Mykal Kilgore: BEING AUTHENTICALLY BLACK, TALENTED, AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY GAY IN TODAY’S Music Industry Immani Love

With an infectious smile in his voice and a witty, peaceful demeanor, Mykal Kilgore has worked his way from church choir to cruise entertainer, to the Grammy nominated, Broadway and Television star that we see today. As a Black queer man, Mykal uses his platform to serve as a change agent for civil rights as well as issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community His instrument is guaranteed to educate, entertain, and elevate the lives of all who have the luxury of experiencing his unmatched sound Recently, I had the honor of sitting down to speak with him about his journey, his passion, and what shaped him as an artist Here’s what he shared

I.L. “Thanks for sitting down with me, my main question is, What drew you to music?”

Mykal “I feel like music kind of grabbed me! When I was growing up in the church you had to either be an usher or be in the choir and I didn’t want to stand so I chose the choir out of sheer laziness I did not realize that it was going to be the thing that was my life’s passion. One little decision steered my whole life. I have loved singing ever since those days in the choir.”

I.L. “ You sang with your church, went on to cruise lines, Broadway, becoming Grammy nominated, and mentored by Billy Porter. How did being mentored by Billy Porter’s mentorship shape your career direction?”

Mykal “I feel really blessed because I got to watch someone who is really excellent and who is really authentic negotiate and navigate his career I got to see him make choices and open doors that made it easier for me to exist fully authentically So I think really his mentorship is like being behind a bulldozer in a way He’s making the path easier, I mean, it’s not easy but definitely because he exists it makes it easier for me to exist n my fullness I always say I owe so much to him because not only did he give me an incredible opportunity early in my career, but he actually gave me the ability to function as human being in this industry Before him, often you had to play a bit of a caricature of yourself to be ok Being Black, and Gay and as I like to say, soft (I consider myself a soft person) sometimes can be difficult He made it human in a way where before we were playing archetypes I’m thankful to him for infusing his own humanity and truth into his career because it let me know that I could do the same”

I L “How has being an openly gay man affected your career in this day and age? In this day and age with being a gay artist becoming more accepted, has it helped your career?”

Mykal “ I think I had to get out of my own way. I never got to experience life as a person in the closet. I came out of the closet in high school. To a lot people I’m perceived as Queer which is fine because I am. I didn’t have a period where I was in the closet. I do theatre! So it did seem easier to be gay in my career. I was afraid to record because I thought I may be too gay to record but once I got out of my way out that, I got to experience my career as a bit of a “meritocracy” because there are so many people that are talented and worthy that don’t get the opportunities. As I was saying about being Billy’s mentee, he forces authenticity, you can’t be around him and be fake because he’s gonna pull the truth out of you. It was like, ‘Ok are you gonna lie, or are you gonna be great? You can’t do both’ So I don’t know it it’s helped but it has made it impossible for people to look past the real me. When people see my art, they see me You can’t have one thing without the other and I’m thankful for that”

I.L. “You have accomplished so much at a young age. At 39, you’ve done Broadway, Television, and even viral on YouTube. One of my favorite musicals is The Wiz and seeing you on NBC for the Live version with Queen Latifah was a highlight. There was a quote about your performance on that show that I love. “With one crazybeautiful high note, the green-wigged Mykal Kilgore snatched ‘Y’all Got It!’ right out from under the mighty Queen Latifah as the MOST UNEXPECTED SCENE STEALER of the show.” How was that moment for you?”

Mykal “I wrote it because I wanted a song like this when I was 12yrs old It’s the song I needed Toni Braxton has a million of these, I love it, its a little bit of a sad love song of unrequited love It proves your existence I think that’s what art kind of does, it establishes that we were actually here That our experiences are not just singular but it’s human I wanted to create something that young black queer boys could go “I don’t have to change anything about this, I’ve experienced this. The barbershop can be such a minefield for queer folk and I wanted to turn this place that can sometimes be uncomfortable to being a place that could be a hotbed for fantasy Literally this did happen to me n a barbershop but it can be anywhere, it doesn’t have to be a barbershop The idea of seeing someone who spurs you on to fantasize, to dream I want that, I want to be able to feel like that and have that fantasy”

I.L. “What’s next for you?”

