Lo:
So was watching your videos online and you said your aesthetic is Afrofuturism. What does it mean to you for Black people to be seen in the future?
Kimora:
I think it is so important that Black representation has the ability to be seen in the future because we are present in that we are here in the present and we’re going to be here in the future. So I think being able to have a connection, a style that is forward thinking and ahead of its time is important because I think being able to blend the traditional with the New Age, I think it’s really important. It tells a big story of where we are as a people.
Lo:
Who are some of your inspirations when it comes to Afrofuturism and designing new looks?
Kimora:
Definitely Kyle Gervacy, one of the designers who I work with. He is always taking a fresh look on using Afro prints as well as incorporating Asian aesthetics and I think that is a beautiful thing when joined together. as well as a lot of fan art. I love people’s fan art when it comes to depicting Afrofuturism and the world of literally Wakanda from Black Panther the comics – not the movie! The comics, because I’m a comic reader. Really being able to live through the fantasy of it all is really inspirational.
Lo:
Are you excited for the new movie? (Wakanda Forever)
Kimora:
Oh, I am, I’m worried, but also very excited.
Lo:
I know people are worried. The mantle of the Black Panther, is it gonna go to Shuri? Is it gonna go to Okoye? And we know in the comics Shuri has her own uh mantle as well, she had her own spiritual journey and then she came back and with the ability to tap into the shared consciousness of every single condom that has ever lived.
Kimora:
Yeah, and I really think that they’re going to play a little bit on that. I have a feeling it’s going to change the mantle completely, but they’re going to go a different route than the comic. But I believe they’re going to touch on Shuri as the Black Panther at the beginning. Something that that’s something tells me that she’s going to be almost like an in between conduit, and then she is in the process of handing it over to the next person. That’s where my mind is, but we don’t know until we see it.
Lo:
But yeah, still excited because this will be the first time that we’ve seen a superhero film fully led by Black women.
Kimora:
Yeah. And what I also can’t wait for is the Disney plus series. They’re doing a Dora Milaje series with them, really excited to see them play on that because I believe it was the world of Wakanda series. that was really, really good and gave some insight to where they could go with this. I think it could be really empowering.
Lo:
Yeah, I personally just want a Jabari tribe bathhouse scene. That’s what I’m looking for specifically, Like all I need is a five minute scene and I’ll be good personally.
Kimora:
*laughs* Right? Right? No, I hear the Jabari are definitely gonna be a big staple, so it’s gonna be there.
Lo:
Shifting gears a little bit, so anyone who’s seen you on Canada’s Drag Race knows you’re 1. not big on male songs and 2. you’re not a huge fan of Taylor Swift. What are some of your favorite songs that you’ve done lip syncs to?
Kimora:
I love Soca. I love to bring that forward. So a lot of Destra, a lot of Alison Hinds. Those are some of my very, very favorites. Right now. I love, I love, love, love, love a new British artist who has really, really, really, kind of stolen my heart: Bree Runway.
Lo:
Oh my god, I love her!
Kimora:
Okay! I’m in love with her and Steflon Don. Anything by the two of them, I can’t wait to be in a position to really perform them. It’s often a little bit of “Do I do this? Are people really gonna know all this kind of stuff?” especially when, depending on the crowd, you’re really kind of entertaining. But I can’t wait. I have a Bree Runway kind of performance I would love to do, so we’ll see. I love old school, I love me a good Tina but give me some new school stuff as well because there’s some phenomenal stuff out there.
Lo:
I guess when it comes to performing an artist’s song that’s lesser known, I guess it’s kind of similar to Snatch Game and the fact that you have to pick a character that people might not know and you have to make people want to know more about the character through your performance.
Kimora:
Exactly. And that’s something where my sister Anastasia always tells me sometimes, “Just stop worrying about what people want to hear and do what you want to do and just make them love it.” And I’m like very true. You know, sometimes you just have to say screw the top 40s. This is something that’s in the moment for me and I want to bring it forward, and if you want to come on that journey, come on. If you don’t you don’t. That’s up to you.
Lo:
Yeah, but you still gon have fun, you still will be entertained.
Kimora:
Exactly. I mean, you’re going to learn something new.
Lo:
What is it like having a child that’s growing up watching you do drag?
Kimora:
It’s different, you know, because it’s not something I planned. It wasn’t something that I thought would be an actual thing because I did take quite a bit of a break from drag when I was focusing on my career. But seeing it now and hearing him, [hearing] that he thinks I’m entertaining is actually really, nice. That’s actually really kind of cool,
Lo:
Aw, that’s awesome. Like having a kind of like a parent as a superhero sort of thing?
Kimora:
Oh I’m definitely not that loved and adorned but I will definitely say it’s nice to have someone who’s famous-ish.
Lo:
Can you talk about an instance where you had to stand firm in your identity when someone else tried to persuade you to make changes to your aesthetic because they thought you’d be more successful doing something that didn’t speak to you as a person?
Kimora:
I don’t think I allow people to dictate my drag. It’s very very difficult for someone to tell me “don’t do it.” Unless I’m in a competition, I rarely let people tell me what I can or can’t do with my drag because I’ve worked very hard in trying to understand myself as a drag artist.
As someone who uses drag in different ways, not just a dip and a split because anyone can do that with little bit of flexibility. But using drag as a platform for other things including bringing awareness to different things. Not every drag queen does that and not all drag queens are good at it. I don’t know if I’m good at it just yet, but I definitely like to use my drag for different things.
