Tia Kofi is ready to start a global drag revolution: ‘It’s gonna make the world more rainbow’
Drag Race UK’s Tia Kofi talks about how the LGBT community can make queer spaces more accessible to everyone to make the “world more rainbow”. (Photo by Elliot Moody)
Tia Kofi is back with a brand new single and a mission to make the “world more rainbow”.
The Drag Race UK season two legend, Alan Turing historian and Mel B aficionado dropped her latest song “Look What You’ve Done” Friday (30 April).
It’s a collaboration with legendary dance music producers Cahill, who’ve worked with megastars Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus, that sees Tia continue to branch out following her time on the hit BBC show.
Tia told PinkNews her time post-Drag Race has been spent “hanging out with winners” The Vivienne, who won the first series of Drag Race UK, and the reigning UK queen, Lawrence Chaney.
She’ll soon go on tour with the Drag Queens of Pop, opening in May, and is looking forward to seeing audiences again – under COVID-19 secure guidelines, of course – because the pandemic has been “such a tough time for everyone”.
She explained that the idea that she could help people “forget the difficulties” of the past year brought her loads of joy.
“People are going to be able to come back to the theatre, back to the show, and the chance to provide that [entertainment] for people is just incredible,” she said. “It honestly is humbling.”
Tia explained how queer people have been creative and “changing things up” to keep shows going, even going digital during the pandemic. Now that things are re-opening, at least in the UK, she said the community should be returning to physical spaces to “support queer venues and queer spaces to keep them open”.
Tia Kofi added the creativity and innovation in going digital during the pandemic had brought about an important bonus.
“These digital spaces are incredibly accessible, and I think it’s made people think about diversity and accessibility within queer spaces.”
Part of this, she said, is the ability to reach fans all over the world, including those living under anti-LGBT+ laws.
Tia explained how she’d received a message from a fan in Nigeria who heard her talking about her heritage on Drag Race. She explained the “core” of her response was to make sure the person was “safe at all times”, but also that she wanted that person to know “you are enough, you are amazing”.
“The messages you get from people in countries where you cannot be as open as we can be, and they actually have access to this world through the show, it’s been incredible,” she said. “The more we can do to make drag and queer spaces more accessible to everyone just gonna make the world more rainbow.”
As she gears up to release more music, Tia said that an absolute dream collaboration would be with legendary rock band Muse. She reckons it would be a “bit camp” because of how closely intertwined drag and rock are, adding: “I think drag is punk.”
Tia Kofi said, if this was a “dead or living” kind of scenario, she would have loved to have worked with LGBT+ icon David Bowie, who was “such a massive inspiration” to her.
