Tony, Emmy, and Grammy-winning actor and singer Billy Porter explains the meaning of his album 'Black Mona Lisa,' the important themes his album tackles, why he wants to tell Billy Strayhorn's story on stage, how he uses fashion as a way to express himself and more.
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00:00 I stayed in it.
00:02 I did it anyway.
00:05 Whatever the "it" is, right?
00:07 So I get to come back now and all of this is on my own terms.
00:13 Hey everybody, this is Billy Porter and you are watching Billboard News.
00:28 Hey it's Tetris with Billboard News and look who I have here, Mr. Billy Porter.
00:32 Hi.
00:33 Hi, how are you?
00:34 I'll do anything for you.
00:35 Gotta let these children know what time it is.
00:36 Black Mona Lisa, a fucking genius, don't you see, an adventure creature.
00:47 You got a lot to talk about.
00:49 Your magnum opus, you have released this album, Black Mona Lisa.
00:53 Yes.
00:54 Why did you refer to it as that and how is this project different?
00:56 You know, we were writing, I was in the writing process with Justin Tranter and his team and
01:04 you know, we were probably about six, eight months into the process.
01:10 We had written a bunch of other stuff and the themes and the tone were forming.
01:19 I don't remember where Black Mona Lisa came from, but I just kind of say it kind of fell
01:26 out of the sky and everybody in the room was like, that works.
01:32 Did that just happen?
01:34 Like there was like a, you know, like time stood still for about a good 20 seconds and
01:40 then like maybe even 30 and then 20 minutes later the song was written.
01:45 Black Mona Lisa, a fucking classic kid, a teacher, I'm a need ya to pay me more than
01:52 gold.
01:54 It's referencing the original Mona Lisa and that painting is relevant always, past, present
02:03 and future.
02:04 And that's my goal with my legacy.
02:06 So that's what I was going to ask you.
02:08 I'm like, are you the Black Mona Lisa?
02:10 Uh, yeah.
02:11 Okay.
02:12 That's what I needed to know.
02:13 I just wanted to make sure.
02:14 Have we seen, we've seen the album cover, have we not?
02:18 Yes.
02:19 Yes.
02:20 It is a self-proclaimed Black Mona Lisa flex moment.
02:24 That's who I am.
02:26 I'm coining it.
02:27 Yes.
02:28 Black Mona Lisa, a fucking genius, don't you see that?
02:32 You talked about the album title, but the themes that you touch on there also, you cover
02:37 a lot.
02:38 What would you say is like the overall overarching theme of the album?
02:41 It's a really good question.
02:42 There are several.
02:43 I feel like first and foremost, it's about self love, understanding truly how to love
02:53 yourself, stand in the fullness of one's authenticity and power and be able to speak from that place
03:10 with grace, compassion, and presence.
03:17 The world was not ready for this in 1997.
03:22 And I understand that.
03:23 And I'm so grateful that I have been blessed to live long enough to see the day where my
03:31 authenticity has become my superpower.
03:36 And what do you think were some of the difficulties that you dealt with back in 1997 and how has
03:41 the industry grown since then to allow this?
03:50 I mean, it's simple.
03:52 I was gay and they put me out, period.
03:56 There was no place for me.
03:59 And there were energies and forces in the business, gatekeepers, that made sure that
04:07 I didn't cross over.
04:09 It's okay, right?
04:13 Because no weapon formed against me shall prosper.
04:17 You know, we throw around this authenticity thing.
04:19 Oh, just be who you are.
04:21 It's easy to be who you are when what you are is what's popular.
04:26 There you go.
04:28 What do you do when the who you are is reviled and rejected and there's no place or space
04:36 for you?
04:37 You make the place and the space for yourself.
04:41 Well, let's dig a little deeper into some of these songs.
04:44 Let's talk about "Audacity."
04:45 Now, you wanted to serve as vocals there.
04:47 We appreciate it.
04:48 We love a power ballad moment.
04:50 Some of the lyrics, "The audacity to show up honestly.
04:53 How dare I believe that it's okay to be me?"
05:02 So talk to me about writing that song and why you wanted to write it.
05:09 To be black and queer and unapologetic and have a big mouth that shall not be silenced
05:25 can be a firebrand in ways.
05:32 It can be challenging to the masses.
05:43 Sometimes, not always.
05:47 And with "Audacity," for me, it was facing head on this idea of silencing that is so
06:02 pervasive in our culture.
06:05 Let's talk about one of the focus tracks on the album "Children" that you had Lady Blackbird
06:09 on.
06:10 Yes.
06:11 What does she add to the song?
06:19 Well, just listen to that voice.
06:23 She brings the voice.
06:25 She brings the thunder.
06:26 She brings the power.
06:28 She brings the presence.
06:30 She brings the spirituality.
06:32 If you've ever seen her perform live, we have very similar intentions.
06:37 There's an intention behind her work that's not just about how fabulous I am.
