Peppermint’s New Album Peeks into Her Love Diary

Are you ready to see the softer and more sensual side of Peppermint? The trailblazing actress, singer, reality star, and activist who continues to defy limitations is set to release her new album, A Girl Like Me: Letters To My Lovers, on Friday, October 16. This is the first in a trilogy of album releases about the three stages of Peppermint’s most recent relationship.

A Girl Like Me: Letters To My Lovers took over a year to complete and focuses on Peppermint’s personal diary set to music with Volume I tackling the subjects of flirtation, love, and lust. “Best Sex” is the lead track, and the album also features a gorgeous cover of Carole King’s classic “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”

Peppermint’s star power has been on the rise since competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race. In addition to releasing music, she became the first trans woman to originate a principal music role on Broadway as Pythio in the hit Head Over Heels. Currently, she is in OUTtvgo’s new show Translation, where she and fellow trans Drag Race contestants Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, and Sonique sit together to discuss various topics like politics and dating as they relate to their trans identities.

Outside of entertaining, Peppermint is a fierce activist who has raised six-figure sums for prominent LGBTQ rights groups and hosts black, queer town halls alongside Bob the Drag Queen to raise awareness and educate.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Peppermint about the new album, championing for trans representation in the media, and possibly going into politics.Hi, Peppermint! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me about your new album, A Girl Like Me: Letters To My Lover. Can you tell us more about it?
Yes! This is my first album in a few years. The last full project that I did was in 2017, Black Pepper, which came out while I was on RuPaul’s Drag Race. I have always done music, but those albums have always been, like, from Peppermint, the drag queen. My drag experiences really did drive all of that.

Not that there is a separation between myself as a person who works in drag and a trans woman, but this album really pulled from my real-life everyday experiences in love. I was in a relationship for a year, we had the best winter, spring, summer, and fall that anybody could have, but then it crashed. So, this album is a three-part album, and each part is basically a new season or new time of the year. This first album, A Girl Like Me: Letters To My Lover, is basically the beginning of the relationship, which happens in spring, summer, and part of fall. So, that’s what it is.

Do your lovers know that you write songs and albums about them?
I don’t think so, but the main one does. If it’s good for Taylor Swift, it’s good for me, honey!

What do you hope audiences take away from A Girl Like Me: Letters To My Lover?
I really hope that they enjoy listening to it, but even deeper than that, it would be great for people who are queer, and especially trans, to feel like they can listen to, something I guess that’s mainstream.

I don’t know if I would consider myself a mainstream artist. I am an independent artist, but I have definitely enjoyed being associated with some mainstream successes. Doing Broadway, being on RuPaul’s Drag Race, so I would hope this album would let people see a little bit of themselves or hear a story that they can connect with that is out there in the mainstream.

When I was coming up in the Dark Ages, in order to hear drag queen singing their own music, you needed to go to a nightclub. Now, everything with the internet and people being able to access each is so much easier. It would be great to have a trans woman singing about her experiences, or even a gay guy or nonbinary person singing about their experiences in a way that they don’t have to code it.

You know, we had lots of gay people singing in the past, but they would always, like, go through all the words “girl” and switch them to “boy,” or vice versa for the benefit of cisgender people who might be heartbroken if they hear that a gay person is in love. Those days are over. So, I am making this for us. Love is universal, so everybody can understand this. They will just have to get used to hearing a trans woman singing.

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What have been some of the challenges of releasing an album during these times of COVID, and have you thought about how you want to bring this music out into the world after the EP release?
The biggest challenge was the time. We were going to release it at the beginning of the year, and I was going to be on the road over the summer. Obviously, everything was put on hold. That was pretty much the biggest wrench in the plan for me, but we roll with the punches.

I think the other challenge was, now that we are in the pandemic, not really being able to approach the promotion and rollout of this. I wanted to have all these music videos, all these performances, have these moments to meet people and talk about it with them, but I haven’t been able to do any of that. All I can do, I have my phone and my internet signal, and I am going to see what I can do. I am up for it.

I absolutely love how you have been using your platform, and how you want this album to be something that trans women of color can see themselves in. In addition to the pandemic, this year has seen a lot of police brutality, racial tension, and hatred. Where do you feel like we are currently at in the conversation? Are the messages being heard?
I definitely think the messages are being heard and the images are being seen. I guess the biggest sort of indicator of that is the fact that the presidential candidates are talking about it. They may not want to, but they are being forced to talk about it and acknowledge it. This is obviously an important conversation, and we are clearly not where we need to be, but this conversation has been long overdue. It’s time for this.

