out in the mountains arts he stormed the globe with the release of her first CD, Supermodel of the World, had her own show on VH1, wrote a bestselling autobiography, and served as spokesperson of a cosmetic company. A life-size wax portrait of her stands proud at Madame Tussaud’s Museum. She’s fast; she’s fierce; she’s tall. She is RuPaul and she is back. After a four-year hiatus, RuPaul returns to the music business with a high-energy, well- produced new album. ._ Red Hot builds on her very popular Supermodel of the World. If RuPaul’s got anything, she’s got style. But the music on this album cuts a little deeper than, say, “You Better Work,” the fashion anthem that blew open doors for RuPaul in the 1990s. Take “Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous,” for example. The opening song on the album, it contains the same high ener- gy, get-up-and-dance feel as RuPaul’s previ- ous songs. But where “You Better Work” was about the hard life of rtmway models, “Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous” is essen- tially about those moments when we feel as good as we look. “Kinky/Freaky” is a dark, sexy tune about a wife who unsuccessfully confronts her husband’s gay lover, “It ain’t my fault he like it freaky.” At a time when HIV is forcing African American communities to confront homosexuality like never before, this song is a timely rebuttal to keeping it on the down low. “Kinky/Freaky” is pure hip hop pop. So, I got to talk with the amazing drag diva herself. From the southern tip of Lake Champlain to the hills of Los Angeles, I chatted on the phone with RuPaul. OITM: Where have you been, Girl, it’s been four years? - RUPAUL: I basically have been under- ground for the past four years. It’s actually when Bush got into oflice. I said, deal me out. I’m gonna go take care of some busi- nesses. And now, I figured I can’t stay under- ground anymore. I’ve been in Los Angeles living a human life, a low-key life. I haven’t generat- ed work, but I’ve worked. l’ve been living off the fumes of what I’ve created before. I -needed to take a breather and take my own temperature, to get to know my family and nieces and nephews and friends. These kids today don’t have any- thing outside the box to show them how it should be done. Everything is so packaged and by the rules. I thought, ‘I need to be there.’ Nobody was taking up my slack. Nobody was coming for me. OITM: You once said, “Every time I bat my eyelashes it’s a political statement.” What’s driving your politics these days? RIJPAUL: I live in this world, too. I have every right to have a good time and live and love and see the happiness. We’re living in the Fifiies again. In fact, it’s almost worse than the Fifiies when it comes to expressing yourself. At least in the Fifties there wasn’t one company running all the media and all the radio. We have a dangerous situation on our hands. Ol'I'M: A small subset of gay men are talk- ing more and more about liberation. You’ve always struck me as pretty liberated. What advice do you have for gay men hoping to revive a liberationist movement? - , RUPAUL: It is coming. I can feel it in my bones. I didn’t really feel it until six months ago. Something shified, something happened. People are mad as hell. People are ready to get involved. There are different factions of this liberation, but we’re all here for the same cause. We need to trim the Bush and make some changes. Did these guys study Animal Farm? It’s almost like a parody what these people are getting away with. OITM: Why is RuPaul important? RUPAU L: The most political thing you can do is be yourself. We’re in the midst of a social revolution. We’re really solidifying our national front. I exemplify independence and the American spirit. We came here for free- dom. That’s why RuPaul is important. OITM: Are you single? RUPAUL: Yes, are you asking me out? I am a very complex person. I’m not your average Joe. I like being alone. It scares me how much I like being alone. And I’m a smart dude and a lot of things don’t fly with me. I’m not saying I’m better, but there’s a lot of criteria. I need someone on the same level. I’m willing to take that challenge though. OITM: Everybody’s talking about men on the down low as if it’s a new thing for men to have sex with men and not talk about it. As someone who always let it all hang out, what’s your take on that? RUPAUL: I feel so sad for them. I under- stand it very well. I come from a black neigh- borhood and a fear-based culture. Wouldn’t it be great if they could just be bisexual? Red Hot Calling Car O|'I'M:: Your song “Kinky/Freaky” sounds like it’s about men on the down low, is it? RUPAIJL: It’s about this guy who comes around seeing me who’s got a wife. For any- one who’s ever done drag, every drag queen knows, there’s no such thing as a straight man, because all the men we come into con- tact with would let us have it without batting an eyelash. ‘ OITM:: Why did you make this CD? RUPAUL: I felt compelled to make this CD because of what’s happening socially and politically in the world right now. My pres- ence has been missing from the cultural land- . scape for too long, and I’m ready to shake ‘ things up a bit. My first order of business is to release an ‘album that heralds the power of , truth, beauty, freedom and love. If you can dance, you can start a revolution. I’m in love with the CD. I had to do it. It’s in me. This record says all the things I want to say. I look forward to going around the country. the next two years to pro- mote it. It’s my calling card to the world. V When hes not in Montreal or P-town, Ric Kasini Kadour listens to red hot ed: at his home in Shoreham.