Life According to Cazwell

Men in thongs, Latin flare, and dance music—what more could we ask for? Openly gay rapper and songwriter Cazwell released a new track in October called “Duo Lingo” featuring Tom Bike and DJ Mad Science. This is his third single to combine Latino flavor and electronic drops. “The idea of the song came from when I was using the Duo Lingo app on my iPhone, trying to learn Spanish and failing miserably,” he said. “At the time, Tom Bike and I had been talking about doing a song together. I thought it would be cool if I did my part in English, and he did his in Spanish. ‘Duo Lingo’ sounded like a good working title to start with.” Launching his career in the New York underground during the late 90s, Cazwell has over 10 million YouTube/VEVO views and has amassed over one million digital streams and downloads with a steady flow of danceable hip-hop and club tracks. Hits include “Ice Cream Truck,” “I Seen Beyoncé at Burger King,” and “Cakes.” The music video for “Duo Lingo” was filmed at the legendary FuBar in West Hollywood and was directed by Brad Hammer. It features a slew of recognizable faces and bodies including adult film stars Cesar Xes, Beaux Banks, Fernando Figuero, and Rudy Yo. Most of the boys in the video are West Hollywood dancers where Cazwell DJs, and he wanted to make sure the bar looked like a hole-in-the-wall dive bar. “As grimy and as ratchet as possible,” he said. Cazwell also wanted “Duo Lingo” to pay homage to the world’s male go-go dancers. “The song is a strip club song, so I wanted them in the video to be lap dancers,” he said. “We all have a hustle. Some people get their hustle on social media or on the go-go box, and some people do it on Wall Street. I respect everyone’s grind. These boys have a lot of discipline and work very hard. I think society treats male dancers differently than female dancers. Women get more disrespected in the strip club game. Male go-go dancers in New York City are just like anybody else trying to survive and never saying no to work.” So far, “Duo Lingo” has been well received by the general public, and Cazwell was excited to see the track evolve. He and the cast close out the music video with a celebratory salsa dance performance. “My lead dancer, Jon Silva,  helped me execute the idea,” he says. “I love videos where all the cast comes together at the end, and I knew finishing the video with a cute dance that got everyone involved would wrap the video up in a nice little bow.” In addition to “Duo Lingo,” Cazwell launched a new podcast over the summer with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Miss Peppermint called “It’s a Mess.” “It’s an advice podcast with no shortage of people with problems,” Cazwell joked. “We get fun questions like how to tell your coworker that they have bad breath or how to get revenge on the boss that f*cked you over, but we also get some questions that are extremely serious, like how to raise a trans child and questions on gay adoption.” Episodes for season two aired in early November. Cazwell and Peppermint have been best friends for over 20 years. They have collaborated on several projects, and Cazwell is excited to host “It’s a Mess” with her.

Related article: Sound Up! Ang Low “Since Peppermint got on Drag Race, she has been very hard to nail down,” he said. “I wanted to do a podcast for a long time, and I figured I could do one with her because she’s not obligated to hang out with me! Joking aside, Pep is very sweet and tends to find common ground when there is a conflict, whereas I tend to be more argumentative. That is why we work so neatly together. The show is playful, calamitous, and intended to offer a good chuckle, with the two hosts often having very different views on how listeners should solve their problems. There is a serious side to it, too.”

“Malcolm X once said that the most disrespected, most unprotected, and most neglected person in America is a black woman. I believe you can go one step further and say it is a black, trans woman,” Cazwell said.

Cazwell believes this podcast is also another way for Peppermint, a trans person of color, to get her voice heard. “Trans people of color do not get their voices heard enough in the gay community,” he said. “Thankfully, due to the resilience of the trans community, it has gotten better compared to years ago. Malcolm X once said that the most disrespected, most unprotected, and most neglected person in America is a black woman. I believe you can go one step further and say it is a black, trans woman.” For more information on “It’s a Mess,” visit foreverdogproductions.com. Episodes can be downloaded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all popular podcast platforms. “Duo Lingo” is available on iTunes, Spotify, and all major digital retailers via Cazwell’s own imprint, SNOWCONE NYC. More information can also be found at Cazwell.com.

Photos by :: Baz Here