The cult musician talks queerbaiting, coming out and being “the original gay boy on Tumblr”.
WORDS MIKELLE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLIST IRIS LUZ LIGHTING ALEX RADOTA
Babymorocco is sexy. For him, that’s a forgone conclusion. He wields that attribute, actually. He’s got a big mass in general – “big thighs and a big butt” as he explains to me over Zoom. Later, he gives me a few flexing poses to illustrate a point he’s making. Becoming conscious of – and manipulating – that appeal started when he launched a Tumblr account under the Babymorocco moniker and was first exposed to how people reacted to images of his body. But it continues through to today.
“There’s a certain kind of power that I became obsessed with,” he says of those early online days. “You know, the validation you get from looking sexy.” The sort of reaction he was receiving, and the beefcake-like frame that came later, planted the seed for his career as a pop act, the essence of which is best encapsulated in his music video “Everyone” where he walks through the streets of New York City as people turn and stare.
“Everyone wants to look like me, everyone wants to talk like me,” he says in the hook.
The Casablanca, Morocco-born star is in constant pursuit of that sort of attention, of fame, not just by way of being an online pin-up but via actual club bangers. His tracks largely don’t take themselves too seriously and hearken back to music from the 2000s and 2010s that worms its way into your ears and refuses to dislodge. The songs are fun, self-absorbed, and sometimes a bit trashy from the self-taught musician who is writing a lore that fans will hopefully obsess over as much as they do his biceps. All of this as the artist chases a brush with global stardom that happened while he was still in art school.
Just over decade ago, Babymorocco went internationally viral as Clayton Pettet when he announced he would lose his anal virginity in a project titled “Art School Stole My Virginity.” The story of this 19-year-old CSM student’s project was covered incessantly for a year by multiple outlets, ending in a performance that contended with ideas of sexuality, stigma, fame and infamy amongst other things.
“That was the time I probably existed as the most famous [I’ve ever been]. It was a drug – I crave it now all the time in a way,” Morocco explains of the pivotal era. “Now, each new character is like I’m writing a new book for attention. But that’s what I took from it: I can come up with these concepts and realise them and people will enjoy it.” His music has become the ink to write those characters.
And enjoy it fans have, with the hedonistic party boy that is Babymorocco unleashed through singles like “Crazy Cheap” and the newly released “Babestation”. But on his upcoming album he introduces us to even more characters. It all serves to build out the world of Babymorrocco with a realness that’s more true to life. “I think it’s the most honest work I’ve put out,” Morocco says of the project, expected out before the end of the year. “I wanted to show I have more emotion than just narcissism.”
Here we talk to Babymorocco about how being sexy can be a prison and what shaped him as an artist over time, before delving into those persistent questions regarding his sexuality and queerbaiting.
You mentioned you’re a British boy through and through – looking at your aesthetics, I’m curious if you consider yourself a bit of a “chav” or affiliated with that culture? I hope that’s not offensive, it’s my understanding some people are reclaiming it.
It’s not offensive to me. The town I grew up in and the school I went to, [chav culture] is what I grew up in. I take it as a point of pride to be a bit of a chav. But with chav culture there’s different versions of it. I was a bit scebby, like a bit dirty. I would go out and do a lot of drinking with a big bottle of K cider when I was like 14 and get messed up. That kind of chav.
But I know what you mean. It’s interesting to hear you say that because I never hear Americans say it.
Yeah, I think for me I’ve always understood it from more of just an aesthetic, from a fashion perspective. Like a tracksuit and t-shirts.
It’s interesting to talk about the fashion aspect of it because I was always on Tumblr back in the day. Back then, for me, what really stuck was seeing the scene kids’ emo stuff but the colourful version. That, mixed with the chavvy thing – the tracksuits and the caps up and big necklaces. It almost went hand-in-hand so there was this element where I grew up in Bournemouth where it kind of melded and made this swaggy, weird British boy with all these colours. We kind of copied what was happening in LA and mixed it with British culture. That was when I was like 14 years old.
