Exclusive Interview - Jipsta

There are so very few white rappers out there today. I can only name two right off of the top of my head. You know what there are even fewer of? Gay white rappers. It can be hard+ to pull off. I met someone recently who was able to pull it off -- and do so very well. Jipsta has defied the odds and done what only few can. And I got to interview him!

 For all of those who haven't read my 500 posts about you, who is Jipsta

[Jipsta]
I am an openly gay, white rapper. I've been successful at infiltrating the traditional gay circuit music sound. I've had two top five billboard hits, but I think what really separates me from others doing the same kind of thing is that I try to create a more dance sounding rap. I try to be dirty yet intelligent, make complex rhymes.

Your album, Bandoozle, has been a long time in the making. How does it feel to have it finally out and done?

[Jipsta]
It feels phenomenal. It was a long process that I never thought would see the light of day. It was my debut album and it was the opportunity to tell a lifetime's worth of things I wanted to say, but it had to be whittled down to make it cohesive and entertaining. I'm super proud of it.

Before the album came out, you had a lot of remix EPs. Did keeping the album version of the tracks keep suspense?

[Jipsta]
I really don't know what anybody expected from me. I think that the people who know me from the club scene all play the longer dance mixes. They don't generally like the original mix -- that's the point of a remix. I was kind of scared that people want to listen to the original version. That was actually part of the delay of the album. I was continually second guessing myself. Is the music right? Could it be better? Does it sound dated? I think overall it did create a lot of hype about it.

So we know you got plenty of celebrity support. I see Pandora Boxx, Sahara Davenport and lot of DJs constantly retweeting your material, but what kind of reaction have you gotten from the fans?

[Jipsta]
Amazing. All amazing feedback. The album debuted in the top 200 iTunes dance albums at number 61. I still get mail about it all the time. The best part is a lot of people haven't heard my first single "Don't Act Like You Don't Know" from 2007. I assumed people buying this knew all I had out before, but many didn't. People were hyping it up. Music is always getting rediscovered, especially just when you think you're done with it.

You had a lot of strong tracks on the album. I like U Got (What I Need) but I didn't feel it was as good as some of the others. Why was this picked over the rest?

[Jipsta]
There's a bit of a story for this one. This song actually means a lot to me. For a long time I had been trying to get a record deal as a rapper. I met with a lot of homophobia from major labels. They kept telling me you can't be openly gay and a rapper. After a while I just gave up. Years later I met Chris Cox. We shared a lot of similar interest in music and became fast friends. Around the same time I started recording demos again. I decided this time I was going to be a gay rapper -- and do it over dance music. This song, in its original form, was the first song I played for Chris. He didn't believe it was me! I let the song sit for a long time, and in the last week before I turned in Bandoozle, I had one last track left to fill. I had a good beat, and I tried to write a song to it, but nothing seemed to fit. I pulled out the old version of U Got and played it for John Rizzo and right then we both knew we had a hit. For me, I felt like that was a sign. It was the first song that started the Jipsta push, so it was fitting that it be the first post album release single.

And the girl who sings the chorus in U Got is...

[Jipsta]
I wish I had a better story for this one, but it was a studio singer. Her name was Annie. She was friends with person I recorded the original demo with. He called her in and she blew it out of the water. At the time she didn't want to be credited, and I don't know how to contact her now.

That's a shame.

[Jipsta]
Well everybody thinks it's Jessica Wild anyway.

[We both laugh]

[Jipsta]
On the video shoot she did it so naturally! And people thought that since I was on her single that I was just returning the favor.

Where did the idea for having three top notch drag queens, Jessica Wild, Pandora Boxx and Sahara Davenport for the U Got video come from?

[Jipsta]

I was in the studio with Pandora, and she and I kept joking about making a video. She kept telling me "your first two videos were ok, but you need a really amazing video for this song". So I told her to be in it and she agreed! Originally she was up for doing the chorus part, but after we came up with the American Idol judging parody came up, we decided to make her a judge instead. I asked Jessica if she'd take over the hook. We needed one more person, and in keeping with the Drag Race theme, I reached out to my friend Sahara. We pulled it together.

And I'm told there are some less obvious cameos in the video as well.

[Jipsta]
The Jipsta wanna be is Adam Barta. He is a very well established Logo artist. The dancing girl is the famous Britney Houston, a legendary transgendered performer from New York City. She's now Mila Jam. The one playing the bum is Dwayne Milan who has a pretty famous YouTube video "Miss Cleo".

You said earlier you were in the studio with Pandora. Anyone who knows anything about me knows she is my idol.


[Jipsta]
We had talked about her doing a song for a long time, and one day she sent me a message saying "let's do this". We sent lyrics back and forth and we wrote a different song, not "Cooter". During the process, she offhandedly mentioned she wanted to do a song called Cooter. We had a track, and we wrote it in around 20 minutes. Its a really amazing track. People are going to gag!

On the eleganza!

[Jipsta]
The song is due out in just a few short weeks!

Talk about getting around! You were on Super Glam DQ by RuPaul, too!

[Jipsta]
That's right! I'd known Jared Jones [the remixer of the first Sexy Drag Queen track]. We always said we should work together, but we lost track after a while. He contacted me out of the blue saying he needed a rapper. I thought he was joking when he said it was for RuPaul. He sent it over and I recorded a verse. It was the hardest secret I had to keep. She was so kind and appreciative for my work.

Now you have a connection to be a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.

[Jipsta]
That would be fun! I'd love that and you never know what will happen.

I know you aren't going to slow down any time soon, so let me know: What is next for Jipsta?

[Jipsta]
I'm focusing on U Got for now. I want to get 100,000 views on the video. It's going to Logo soon, too. I did a song with Reina. It's a cover of a 1990 song from India called "Lover Who Rocks You All Night". It's a crazy duet. I decided to keep it off the album so I could make it a stand alone single in the future. It's gonna be a monster! Ranny is coming out with an EP. We did a song together called "Body Pop". It was insane and sexy. It's not dirty -- just sexy.

You can preview and buy his album "Bandoozle" on iTunes here. There is also a ton of remixes on iTunes for his new single "U Got (What I Need)", and you should probably watch the video for it, too!