"The show was definitely unlike anything I've ever experienced anywhere, let alone at Dartmouth," Luke McCann '16 said.
As part of the Year of the Arts initiative, Blanco performed and held a discussion at the College this past weekend in collaboration with Friday Night Rock and Outreach Peer Mentors.
Michael Quattlebaum, Jr., better known as Mykki Blanco, is a New York-based artist noted for adopting a female persona during her performances. She can often be seen on stage donning a wig, studded bra and full makeup while spitting sharp, hardcore rhymes. Offstage, Quattlebaum identifies as male and uses male pronouns.
Blanco challenges the generally heteronormative conventions of rap by mixing this feminine, flamboyant aesthetic with an aggression characteristic of rap artists. Blanco released her debut mixtape, "Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss" in November and has been on the rise ever since.
Gabe Rosenstein '13, one of the coordinators of Friday Night Rock, had seen Blanco at the Pitchfork music festival in Chicago and was excited when he received an email from Blanco's agent requesting a visit to Hanover.
Rosenstein said one of FNR's chief goals this term was to co-sponsor shows with other groups on campus. Rosenstein proposed that Outreach Peer Mentors host a chat to complement Blanco's FNR performance, and the two groups applied for Year of the Arts funding.
After the project was accepted, booked gay rapper Cakes Da Killa to join Blanco on stage for PRIDE Week.
"We wanted this to be a cross-group event that explores the arts as a vehicle for explorations of a socially-relevant issue: gender identity," Rosenstein said.
Blanco said she sees gender as part of her performance. Michael Quattlebaum, Jr. may identify as a male, but Blanco simultaneously functions as her female or transgender rap alter ego.
During the Saturday chat, Blanco expanded upon the controversial issues of gender identity in music and the concept of "rapping in drag."
"The most interesting part of the chat for me was when he commented on the distinction between just being a rapper who happens to be gay, versus being a gay rapper," Carly Kuperschmid '16 said.
Blanco admits that describing herself as a "gay rapper" does have value in explaining an important aspect of her art. However, this terminology runs the risk of reducing what she does into something "simple and kitschy," she said.
Blanco said she is constantly trying to expand who she is as an artist and blur the lines between her born identity and Mykki.
At the FNR concert, the rapper truly engaged the crowd, reinventing herself by frequently changing costumes. She theatricality allowed the audience to immerse themselves in Blanco's music. Blanco, along with Cakes Da Killa, continually sought to shock the crowd and defy any expectations they may have had going in.
"There was just a vibe in the audience that was almost indescribable," Kuperschmid said.
"Everyone was on the same page and it didn't matter where you were from or who you hung out with everyone was just joined by an awe for Mykki's performance."
Rosenstein said he hopes FNR will continue hosting live artists like Blanco, particularly those who inspire students to think differently about music.