“Art school was the fake version of me, the real version of me is what I am right now”
And that’s shaping the artist you are now?
It’s weird: when you grow up you really do find yourself going back to the stuff you liked when you were a kid no matter what form that takes. I’ve drank since I was a kid — alcohol has stayed a prevalent part of my life. We have under 18 clubs in the UK and back in the day we would drink before we would go out and then go and turn up to some of the craziest club music you’ve ever heard. Like back then it was massive EDM tracks and rave or trance, all of that stuff. Then there was a period where I became a “serious artist” and got rid of all of that. But after art school I brought all that stuff back which I knew innately was my shit. Art school was the fake version of me, the real version of me is what I am right now.
What does that mean? Are you referring to pretentiousness or…?
It’s a mix. There’s definitely an aspect of pretension, especially with class. Coming from a working class background, everyone at art school has got money. So it was delving into that. But also I was just trying to be way more serious than I am as a person. I’m very earnest and I live with my heart on my sleeve – my new record is very that. But in art school I was thinking I had to be Marina Abramović and not speak and not have social media so I could be mysterious and post all my photos in black and white. Now, I look back at that time as the most swagless era of my life. I had a good time but I don’t look at that time as a time when I was very happy or anything.
Even though you weren’t happy do you think it had a lasting impact on what you do now?
Yeah, for sure. At art school I was doing a lot of performance. It was a lot of crazy shit. So for better or for worse I don’t feel like a human being anymore – I always feel like I’m playing a role since then. Even though I feel like the most authentic now, there’s still moments where I’m like, “Well since I’m doing this, I need to play into that part of my personality and leave this out.” So as much as I feel like I’m closer to where I was as a child, there’s still elements where I feel like I’m performing. But that’s music: it goes hand-in-hand.
While there you put on this super-viral performance piece supposedly about losing your anal virginity. Do you think that had a lasting impact on your relationship with sex and sexuality? Or even how people react to ideas about sex?
Totally. Like 40 scholars in America wrote about me, there was an essay that was titled “What Fucking Clayton Pettet Teaches Us About Cultural Rhetorics”. It made me realise where there is power in certain things and if I utilise them they will be able to reward me in some way.
At the time I was so young and the level of attention that had was so insane. I didn’t even know how to make sense of it, I still kind of don’t. I had never had sex or any sexual experience when I did that, so it was such a weird thing.
Maybe in the future I can bring that kind of performance into my music. But not now.
“In the UK we could do with more sexy male pop stars, for sure”
Being sexy is obviously a large part of that brand. Where does that come from?
I think it comes from a desperate place [to get] people to look at my work. I realise that being sexy is a very easy way to get people to pay attention. But it also bites me in the ass. People have a very certain opinion about my music. I can write some of the best pop music but there was this era, especially with my last record, when I realised I was trying to package [my music] as if I was this cheeky boy that wants you to come out and party with him. I love that, it’s part of me [but] I feel like each project should be different bits of you.
But if you’re not from the UK, some people just didn’t get that first idea. They just didn’t get it. Especially with me [flexing] like this all the time. Then people only listen to your music because they want to fuck you. Or if you’re a gay guy retweeting my music other gay guys are saying “Oh, he’s not going to fuck you if you listen to his track.” And like, who knows? I could!
So right now, with the sexuality thing I’m trying to find a balance where there’s an element of seriousness to it. I think it was really easy to rely on for a while.
Have your thoughts around that changed over time? Did you come in thinking you would just be sexy and love that attention before realising you didn’t?
That’s exactly how it went. And there will always be elements of my shit that will be sexy but at the beginning I was like, “I don’t give a fuck, I’m going to utilise all of this”. But now it’s more of me thinking I’ve made myself into a bit of a prison. If I want to promote something I have to do it in a sexy way. And I don’t want to be in that space any more. I want to be able to post a green symbol on my Instagram and for people to say “Oh my god.” It’s a prison that I made for myself being a sexy boy. That sounds so conceited but it’s definitely something you can see.