Over the summer, we have been stuck in quarantine, so we were pretty much held captive in our homes. We were forced to see these images. Before, all these injustices were happening, but there was something to distract us from it. Quarantine made us pay attention in a way that we never did before.These issues have been problematic for years, but why do you think George Floyd’s murder was the tipping point?
I think George Floyd’s murder definitely was the tipping point. I think most people would probably agree with that. I think it was a combination of things. Anytime someone is murdered, it’s an atrocity, but there was a particular quiet. Just weeks beforehand, everyone was baking pies, learning how to sew, and watching Tiger King.

Then came the incident with George Floyd. Right before that was Ahmaud Arbery, and then right after George Floyd was Breonna Taylor. It happened in the wake of all of that. There was a lot of horrible murders taking place on camera in a short amount of time, and there was nothing else to do but watch it. George Floyd became the one person too many. I was to the point where I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I did not want to see another murder.

Are you still doing Black Queer Town Hall with Bob the Drag Queen?
Yes. It’s not a weekly or monthly thing; it’s just an annual thing. Recently, we finished a smaller Black Queer Town Hall that was in partnership with Minneapolis Pride. It was wonderful, and we raised $3,000 that all went towards charity. It was such a success. Now, we are working on using our powers to make sure that people are able to get out and vote and hopefully make some change.

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Do you believe these Black Queer Town Halls are beneficial?
I do. They are definitely a platform for black queer folks, artists, and speakers to come together to support each other. It is also an opportunity for people who want to see those types of people, you can see them there. I mean, black queer people have certainly been gathering since the beginning of black queer people, but there hasn’t necessarily been a lot of efforts nationally that have gone to support, at least in my circles, that have gone just to uplift and support black queer people in the way we are striving to do.

At the last event, we had Andrea Jenkins, the first black, trans woman voted into a city council. We had CeCe McDonald, the trans woman who was victimized and then defended herself against her attackers and was sent to a men’s facility prison. She is the subject for the documentary of Free Cece! We really connect with those people, and this is something Bob and I are going to continue doing.

I would like to ask you a couple questions about RuPaul’s Drag Race. There is a major call for you to come back and compete on All Stars now that three of season nine’s top four have won. Any thoughts or plans to return?
I will return if they invite me. Absolutely!

RuPaul and Drag Race have been known to not be the best when it comes to trans inclusion. Do you think it’s getting better?
We will have to wait and see. Each season gives us an opportunity to figure out the type of inclusion that is happening on Drag Race. I would definitely love to see more trans women on TV, not just on Drag Race. Although we have shows like Pose, that’s really it. We have one show, and I would like to see more inclusion across the board and better diversity when it comes to storytelling in reality and scripted TV. When it comes to people who need to improve what they are doing, that is all of Hollywood. I would love to see more inclusion on every single show.In a recent episode of Race Chaser, you said you would definitely consider going into politics. Can you tell us more about that, and what specifically would you like to do?
I don’t have a plan. I am certainly not announcing my campaign just yet, but I am interested in connecting more with people and bringing different communities together. Just where I sit or stand, or sashay, I am able to see the need for this community to connect. It will be very beneficial.

That is what I see a lot, so I think one way I can help more is by getting involved with politics. I am not necessarily there yet. I need to release this album first, but I am interested in politics and figuring out a way to be involved and avoid being corrupted. I am afraid politics is like going to a dark cave with a crystal ball and coming out a completely different person.

We are only a few weeks away from the election. Are you concerned?
Yes! I am concerned, damnit! I am trying to stay optimistic, but I am sick to my stomach. We are either at the threshold of a historic election, or a revolutionary war. It feels like one of those two things are going to happen. I have been around for a few elections, and I do not remember it ever feeling like this. I even asked my elder relatives if it was like this, even in the 60s, and they say it feels similar, but it feels so much more widespread and constant. Nonstop, and that probably has a lot to do with our social media, the internet, and the 24-hour news cycle.

I think back in the day, people felt like this was much more contained. This is everywhere, and it shows that humanity is at the precipice of great change. We are going to either go down the path of being the all-inclusive Jetsons flying around in spaceships and eating food that appears out of the wall, or we are going to be fighting each to death in the streets, and there will be no more people left.

Before we wrap up, do you have any other upcoming projects besides the album that we should be on the lookout for?
I just helped launch a new show called Translation. It is international, but we are talking about possibly bringing it to the states. It’s myself, Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, and Sonique, and it is pretty much the transgender version of The View. We launched it on OutTV in Canada, and also on that network, we launched Nubia Amplified, which is all of the queens from the Nubia tour.

We started the tour, but never got to complete it because of the pandemic. So, we reunite and talk about all the issues and let everyone know what is happening with the tour. In addition to that, I am working on a couple great things. One being with Sasha Velour, we are doing a college speaking tour, and then part two of my album comes out next year.

Make sure to follow Peppermint on social media and YouTube to stay up-to-date.

Photos Courtesy of Magnus Hastings and James Michael Avance