{"id":374999,"date":"2024-10-15T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T07:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=374999"},"modified":"2024-10-22T16:35:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T15:35:27","slug":"babymorocco-interview-sexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/music\/babymorocco-interview-sexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Babymorocco: \u201cNo one should feel guilty for being sexy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cult musician talks queerbaiting, coming out and being \u201cthe original gay boy on Tumblr\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

WORDS MIKELLE STREET\r\n<\/strong>PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLIST IRIS LUZ\r\n<\/strong>LIGHTING ALEX RADOTA<\/strong><\/pre>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/pre>\n
 <\/p>\n
<\/p>
Babymorocco is sexy. For him, that\u2019s a forgone conclusion. He wields that attribute, actually. He\u2019s got a big mass in general \u2013\u00a0 \u201cbig thighs and a big butt\u201d as he explains to me over Zoom. Later, he gives me a few flexing poses to illustrate a point he\u2019s making. Becoming conscious of \u2013 and manipulating \u2013 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.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a certain kind of power that I became obsessed with,\u201d he says of those early online days. \u201cYou know, the validation you get from looking sexy.\u201d 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 \u201cEveryone\u201d where he walks through the streets of New York City as people turn and stare.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone wants to look like me, everyone wants to talk like me,\u201d he says in the hook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Just over decade ago, Babymorocco went internationally viral <\/span>as Clayton Pettet <\/span>when <\/span>he announced <\/span><\/a>he would lose his virginity in a project titled \u201cArt School Stole My Virginity.\u201d The story of this 19-year-old CSM student\u2019s project was covered incessantly for a year by multiple outlets, <\/span>ending in a performance<\/span><\/a> that contended with ideas of sexuality, stigma, fame and infamy amongst other things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the time I probably existed as the most famous [I\u2019ve ever been]. It was a drug \u2013 I crave it now all the time in a way,\u201d Morocco explains of the pivotal era. \u201cNow, each new character is like I\u2019m writing a new book for attention. But that\u2019s what I took from it: I can come up with these concepts and realise them and people will enjoy it.\u201d His music has become the ink to write those characters.<\/span><\/p>\n
And enjoy it fans have, with the hedonistic party boy that is Babymorocco unleashed through singles like \u201cCrazy Cheap\u201d and the newly released \u201cBabestation\u201d. But on his upcoming album he introduces us to even more characters. <\/span>It all serves to build out the world of Babymorrocco with a realness that\u2019s more true to life. \u201cI think it\u2019s the most honest work I\u2019ve put out,\u201d Morocco says of the project, expected out before the end of the year. \u201cI wanted to show I have more emotion than just narcissism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/em><\/p>
You mentioned you\u2019re a British boy through and through \u2013 looking at your aesthetics, I\u2019m curious if you consider yourself a bit of a \u201cchav\u201d or affiliated with that culture? I hope that\u2019s not offensive, it\u2019s my understanding some people are reclaiming it.<\/b><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But I know what you mean. It\u2019s interesting to hear you say that because I never hear Americans say it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Yeah, I think for me I\u2019ve always understood it from more of just an aesthetic, from a fashion perspective. Like a tracksuit and t-shirts.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019 emo stuff but the colourful version. That, mixed with the chavvy thing \u2013 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
“Art school was the fake version of me, the real version of me is what I am right now”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that\u2019s shaping the artist you are now?<\/b><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019ve drank since I was a kid \u2014 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\u2019ve 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 \u201cserious artist\u201d 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.<\/span><\/p>\n
What does that mean? Are you referring to pretentiousness or\u2026?<\/b><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s a mix. There\u2019s 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\u2019m very earnest and I live with my heart on my sleeve \u2013 my new record is very that. But in art school I was thinking I had to be Marina Abramovi\u0107 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\u2019t look at that time as a time when I was very happy or anything.<\/span><\/p>\n
Even though you weren\u2019t happy do you think it had a lasting impact on what you do now?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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\u2019t feel like a human being anymore \u2013\u00a0I always feel like I\u2019m playing a role since then. Even though I feel like the most authentic now, there\u2019s still moments where I\u2019m like, \u201cWell since I\u2019m doing this, I need to play into that part of my personality and leave this out.\u201d So as much as I feel like I\u2019m closer to where I was as a child, there\u2019s still elements where I feel like I\u2019m performing. But that\u2019s music: it goes hand-in-hand.<\/span><\/p>\n
While there you put on this super-viral performance piece supposedly about losing your 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?<\/b><\/h3>\n
