Latrice Royale and Epiphany Are About to Drop a Brand-New Track for the Ballroom Crowd
Drag Race Season 4’s Miss Congeniality, the singular sensation that is Latrice Royale, has one thing to say: You better dance — to her upcoming single, “eXcuse the beauty.” Written and recorded in conjunction with NYC rapper Epiphany Mattel, this new Latrice Royale single will be debuted with a special live performance in L.A. on Saturday, May 12, during DragCon weekend.
Hornet was the first outlet to speak with Latrice Royale and Epiphany about this brand-new music project, which has actually been years in the making. As Latrice tells us, the song was actually written four years ago by Epiphany (who Latrice calls her “drag niece,” making her Epiphany’s “drag auntie”).
“It was supposed to be the follow-up to [Latrice’s 2014 single with Epiphany] ‘Weight‘ and we just kind of held it in the can. Timing is everything, and I went on to do some other projects,” Latrice tells us. “Epiphany wrote this song four years ago but then a lot of things happened, so she revisited the song and rewrote it to make it more current and about what’s going on right now in my life.”
As for the track’s namesake, if you guessed that it was inspired by the famous words of Stephanie “Excuse My Beauty” Yellowhair, then you’d be right.
Epiphany, who happens to be a featured up-and-coming artist of Latrice’s management company, tells us, “Actually, a friend had suggested the term, to pay homage to Ms. Stephanie, who just passed away.”
From there, the track has spawned its own story and has hopes of becoming a new staple of the ballroom scene. “I initially thought of it as a ballroom anthem,” Epiphany says. “It kind of just went from there, from the ‘excuse the beauty’ chant. I wanted it to be more of a call and response hit.”
DragCon 2018 in Los Angeles will be neither Latrice’s nor Epiphany’s first time at the drag convention extravaganza, and these two seasoned performers couldn’t be more excited for the big event and live debut of “eXcuse the beauty.”
“I’m no stranger to the stage,” says Epiphany. “But this is actually my first time performing my music and performing for an audience this big alongside a person who is so established in the industry and such a big name. It’s a very humbling experience all around, and the butterflies are just crazy. It’s a totally new experience for me.”
About unveiling the new Latrice Royale track at DragCon next month (and online at midnight the night before Saturday, May 12), the fan favorite queen says she’s more excited than anything.
“I always look forward to letting the children have it,” Latrice says. “It’s not so much nerves, but I can’t wait to show everybody. I’m just ready for it, because it’s been a long time. It’s been a few years since we’ve done a big club hit.”
Catch the live debut of the new Latrice Royale single at World of Queens, taking place Saturday, May 12 at Downtown L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre. In addition to the performance by Latrice and Epiphany, Acid Betty, Detox, Kim Chi, Kennedy Davenport, Violet Chachki and Valentina are all scheduled to perform. Find more info here.