I think sexiness is an important part of music and in the UK we could do with more sexy male pop stars, for sure. I would like to be that, but I want the body and the music to be [equally appreciated.]
What have you been listening to, or thinking about, in terms of other music?
I was listening to a lot of French electro and there’s this thing in the UK, this era where there were a lot of pop groups like JLS and The Saturdays. I really loved that kind of old school pop writing from that era and even the sort of call-and-response songs. I have that on the record. There’s a part that’s like “What you doin’ when the lights go down?” and she’s like “I’m in the club.” That kind of stuff is super powerful to me and I want to bring that back to the UK sphere.
It’s interesting because when I was younger I was super into dance culture and there was this French artist Yelle that was big with tectonic dance. I was thinking of that when I was listening to some of the tracks.
Oh, I love her. That was one of the biggest tracks that I pulled from for one of my songs. They were a very big inspiration for me. I think what I liked about Yelle is they have this song “Je Veux Tu Voir” and it’s all about the most dirty shit but I was singing it as a kid and didn’t know what it meant. I kind of love that it sounds so childish, like toys being played with, while talking about the nastiest shit. Just saying like the craziest stuff over a really fun track.
On your most recent Instagram post you wrote that you’re about to come out. What is that about?
Should I come out now?
“I don’t feel like a human being anymore – I always feel like I’m playing a role”
What does that mean to you?
I don’t know. The thing is, I’ve been trying to wait to talk about the sexuality thing, honestly. Because I do think it’s easy enough, if you look hard enough, to find out what my sexuality is. I did actually want to use this interview as the right time to say it. Basically, with my sexuality, it’s just … I’m just going to say this. I had a boyfriend for four years. That’s what I’ll say about my sexuality. With the picture I posted it was more like, “I’m about to come out because I look so fucking hot.” But with this record I am talking about being more sincere and I think a brush that I’m always painted with is that people will always call me a queerbaiter. And I’m not! Like, I was the original gay boy on Tumblr, you know what I mean?
I think the thing is that because I exist as what I am I’m going to get it. But I’ve done everything: I’ve fucked boys and I’ve fucked girls. But obviously you can’t have club references like me and be completely straight. You know what I’m saying? You can’t, sorry.
I find the queerbaiting conversation really interesting. Primarily because often when people say “queerbaiting” there’s no actual baiting. It’s just a gay guy finds a guy who they assume is not gay hot and so they feel baited. Even if the person wasn’t specifically appealing to gays but was just trying to be hot to anyone, in general.
Yeah. What I find confusing, and this is with everybody not just me: why is someone posting their body or flexing just considered to be queerbaiting because you are posting parts of your body you find sexy. If you find yourself sexy, your ass, your back, your hands and you post it and other people find it sexy, that’s on them. That’s not on you. I don’t think so.
I get there’s a conversation about other things that I’m not going to get into. But also I kind of like when men or women do whatever they want and dress however they want, straight, gay or whatever. But the reason I’m being a little bit more clear is because in some of the promo for the new record, I’m kissing boys and girls. So I feel like I should be clear because I really could be painted with that brush.
I think that’s fair! I think if you’re actually committing like a gay act for promotional purposes, without meaning it, that definitely can be baiting.
So here’s the thing: if you’re hot, man or woman, I’m going to try it. For me, I don’t give a fuck. I’m here on this earth for what, like, 20 more years? Some figure of time. Maybe tomorrow! But I’m going to fuck who I want to fuck. That’s what I’m going to do. And people on the internet are not going to dictate anything about it.
They aren’t going to make me feel guilty for feeling sexy. No one should feel guilty for being sexy, that’s a weird concept. I’m not going to feel weird about having a good time – sue me.
Babymorroco’s latest single, ‘Babestation’, is out now.
The post Babymorocco: “No one should feel guilty for being sexy” appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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