Totally. Like 40 scholars in America wrote about me, there was an essay that was titled \u201c<\/span>What Fucking Clayton Pettet Teaches Us About Cultural Rhetorics<\/span><\/a>\u201d. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n
At the time I was so young and the level of attention that had was so insane. I\u00a0 didn\u2019t even know how to make sense of it, I still kind of don\u2019t. I had never had sex or any sexual experience when I did that, so it was such a weird thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Maybe in the future I can bring that kind of performance into my music. But not now.<\/span><\/p>\n
“In the UK we could do with more sexy male pop stars, for sure”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Being sexy is obviously a large part of that brand. Where does that come from?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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\u2019s part of me [but] I feel like each project should be different bits of you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re not from the UK, some people just didn\u2019t get that first idea. They just didn\u2019t 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\u2019re a gay guy retweeting my music other gay guys are saying \u201cOh, he\u2019s not going to fuck you if you listen to his track.\u201d And like, who knows? I could!<\/span><\/p>\n
So right now, with the sexuality thing I’m trying to find a balance where there\u2019s an element of seriousness to it. I think it was really easy to rely on for a while.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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\u2019t?<\/b><\/h3>\n
That\u2019s exactly how it went. And there will always be elements of my shit that will be sexy but at the beginning I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t give a fuck, I\u2019m going to utilise all of this\u201d. But now it\u2019s more of me thinking I\u2019ve 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\u2019t 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 \u201cOh my god.\u201d It\u2019s a prison that I made for myself being a sexy boy. That sounds so conceited but it\u2019s definitely something you can see.<\/span><\/p>\n
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.]<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/em><\/p>
What have you been listening to, or thinking about, in terms of other music?<\/b><\/h3>\n
I was listening to a lot of French electro and there\u2019s 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\u2019s a part that\u2019s like \u201cWhat you doin\u2019 when the lights go down?\u201d and she\u2019s like \u201cI\u2019m in the club.\u201d That kind of stuff is super powerful to me and I want to bring that back to the UK sphere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/b><\/h3>\n
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 \u201cJe Veux Tu Voir\u201d and it\u2019s all about the most dirty shit but I was singing it as a kid and didn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
On your most recent Instagram post you wrote that you\u2019re about to come out. What is that about?<\/b><\/h3>\n
Should I come out now?<\/span><\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t feel like a human being anymore \u2013 I always feel like I\u2019m playing a role”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What does that mean to you?<\/b><\/h3>\n
I don\u2019t know. The thing is, I\u2019ve been trying to wait to talk about the sexuality thing, honestly. Because I do think it\u2019s 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\u2019s just \u2026 I\u2019m just going to say this. I had a boyfriend for four years. That\u2019s what I\u2019ll say about my sexuality. With the picture I posted it was more like, \u201cI\u2019m about to come out because I look so fucking hot.\u201d But with this record I am talking about being more sincere and I think a brush that I\u2019m always painted with is that people will always call me a queerbaiter. And I\u2019m not! Like, I was the original gay boy on Tumblr, you know what I mean?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I think the thing is that because I exist as what I am I\u2019m going to get it. But I\u2019ve done everything: I\u2019ve fucked boys and I\u2019ve fucked girls. But obviously you can\u2019t have club references like me and be completely straight. You know what I\u2019m saying? You can\u2019t, sorry.<\/span><\/p>\n
I find the queerbaiting conversation really interesting. Primarily because often when people say \u201cqueerbaiting” there’s no actual baiting. It\u2019s just a gay guy finds a guy who they assume is not gay hot and so they feel baited. Even if the person wasn\u2019t specifically appealing to gays but was just trying to be hot to anyone, in general.<\/b><\/h3>\n
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\u2019s on them. That\u2019s not on you. I don\u2019t think so.<\/span><\/p>\n
I get there\u2019s a conversation about other things that I\u2019m 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\u2019m being a little bit more clear is because in some of the promo for the new record, I\u2019m kissing boys and girls. So I feel like I should be clear because I really could be painted with that brush.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s fair! I think if you\u2019re actually committing like a gay act for promotional purposes, without meaning it, that definitely can be baiting. <\/b><\/h3>\n
So here\u2019s the thing: if you\u2019re hot, man or woman, I\u2019m going to try it. For me, I don\u2019t give a fuck. I\u2019m here on this earth for what, like, 20 more years? Some figure of time. Maybe tomorrow! But I\u2019m going to fuck who I want to fuck. That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. And people on the internet are not going to dictate anything about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
They aren\u2019t going to make me feel guilty for feeling sexy. No one should feel guilty for being sexy, that\u2019s a weird concept. I\u2019m not going to feel weird about having a good time \u2013 sue me.<\/span><\/p>\n
Babymorroco’s latest single, ‘Babestation’, is out now.<\/h4>\n