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Kevin Aviance is no stranger to the limelight.
Well, now Aviance has one more thing to add to his illustrious resume: Beyonce has sampled him.
In an interview with Vulture, Aviance says Beyonce is not experimenting with ballroom, shes serving.
How did you hear about the sample to begin with?Someone sent me a track listing.
You didnt know before the credits came out?No, I did not.
Do you own the mastering to the song?That I cant talk about right now.
My friend Nita Aviance sent it to me and I was like, What is this?
And she goes, Girl, youre on track 15.
I said For who?
She goes, Beyonce, queen.
I said, Girl, stop messing with me, okay.
I just didnt want to hear it.
And then the phone started going crazy, and I was like,What is going on?
What was your response when you finally heard the song?Overwhelmed.
Listen, its like someone heard me.
Thats the only way I can explain it.
So what do you think of the song itself, Pure/Honey?I love it.
I love how it has this fun thing in the beginning of it.
Shes setting things up with the Cunty, cunty, honey.
Now, shesBeyonce, you know what I mean?
Her vocals are incredible.
I looked up to the queen so much.
I can see her.
I can see her face right now.
She wouldve been so happy to be here for this moment.
It is a love letter.
Its a love letter to my community, the Black gay community.
And the gay community too, but Im not going to be pussyfooting.
Im trying not to call people out or anything like that.
All Im saying is that its a bit different [being] Black and gay in America.
When someone like Beyonce [sees you] … its incredible.
Theres so many kids that have a hard time.
I have a beautiful mom, a beautiful dad, and they love me, I love them.
But there are a lot of kids who dont have that and are kicked out of their homes.
I still perform it to this day.
Im going to perform it tonight actually.
For the new people that are just listening to this: Its not what you think its about.
Its not about that.
And so dont take it there.
Ask your questions and ensure you know exactly what its about.
So, what is Cunty about?Cunty is about an anointment.
Its about an expression of feeling.
Its a verb, its a noun, its an expression.
When someone saysOh, shes cunty, shes something that you have never really seen before.
Back in the day, I called everybody she.
And its she, the song, Cunty.
Those are beautiful flowers, but theorchid, honey, that is likehello.
We were in my friends apartment, Jerel Black, whos the other producer.
He wrote the music, and then I brought the lyrics.
I was in his kitchen when we recorded it.
Whats different about Beyonces version?Well, first of all, they use my vocal performance.
Usually they just use the one part of it cun-ty.
But they use I think three different ones; it is not the same cunty.
It doesnt just repeat, it crescendos.
When she does it, it sets up the song.
Its likeWork, bitch.
And then she uses another one, where shes like feeling the mones.
And thats exactly what its about.
Feeling those mones, feeling those hormones inside of you.
We were also dealing with people dying [during the height of AIDS crisis].
It was really kind of a rough time.
Now, with what ballroom is today, you have to understand something.
Its different when somebody tries to steal something.
I am so lucky because theyve accepted two of my songs to be ballroom classics.
That was not the plan at all.
Cunty was used for femme vogue, and Din Da Da was used for hand performance.
So I have two songs that are classic mainstays.
That was one of my first joys of life, to have those songs inducted into the ballroom world.
I got chopped at the balls!
Those songs mean everything to me.
Im part of something that people may not know of, but it means everything to me.
As you said, your friend, the queer nightlife legend Moi Renee, was also sampled on Pure/Honey.
Whats it like appearing on this track with her?Moi Renee worked withJunior Vasqueztoo.
She used to come into the club with an umbrella, as if it was raining in the club.
She would walk around all night long with an umbrella.
WhenThe Worldopened up, she performed with a globe in her hand.
She would go I have the world in the palm of my hand!
And then she would go, And now you!
and she threw it out into the audience.
Then, when she did Miss Honey, that was before my song.
I remember thinkinga bitch track is it.
I looked up to her.
For her to be on that track with me is just beautiful.
You will see how much beauty and incredible talent is in this world.
Theres a whole section of beautiful ethnic kids that are turning it out.
They are great entertainers.
Youve got nothing to lose and everything to gain from it.
Youll get to see my new single called Im Back.
If I can touch somebody thats like me out in the boonies and make them feel safe?
Then my job is done, honey.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