So having anyone tell me otherwise is very hard to do. I understand that sometimes there’s repercussions for opening up your mouth, but I also know that if I don’t do it, no one else will. There’s a lot of people out there and a lot of other queens, both people of color and otherwise who, tend to do the, “let me think about my career first and let me just shut up and let things happen” and then they open up their mouth here and there.
But when it comes to the actual fight and actually callout, they’re not there and they’re not present. So I am definitely someone [who’s] hard to shift, I’m very stubborn that way. I am what I am, however, I’m always open to learning about learning new things and elevating myself, but it’s hard to shift me from who I am as a drag queen and what I represent.
Lo:
I know that’s right. How does it feel to be MADE NOUS’ newest ambassador, a Canadian queen?
Kimora:
It’s actually really, really great. I feel really honored because I am the only girl that they offered this to.
A lot of my other sisters are not going to DragCon because they can’t afford it. The ones who are either saved up for it or they really kind of invested and really hope for the turnout and everything else. Um I’m really lucky that MADE has taken care of my accommodations, my flight as well as all my looks. So I’m really, really excited about that because that took a lot of weight off of me.
I may not have the most glamorous booth. I’m not going to have a lot of anything else but that’s okay because I get to be present and I get to do something that I love which is being able to go around DragCon and bring Canada with me. I know there’s a lot of people that are out there that won’t be able to attend DragCon because of the price of the ticket.
Not only to attend but also to fly all the way to L. A. Not everyone could afford that (heck I couldn’t afford that.) Hence why MADE stepped in and I’m very proud and happy that they did so. To be their ambassador, to be the only girl out of seasons one and two that they that they offered this to is really, really big and I think it speaks to what people see in me that sometimes I don’t even see in myself, so I’m really excited to do it and I want to do a great job.
Lo:
Amazing, amazing. I’ve personally never been to a a drag convention before.
Kimora:
Neither have I.
Lo:
Really?
Kimora:
Yeah, no. My cousins have been to the one in New York. DragCon is three locations: it’s in L.A., New York and UK. So they did New York right before the pandemic and they loved it. I’ve seen a lot of videos, I know all about the entrance looks and how everyone goes all out to kind of outdo each other for the entrance looks and it seems like a great time. So it’s gonna be my first convention that isn’t medical, actually. Um so it’s actually gonna be kind of kind of interesting to actually go and see.
Lo:
You’re gonna have like a whole bunch of fans from all over the world who is like just like in your face like, “Oh my God, , you’re actually here!”
Kimora:
I’m here for that. That’s one great thing about being able to be an ambassador for me because I have a few things that I want to do. I want to go around and as people are in these ridiculously long lines waiting to have their pictures taken with certain queens, I’m gonna pop up and just start talking to people and doing different questions about things that are Canadian and whether or not they know. [For example] if they know that Arthur is a Canadian cartoon and ask the question and see if we can give away a few little prizes and have some fun and just have some great content to be shown.
Lo:
What is one of your favorite things to eat after a performance?
Kimora:
Everything. I don’t eat before a performance. If I’m getting into drag, I do not eat at all. The most I will do, and this is why I think I lost so much weight on Drag Race, is just a smoothie. Something light because you’re corseted for the majority of the time. I don’t know how some girls get drunk and they’re fully corseted, I’m just like “that just comes right back up.” But from the moment that corset comes off, baby give it to me. I don’t care what it is. But my favorite thing to indulge in period is butter chicken. Give me some butter chicken any day any time and I’m raring to go.
Lo:
Where are you from originally? I know Canada is your home but where does your family hail from?
Kimora:
So my mother is from Guyana and my dad is Guyanese and Indian.
Lo:
Oh nice. Isn’t the actor who plays Shuri from Guyana?
Kimora:
Yes, she is, yes, she is from Guyana.
Lo:
Awesome, yeah, Liberian over here.
Kimora:
Okay, come on!
Lo:
Yeah, I actually really jumped into Drag Race during the pandemic when there was like nothing else to do but binge watch Drag Race. I’m half Liberian, half Cameroonian. So when I found out the first winner was from Cameroon I was like, “Get out!”
Kimora:
Exactly, and that just shows you some of the greatness that Drag Race has brought because it has brought awareness to so many different other cultures and how our cultures influence our drag. Because I’m South American, the carnival world really influences my drag a lot. The feathers, the backpacks, everything like that. Carnival is such a huge thing in South America and in the Caribbean.
It is something that is so focal to our general existence and we look forward to it. We plan for it. We take loans out for it. Like it is so important to us. So it has really shaped my drag in many different ways.
Between that and honestly watching fashion television. Growing up, funny enough, everyone would think that you’d have to have had women or maybe gay uncles who watched fashion to have really gotten into it. But funny enough, every Sunday my straight uncles would sit around and they would watch fashion shows. Really for the titties because there was a lot of titties on the screen at the time.
But they would watch it and it really just inspired me like, seeing gowns by Dior from John Galliano’s collection, and Carolina Herrera and all these things. They’d be watching the titties, but I’d be watching the dresses. That’s literally kind of what merged into who I am. It’s why I love couture.
That’s why I love gowns, because of the images I grew up watching. And shockingly it was a mix of the carnival with the high glam of couture and there I am.
Lo:
What advice would you have for a young Black person who wants to get into the drag world?
Kimora:
Keep at it. Don’t follow trends, set them and continue to be yourself at the end of the day.
Lo:
Mm hmm. Solid. Thank you so much.
Kimora:
you. Thank you. I appreciate this. This is great. This is love.
