Mz Neon Announces Second Ep of 2020 'Queen Hyena, Vol. 2' (out September 25th on Venusia Records))
Teams with No Wave Icon Lydia Lunch
For Politically Provocative Lead Single
Genre-bending EP Also Features Jennifer Finch (L7) and Sylvia Black
Cover art for Queen Hyena, Vol. 2 EP (photography & art direction by Mz Neon)
Click here to download cover art and artist photos
Click here to watch the PAPER Magazine-premiered documentary “Mz Neon”
Los Angeles, CA (September 17, 2020)─Los Angeles-based trans rapper, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Mz Neon is set to release her second project of the year, titled Queen Hyena, Vol. 2, this September 25th on Venusia Records.
The half-Dominican/half-French Canadian artist uses performance and lyrics to express her sexuality as a trans woman and defy misconceptions about herself and anyone who identifies outside of the binary spectrum. A lyrical provocateur, Neon confronts issues of identity, sexuality, politics, spirituality, and lived experiences as a trans-femme-fatale.
The upcoming four-track Vol. 2 EP--which Neon wrote, produced, and performed almost all the instrumentation (including guitar, bass, and synthesizer), with mastering by Mike Wells--features the poignantly provocative lead single “Cop Fucker” (feat. pioneering artist and No Wave icon Lydia Lunch). Other features on the EP include guest vocals from Jennifer Finch (songwriter, musician, and photographer most notably known as the bassist for Los Angeles grunge pioneers, L7) on “Be My Bitch” and from the multi-faceted musician, producer, and restlessly creative femme fatale, Sylvia Black, on “Let’s Fuck ‘Til the End of Time.” Full track list below.
Available to pre-order now on Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Google Play, Queen Hyena, Vol. 2 will be available digitally on all streaming platforms and digital retailers come release day. Accompanying the arrival of the new EP will be the release of the official music video for “Cop Fucker” in the coming weeks (date TBA).
The Vol. 2 EP is part of a series of projects from Neon in 2020 and comes on the heels of her rap debut Queen Hyena, Vol. 1 (released digitally and on cassette May 1st from Venusia Records), a genre-bending juxtaposition of no wave, trap, industrial, and punk infused hip-hop featuring the single “Pussy Stick” ─ a fiercely unapologetic rap opus addressing her unabashed ownership of an anatomically-alternative yet dignified and powerful feminine identity.
“Cop Fucker” picks up from the radically empowered and transcendental narrative of “Pussy Stick” and delivers a thoughtful yet sensational and subversive narrative of political satire. The industrial tinged, trap-heavy single addresses the systematically nefarious legacy of institutional police corruption and bigotry. The track features Lunch’s signature smoky, laid back, yet visceral vocal texture on the hook.
“My sound is a hybridization of punk rock, hip-hop, industrial and post-genre dystopia,” says Neon whose storytelling weaves a complex yet engaging and voyeuristic narrative throughout both Queen Hyena EPs. From overcoming obstacles and societal fetishization as a transgender woman, to Orwellian portrayals of post-consumerist dystopian landscapes, intermixed with occult laced domination and subverted religious idolatry…there’s truly something for everyone in Neon’s music.
2019 was a breakout year for Neon. After the demo release of her single “Pussy Stick,” PAPER Magazine premiered the eponymously titled documentary Mz Neon (directed by Adam Amengual and Derek Amengual) in May, documenting her journey as a transgender rapper. In their profile piece, PAPER’s Michael Love Michael proclaimed (5/19/19), “Mz Neon, musician, actress, DJ, and bicoastal underground punk icon, is undergoing a new transformation…she released ‘Pussy Stick,’ a confessional, rock-flavored foray into rap. In it, Neon skewers ‘the motherfuckers who did me wrong,’ while celebrating the sacredness of raw trans femme sexuality. It's impossible to argue with the power of lyrics like: ‘Dick hard in a thong like a champion/Never strapped on.’ ‘Pussy Stick’…represents both a bold reclamation of self — a theme present throughout Neon's career — and a departure from her heavier rock-laced synth-pop music. But make no mistake, Neon is punk to her core.” Followed by UK’s Gay Times magazine featuring Neon on the cover of their 500th issue of Amplify (Sept. 2019), profiling her among six other “trans goddesses” (including Love Bailey and Zackary Drucker) who "challenge the status quo, living their lives authentically and inspiring generations of trans and cisgender people to embrace their truth.” Neon also performed at Melbourne, Australia’s Changes Festival in July 2019 and participated in a panel discussion alongside Lydia Lunch.
Mz Neon has a story to tell ─ from growing up a loner queer kid in the suburbs of Boston, to living in New York City for over a decade and working at style icon Patricia Field’s eponymous boutique while playing in a number of bands; up to now, officially releasing her debut rap EP series in 2020, with plans of releasing a full-length project this winter. For more info, follow Mz Neon on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play. Plus, fans can find Mz Neon merch here.
Track Listing – Queen Hyena, Vol. 2
1. Cop Fucker feat. Lydia Lunch
2. Be My Bitch feat. Jennifer Finch and Celeste XXX
3. Myra Breckinridge
4. Let’s Fuck ‘Til the End of Time feat. Sylvia Black
About Mz Neon:
Mz Neon is a genre-bending musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and multimedia artist using performance and lyrics to express her sexuality as a trans woman and defy misconceptions about herself and anyone who identifies outside of the binary spectrum - both gender wise and ideologically. A lyrical provocateur, Neon confronts issues of identity, sexuality, politics, spirituality, and lived experiences as a trans-femme-fatale. She is a triple threat of sharp wit, hypnotic sensuality, and musical virtuosity. Neon commands an elegantly tough, yet unapologetic ownership, of her visceral vulnerability ─ on and off the stage ─ to local and international audiences alike.
Born in Boston, MA, Neon moved to New York City after high school where she spent over a decade performing in a number of bands and working in fashion as a couturier, before relocating to Los Angeles in 2017. Neon performs extensively in the U.S. and internationally, being billed alongside acts such as Hercules & Love Affair, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Azealia Banks, Martin Rev of Suicide, and Egyptian Lover, among others.
For more info, click here for an interview with Mz Neon discussing her sound, meaning behind the title of her Queen Hyena series, themes and topics in her music, instruments she plays, other art forms she’s into, her creative and writing process, what performing live means to her, who/what has influenced her, her connection to Beyoncé, Debbie Harry and Sex and the City, and the journey she’s been on ─ from growing up a loner queer kid in the suburbs of Boston, to living in New York City for over a decade and working at style icon Patricia Field’s eponymous boutique while playing in a number of bands; up to now, fully embracing her experience in Los Angeles and officially releasing her debut rap EP series in 2020.
Sample of praise:
“A cultural icon…an incredibly creative creature, who has from a very early age defied any kind of gender conformity or any kind of pigeonholing that people would want to put you in.”
- Lydia Lunch, The Lydian Spin Podcast, 5/1/20
“…A punk rock showstopper…”
- Love Bailey, Flaunt, 3/9/20
“She’s five-foot-four-inches of teased-out Hollywood glamour that stares down the blond bombshell archetype, then dropkicks it. But rhymes come just as effortlessly as fierce-femme style to this up-and-coming artist.”
- Micco Caporale, Audiofemme, 5/7/19
“Mz. Neon is a rock star in the truest sense of the word. A Boston-based punk with roots in the hardcore scene…her foray into rap is putting all your preconceived notions on notice.”
- Noah Rubin, Merry Jane, 6/25/19
“…brimming with punk energy…”
- Rosa Costanza, Gay Times’ “Amplify” (UK), Sept. ‘19
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