Byrell The Great in The 8 Playlist: Under-to-Top Dog narrative
Ballroom aināt ācoming backā. More like ānever went awayā. The identity politics hype of the 2010-20ās has seen a peak of piqued curiosities towards the queer, gay, lesbian and generally āgender subversiveā cultural niches that were somewhat confined to the underground during the past 40 years.
The situation is now almost inverted, as the hybrid offspring of the NY-Chicago-Washington love triangle of ghetto-fabulous cuntyness and sensuous jacking reaches the apex of visibility and recognition, riding on a veritable stampede of butt mangling drum beats and embellished by big media jewels like Pose, hyper-stylizing the reality that Paris Is Burning once so candidly depicted (wayyy before it became the reference par excellence of the whole thing).
Before the stars and solar system aligned with Planet Cunty and everyone started showing the symptoms of the 33 year nostalgia rash, going on about how āthis ballroom thing be wack!ā Byrell The Great had already come and gone (and come again) quite a few times. When WIDE asked him about the escalation to notoriety that the genreās been going through, he absent-mindedly replies:
“Itās clear that ballroom music has been influencing club music for the past 10 years, but this trend became VERY strong within the past 5. I think itās dope that our music is powerful enough to inspire music everywhere from New York to Japan, Australia, and places where being gay or trans still isnāt accepted. However, in this rise to being such a ābig thingā in music, many try to attach themselves to it… or claim they are making āvogue musicā, which ultimately saturates what the music producers as a whole have to offer.
Yes, vogue beats are what we, as ballroom producers, make most of the time, because performance is the biggest category in the scene. This means different beats are requested and expected to come out at a quicker rate, but it makes it harder when an actual ballroom producer wants to put out, say, a runway beat or a face beat. You get so many fake āballroomā cuts, that now people want to hear that and forget thereās more to ballroom music than just vogue beats. I do however see all ballroom producers getting more recognition in the next few years.”
“Growing up, music played a huge part in every aspect of my life. When I was about 9 or 10, I used to act like I was the DJ/ radio host of my own show that talked about new music”
“And I even interviewed family members on their opinions. Looking back at it, it was so damn corny! But it showed how much of an interest music really was to me. By, like, the age of 14, I started playing with music. Practicing mixing it, on which I was literally the worst up till the age of 17. By then, I got really good and I started mixing music for my high school dance company – The Byrell Forrest Dance Company – which I was the leader of when I thought I could be the young Alvin Ailey (screams at my old self antics, lol).
My passion for music actually led me to a bunch of dance ventures some being ballet, African dance, and even tap dance. I was drawn to dance by music for years until it was time to make real money, or so I thought at the time. By 20, I was mixing for all the underground dance groups and some ballroom participants in NYC. Through that I met my ballroom mom, Courtney Balenciaga, who allowed me to DJ my first ball and there my ballroom story expanded to where it is now.”
You could say his tunes stay true to the vibe of the NYC ballroom movement, transmitting much of the cityās feel and the heterogeneous atmosphere of the ball scene, where great finesse and makeshift designer clothes collide, mirrored by minimalistic synth tracks with crudely cut samples out of movies, runway beats and found footage featuring intense reading and cussing pasted on top. He paints a picture of his relation to the city:
“I am a true New Yorker; the train is my number 1 go to as a means for transportation. Uber would be next if itās far and late or going to a gig. I am terrified of driving a car so Iāll be doing that for a while. I donāt really go to clubs in Harlem anymore and I havenāt for a while. Iāve always been who I am and wasnāt ever ashamed of it but the older I became I surrounded myself with like minded people and there arenāt many spaces like that in Harlem itself. I travel to lower Manhattan or Brooklyn a lot to party but when I do chill in Harlem Iām usually strolling Lenox ave seeing all the familiar faces, seeing and catching up with my family, grabbing a look from Bakery NY, or getting a bite at āThe Dirty Kitchenā.”
Established as he may be as a performing DJ on his local scene, he seems to be quite enthusiastic about the spread of ball culture. As great as that sounds, a movement of these proportions is bound to be funneled (and sifted) by the gaze of the public eye and media visibility. In this order of ideas, Byrell the Great lets out a shout-out to his pal, NYCās Ball MC and commentator Precious Ebony:
“ā¦ Precious Ebony, who appears on a few of my tracks, should be bigger than she is! Records labels should be knocking on her door consistently. Iām sure that day will come soon because sheās working like crazy. Last time we were in the studio she almost made me cry! It was powerful seeing how much she grew.”
Hereās hoping that things get good and batter for all the new talents in the ballroom scene. And it looks like the right thing to wish for. We keep hearing news of ballroom house chapters opening up in The UK and France. Byrell the Great himself has been keeping an eye to a flourishing scene just south of the border and further down the hemisphere:
“ā¦ I know of the slowly but strongly growing ballroom scene of Mexico and have some knowledge of the scene in Brazil. My friend Polari, Ā who I formly met when I went to Mexico to DJ a ball happening there, is mother of The House of Apacolistick. I love how he educates not only his house but the entire ballroom scene along with other top figures in that Mexico ballroom scene.”
So, maybe a trip is in order. Contemplating the current state of ballroom culture and music, we can happily vaticinate that the future wonāt be boy or girl, but straight fabulous. As per us (loosely speaking) dudes, dudettes and gender-weird persons at WIDE. We pledge our allegiance to the Goddess of Cunty and send the warmest and flairy-est salutations to the houses all around the world!
But this is the 8 playlist, innit? Check out this fancy little collection Byrell the Great put together to get your head bobbinā:
“These are all my current mood. Each of these songs scream winning, getting money, working hard, and still being humble while saying donāt f**k with me. They all have the narrative of underdogs winning and I surely see myself as underdog that is winning.
They all also have such a bop that I love. Any of these blasted in a good speaker will get your head moving.”