Mykal “That was something I manifested

As soon as they announced The Wiz, I was not only saying I want to audition, I was telling people I’m GOING to be in that! I finally got an audition and got in the room and they were like you’re gonna be one of the munchkins and I was like I just want to BE here I think because I was open to it and available to it, it opened up to me We were in the rehearsal room and just playing around and the director was like “Ooh, what are y’all doing?” and they decided to add it into the show! Before I knew it, it was a moment I didn’t know it would go viral! We were just all having a good time, the show was almost over and we were just taking our breath because it was live and we made it to the end of the recording There was so much excitement and nerves It felt like a tribute to my family because it was like this big ‘ol gospel high note and that was my whole life growing up Singing in the church choir as we would say,“hollerin” so it was nice to do something that felt extremely black, extremely focused on our community and to do it on a World stage and to be celebrated by it (black twitter just wrapped us up in their arms) was a moment in my career that reminded me how beautiful it is to do community That’s something I never want to lose”

I.L “You speak about your community, what is your community engagement these days?”

Mykal “I am like Issa Rae, I’m rooting for everyone Black at all times I’m always thinking about the Black community I have a real heart for Black Queer youth, and when I say youth, I mean all the way up like age 23-25yrs old (They’re like babies to me still) I feel like I was blessed to have queer elders, and that’s something I don’t think a lot of us got because there was whole generation of queer black men who were wiped out by a plague It’s something I’ve always looked forward to being able to hold the hand of someone coming after me Ithaca to do what Billy Porter did for me or I’m doing this whole life thing wrong”

I.L. “Let’s talk about ‘The Man in the Barbershop’ which earned you a Grammy nomination. It’s being called ‘a love letter to the black gay man,’ Is that what you intended?”

Mykal “ Becoming more myself, the career stuff will take care of itself if I take care of me That to me is the most important thing There will be more writing, there will be more songs, there’ll be more theatre, more TV, all of that stuff but my biggest priority is to make sure I’m ok, take care of myself and to love on myself

I.L. “ Is there a mantra or quote that you live by?”

Mykal “ Protect your Joy. I like that because it’s not passive, it’s work to protect it That’s something that has truly become a priority of mine, to make sure it’s protected and treated as precious as it is”

I.L. “Is there one thing that if you were to accomplish it, then you would say, I’ve made it. This is what I’ve always wanted.”

Mykal “ There are a few things, I don’t know if there would be one thing that would do it. I’ve always dreamed of having a Kennedy Center Honor, I’ve always watched them I want to be named along the lines of Yolanda Adams and Fantasia Burrinos when it comes to benefits and honors Like whenever there’s a tribute I always know if Fantasia there, it’s right! I want people to be like, ‘OMG, There’s a tribute, Mykal Kilgore has to be there!’ Also, I want to be the person to say ‘Yes’ Like I want to be the person that if you have a vision or a dream and it’s good and it deserves to see the light of day, I want to be the person to go, ‘Let’s do it!’ And help you make it happen That’s a big dream of mine and I feel like if I can do that, then I’ve made it”

I.L. “Is there anything you’d like to share that I haven’t touched on?”

Mykal “I don’t know, you’ve been very thorough! (chuckles) I guess the only thing that I would add is that I want to see more queer people, especially queer people of color when its time to think about who represents ‘us’ as queer folk During Pride season, at GLAAD, and in these spaces because I love all the big pop girl groups but when it comes time to find your headliners and the stars of Pride I want to see more queer (POC) These are spaces where we should feel safe but we should also feel elevated, not just safe, not just ok, we should feel GREAT! We should feel seen, powerful, and hopeful, especially in this post-pandemic world we’re able to do community in a way where we’re seeing each other as not just good but as great, let’s be great together, that’s something that’s important to me”

I.L. “We have all your socials, you are @MykalKilgore everywhere, what’s your parting remark?”

Mykal “Just that I’m headed to the studio Thank you for everyone, thank you for waiting for me, but new music is coming!”