume, and rumors surrounding the casting of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8.

Sutton Lee Seymour is finally getting her day in the sun....or rather, her night under the moon. After being banned from every Broadway stage, community theatre, and bathhouse, Sutton can now take her place as the reigning diva of the Great White Way!! Why, you may ask? Well, simply put, all the other divas are dead. Except, of course, Patti LuPone!! At the end of time it will be Sutton, Patti & Cher duking it out for the last curtain call! Listen to our episode with Sutton and her creator, Prescott Seymour, to find out the secret to her success and how she looks this good after 169 years in show business!!!

On this episode of Gateway Drag, we have a kiki with Tina Burner about two of the most iconic drag films of the last 25 years: "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." Both "Priscilla" and "To Wong Foo" focus on the stories of a group of three friends who embark on cross-country road trips. In "Priscilla," drag queens Mitzi Del Bra and Felicia Jollygoodfellow and their friend, trans woman Bernadette Bassinger, travel across the Australian Outback in a bus named Priscilla to perform at a hotel. In "To Wong Foo," seasoned queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson take pity on Chi-Chi Rodriguez - a so-called "latin boy in drag" - and trade in their plane tickets for a beaten up Cadillac. The three queens embark on a cross country road trip to Los Angeles for the "Miss Drag Queen of America Pageant." In both films, these characters endure broken down vehicles, friendly and not-so-friendly strangers, and learn many life lessons along the way. During our kiki with Tina, we discuss the experience of watching each film for the first time, how they influenced her own drag aesthetic, and the movies' lasting impact, as well as issues surrounding the depictions of the characters.

MoMo Shade is a quiet Queen, a nice Queen, and a very Shady Queen. Her name says it all. She's the girl who will not utter a single word, but instead observes everyone around her and speaks when the time is right. This, however, does not apply to her aesthetic or performance style. MoMo loves to tear up the dance floor with her intense numbers, custom couture, and a face that is to die for. No, she's not pumped, people. That's all MoMo! MoMo is one half of a dynamic duo, the other being Aja. During her Grizzly KiKi, Aja brought along MoMo, who provided us with some of the most hilarious commentary we've ever heard. That is another facet of her personality that makes her all the more endearing. She will leave you in stitches with just a few words. Listen to our interview to get to know this native Brooklyn Queen!! And, like with any couple, Aja is along for the ride to fill in the gaps in MoMo's legendary stories!

"Dissecting Divas" explores and breaks down the powerful and influential women that have inspired drag queens and gays alike. On this episode, Outhouse Betty herself, the fabulous Pissi Myles, talks about her very unhealthy love of Bette Midler. The Divine Miss M is ever-present in Pissi’s life. She works her music and comedy into many of her numbers, uses her quotes to have entire conversations, and even creates a Bette illusion on occasion. During our conversation, the lines definitely blurred and it felt like Ms. Midler had invaded Pissi’s body!

Logan Hardcore is the epitome of "Head Bitch In Charge." She left her home state of Arizona at 17 for New York, where she planned to pursue a career on Broadway. Young Logan was met at the airport by none other than Epiphany, New York's resident glamour puss! She should have known right then and there that she was being picked up by the Drag Welcome Wagon! Not long after her arrival, Broadway was a mere memory. Logan Hardcore emerged from within the "Boy from Arizona" and began her career as a fully-fledged Drag Queen. She is a queen who adores makeup and isn't satisfied unless it's two inches deep and has become known for her extreme transformations. Logan has also gained a reputation for having a sharp tongue and quick wit, a result of having been roommates with Bianca del Rio. It was a survival strategy!

Miss Coco Peru is a legendary storyteller and comedienne who has become a cultural reference in and of herself over the course of her 20 year career. Coco grew up in the only pink house on City Island in the Bronx, which foreshadowed her future. From a very early age, she was an observer, taking in her surroundings and the people that inhabited it, filing away the details and constructing a life story that is truly astonishing and real compared to the lives people live out today on the internet and social media. Coco is the creation of Clinton Leupp, who felt that he needed an outlet for the stories he wanted to tell and a way to release his inner femininity. Thus, Miss Coco Peru was born and with her signature red flip wig and 1960's style, she has taken over the world, one cabaret theatre and Home Depot at a time. She is most famous for her role as the bitter drag queen in the 1999 film, "Trick." The role was created for her after she was helping her friend out by table reading Tori Spelling's character. The monologue she performed in an iconic performance that has become among the most quoted and referenced scenes in queer cinema. Our interview with Miss Coco Peru was a beautiful experience and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Miss Coco Peru is a legendary storyteller and comedienne who has become a cultural reference in and of herself over the course of her 20 year career. Coco grew up in the only pink house on City Island in the Bronx, which foreshadowed her future. From a very early age, she was an observer, taking in her surroundings and the people that inhabited it, filing away the details and constructing a life story that is truly astonishing and real compared to the lives people live out today on the internet and social media.Coco is the creation of Clinton Leupp, who felt that he needed an outlet for the stories he wanted to tell and a way to release his inner femininity. Thus, Miss Coco Peru was born and with her signature red flip wig and 1960's style, she has taken over the world, one cabaret theatre and Home Depot at a time. She is most famous for her role as the bitter drag queen in the 1999 film, "Trick." The role was created for her after she was helping her friend out by table reading Tori Spelling's character. The monologue she performed in an iconic performance that has become among the most quoted and referenced scenes in queer cinema.Our interview with Miss Coco Peru was a beautiful experience and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.