“The Drag King of Rap” with an inspirationally positive attitude and (literally) flashy stage looks, NETER BES is here to spice up you summer with “Tabasco.”
Thotyssey: NETER, hello! Thanks for chatting with us today!
NETER BES: Hi Jim! Please, call me BES. All my friends do. Or I should say, BESties, haha!
Got it! So May has come and nearly gone, how did the month treat you?
May was great! I got to see the country a bit and tell people about my song on the Tabasco Takeover Tour. I’m excited to be back in New York, though. There’s no place like it!
Tell us a bit about that tour experience.
Oh my gosh, it was amazing. I went to several many gay bars in cities large and small. I’m talking singing country songs at karaoke in Greensboro, to sweating on the dance floor in Cleveland. And the range and resilience of queer people’s expression is amazing to experience!
I got to see you perform twice in Metropolitan Bar’s Queer Talent Show competition! Those were very fun performances, and you have an infectious energy! What do you like the most about being a live music performer?
Wow! Thank you. I love Queer Talent Show. And I love to perform because there is nothing like the rush of creating a show for a live audience. And mixing the art of drag with my original music has allowed me to bring my creativity to places I never thought I’d be! And more importantly, to speak directly to my community: the girls, gays, theys, and trade as they say!
You’re becoming known for your elaborate stage looks. I wouldn’t have personally described what you do as drag originally, but now that you’ve said it of course it is!
Yeah, I can totally understand that. I think as I’ve come onto the scene in New York City, I’ve been trying to challenge people’s perception of gender performance. I’ve recently started calling myself the Drag King of Rap, which I think helps people contextualize my whole vibe.
Your stage and club looks are eye-catching and creative! For one of those Queer Talent Show performances, you wore an inflated yellow vinyl suit that totally lit up. It was amazing!
In terms of looks, my approach has mostly been about translating my songs through fashion. For example, the album cover for my last project, the Dancing Like We: Remixes, was this really vibrant, yellow plastic texture. So I wore that yellow suit to sort of become the era, in a way. I believe I also ran into you at the GLAM Awards in a yellow plastic gown that I made myself! So I’m definitely not afraid to rock a look, and maybe turn a few heads.
Can you tell us a bit of your origin story? Where are you from originally, and what role did music and art play in your upbringing?
I was born and raised in New Orleans, so music has always been a huge part of my life. I was a pretty shy kid, but I eventually found my voice and my confidence through musical theater. Annoying, I know… but it’s true, haha! I went to college for drama upstate and moved to Brooklyn headed down the Broadway track, and thankfully I’ve had some success in that vein. But music and drag have allowed me much more creative freedom than any musical ever could. Until of course we bring the NETER BES jukebox musical to Broadway, which I am not opposed to!
How did you start writing, recording and performing as NETER BES, and is there a story behind that name?
It’s kind of a funny story, actually. So I was in a sketch comedy group in school, and we couldn’t perform because of Covid. That’s not the funny part! Anyway, instead of doing shows, I got them all to rap on these really silly Lonely Island style comedy songs that I wrote and produced. And somewhere in that totally unserious process, I fell in love with music. Since then, I started to take my songwriting seriously… and think about how I could translate my message for the world, really.
And that’s how I came to the name NETER BES, who was an ancient Egyptian deity of music and dance and pleasure among other things. “NETER” means god or nature, and “BES” was the name of the god himself. Which is why I ask folks to call me BES… Neter is more like mister, if that makes sense. Anyway, in addition to BES being a god of music, I found that I actually bear a lot of resemblance to his ancient depictions. We both have big smiles and a little belly… so I really connected with him!
What are the joys and challenges of being an indie queer music artist today?
I would say the hardest part is trying to break through and stand out amongst the crowd. There is so much media everywhere all the time, so to capture people’s attention isn’t easy–especially when you’re indie, and the algorithms literally suppress the word “gay.” The joy, though, comes in the creative process of trying to help your audience discover you despite the noise. What am I gonna do that stops people in their scroll? What am I gonna wear that makes people want to listen? There’s so much fun to be had in that space.
You just dropped a catchy new track: “Tabasco!” Tell us about that one’s sound and inspo.
Yes, thank you! “Tabasco” is out now, everywhere you listen to music. I’m so excited. Like, this is the song of the summer, no shade. It has a 2000’s throwback vibe with some of that “Espresso” freshness. I’m rapping and singing, and I really just wanted to have fun on the track and play with vibrant colors in the music video!
Werk! What else is coming up do you?
I just want to keep taking over the world with “Tabasco!” I’ll definitely be outside for Pride, and always performing live. If you want to follow along, you can did me @neterbes on all the platforms!
Okay lastly: who’s an artist–major, indie or whoever–that you’d love to collab with someday?
Oh wow! Someone like Beyoncé or Gaga comes to mind first, of course. But, I have to say RuPaul. Mama Ru has the most amazing catalog: her and Freedia on “Peanut Butter” is a personal fave. And I mean, to have the Queen of Drag and the Drag King of Rap on the same track just makes sense, right?
It’s written in the stars! Thanks, BES!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for NETER BES’ upcoming appearances, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkTree (where you can stream and download their music across multiple platforms).
Thotyssey 