06:43 It's not just about that.
06:44 So you were talking about giving hope, if you will, to that generation that you can
06:51 speak to and tell them they have a voice.
06:52 Yes.
06:53 And all of the lyrics, I think, speak to that need to sort of stand in the gap for
07:05 our kids specifically that still feel like, you know, we're under attack.
07:13 Everything is under attack.
07:15 I'm thinking everybody is under attack.
07:24 So let's talk about Billie Strayhorn.
07:26 Yes.
07:27 Had a very successful run in Pittsburgh.
07:28 Yes.
07:29 I heard some rumors.
07:30 Are we headed to Broadway?
07:31 Well, I'm the kind of person that likes to speak life.
07:36 So yeah.
07:37 We're going to put it out there.
07:38 I'm going to just say yeah, because that's where I would like it to be.
07:41 There ain't no contracts yet.
07:44 There ain't no discussions yet.
07:45 The ink isn't settled yet.
07:46 But hopefully people will see this.
07:48 It'll be out in the ethers.
07:49 You know, I'm going to make some phone calls and all of those things.
07:53 You know, the thing about Billie Strayhorn is that our, particularly our black, our African-American
08:00 queer heroes, hero stories are being unearthed.
08:07 Billie Strayhorn, in the long answer to that first question, is also a queer artist who
08:18 lived in the shadows of Duke Ellington.
08:23 You might know of a song called A-Train.
08:26 You just take the A-Train.
08:31 One of the most popular jazz songs in history is accredited to Duke Ellington when Billie
08:36 Strayhorn wrote it by himself.
08:38 That's crazy.
08:40 It's unacceptable.
08:41 You know, and so what I love is that now I'm in a position of power and I have a platform
08:52 and sometimes people listen to me.
08:54 I get to be a part of ushering in these stories.
08:59 Would you ever take the stage in Billie?
09:01 Yeah, I would.
09:03 It's a good show.
09:04 I would.
09:05 I would.
09:06 And when will we see you on stage again, actually?
09:09 When it's worth my time and worth my while.
09:13 Eight Shows a Week is a lot of work and when you have something as magical and specific
09:22 as Lola and Kinky Boots, it's very hard to top it.
09:27 While I don't know if topping it is the goal, at the very least, whatever the project is
09:37 has to be equal.
09:38 And we gotta talk about fashion.
09:40 You came in today with these shoes on and I was like, I'm gonna have to walk out with
09:44 those.
09:45 I'm gonna have to walk out with them.
09:46 Did you know early on, have you always been into fashion?
09:49 Did you know like Billie's path was gonna take him to fashion icon?
09:52 I didn't know that it was gonna take me to fashion icon, but pretty early on I knew that
09:59 I wanted fashion to be a part of the conversation in terms of how I express myself in the mainstream.
10:06 And I love that you said like organically you kind of started going into the genderless
10:10 thing.
10:11 Does that now feel important to you as like an inspiration and kind of like the story
10:17 that you're telling by doing that?
10:18 Clothes don't have gender.
10:20 Period.
10:22 Shoes do not have gender.
10:27 We put that on clothing.
10:30 We put it on the clothing.
10:33 So what I said to myself was, what if it doesn't matter?
10:38 And what if I wear whatever I want, whenever I want?
10:41 Because it's not about the dress.
10:44 It's not about the dress.
10:47 It's easy.
10:48 It's easy to just go to dress.
10:49 It's easy to do that.
10:51 People report that I'm wearing a dress when I'm not.
10:55 All the time.
10:57 They're clearly pants and they're still saying that it's a dress because people are lazy.
11:03 And people actually have a real problem having the conversation.
11:08 So there's a dismissal of the conversation inside of the reporting of it.
11:15 Oh, well, he's just gonna show up in a dress.
11:17 So that's that.
11:18 Yeah, that's the norm.
11:19 No, it's not.
11:20 No, it's not.
11:21 Look at that.
11:22 I wear pants all the time.
11:23 It's not pants versus a skirt or a dresser.
11:30 It's not about that.
11:32 It's about self expression.
11:34 What do I feel like today?
11:37 And do you feel that now that you're able to make those statements with genderless fashion
11:41 and your self expression, that it's kind of helping move the conversation on a lot of
11:46 the issues in the queer community?
11:48 Is your fashion obviously a bigger statement?
11:50 Of course.
11:51 Fashion as activism.
11:53 Fashion as activism is on purpose.
11:55 It's always been my goal.
11:58 You know, once I started down this path, I was like, well, as usual, I'm opening up myself
12:06 to have a target on my back as usual.
12:10 So if I'm going to do that, it better mean something real.
12:15 So yeah.
12:16 Thank you for your knowledge, your kindness, your energy.
12:19 I really enjoyed this conversation.
12:20 You're welcome.
12:21 Thank you.
12:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]
12:25 (whooshing)