Meet the New 'It Girl' of Rap: Mister Wallace

In the opening lyrics off the debut track "It Girl" from the EP FAGGOTS, Brooklyn-based rapper Mister Wallace asks: Have you seen me in the magazine? If you haven't yet, prepare to in the coming days (and many after). This incredibly talented musician and dancer is ensuring that he not only grabs the title of IT Girl in the music world, but that everyone knows he isn't going anywhere.

Out recently chatted with Mister Wallace after his new music video dropped. We covered topics ranging from how the shootings of black men inspired his new queer song to the importance of glamour to his love of magazines.

Out: Your song is called "It Girl." What inspired you to write the track?

Mister Wallace: Growing up everyone asked me if I played ball. I wanted to sing professionally. It was obvious to me that if I wasn't selling drugs I should be playing sports or trying to become an entertainer, because those were the most likely tracks for black men to make something of themselves. So I became the latter. Then the killings reached a peak in the news and the It Girls--the only representations of black men--were people like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. I was shocked to see this narrative being sold to young black men. I thought of my brother and cousins who are also aspiring entertainers and how easily their lives or my life could be taken. I wanted to make the statement that I'm an IT GIRL NOW! Not when I died by the hands of some racist American.

Queerness, blackness, and rap are becoming more and more prevalent in the music world with the success of other queer rappers likes Cakes da Killa (who is featured on your EP), Le1f, and many others. What are your thoughts on this new visibility within a genre that has been stereotypically seen as homophobic?

Rap has become stagnate. We've heard from the same voices. Now we are hearing a new perspective. We are now hearing the perspective of intersection. I see this "trend" as a rebirth of rap. We are the future legends of the genre.

Glamour is something you channel a lot in your work--and even in settings within "It Girl," which seems post-apocalyptic. Why is that?

Wealth is not sustainable because it's about access and consumption. We can't continue to live like we do in this modern civilization. We are seeing that with climate change. We are seeing new buildings being built alongside decaying ones due to gentrification. I want to highlight the disparities in wealth and how they affect marginalized people the most.

Now that you are featured by a magazine, what's next for Mister Wallace?

I'm very thrilled to be included in Out. I've been in Time Out New York, Posture magazine, & The FADER. But I'm not done yet. I want to be in EVERY MAGAZINE. I am ready for my cover, Ms. Wintour.