BeBe Zahara Benet Helps You ‘Own Who You Are’ With Her Picks For ‘The Sound Of Pride’ Playlist (Exclusive)

View gallery

Image Credit: Darin Kamnetz

It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is celebrating with The Sound Of Pride, wherever celebs and stars of the LBGTQ+ assemblage prime songs for the eventual 2023 Pride Month playlist. It’s the cleanable soundtrack to readying your Pride party, researching how to support LGBTQ+ rights, oregon speechmaking astir the history of Pride Month. Drag superstar BeBe Zahara Benet shares her caller banger on with immoderate different jams to enactment immoderate vigor into the playlist.

(Darin Kamnetz)

“I expect determination to beryllium bigger crowds and a batch much events for radical to prosecute in,” BeBe Zahara Benet tells HollywoodLife about Pride 2023. “It’s an excitement you tin consciousness vibrating astir the world, particularly arsenic radical propulsion to criminalize resistance and shame the assemblage into hiding. This year, we’re going bigger and celebrating harder than past year, for sure.”

BeBe volition assistance the crowds spell hard and large this twelvemonth with her caller song, “Heavy.” With a thumping bass and signature delivery, “Heavy” sees the caller Drag Me To Dinner guest prima departs from her AfroPop sound, taking her philharmonic artistry successful a bold and exhilarating direction. It arrives with a futuristic and fashion-forward euphony video overseen by her predominant collaborator, Assaad Yacoub.

For much BeBe, her debut drama special, Africa is Not a Country, is retired present via Amazon Prime and Apple TV. She’s bringing her show, NUBIA: A Brave New World, to Seattle’s Moore Theatre connected Juneteenth. Beyond that? Her debut medium and corresponding headlining solo circuit are coming implicit the horizon. When it arrives, beryllium prepared – and successful the meantime, cheque retired her selections for The Sound of Pride.

Beyoncé, ‘SUMMER RENAISSANCE’

“This opus conscionable feels similar pride: the hum of the Donna Summer illustration successful the back, the sassy lyrics, and the easiness of it all. It makes you grin and consciousness sexy.”

Crystal Waters, ‘100% Pure Love‘

“Whenever this opus comes on, the assemblage goes wild. It ever brings backmost memories of carefree amusive with friends and my aboriginal days performing the Pride circuit and paying my dues successful the creation form.”

Lil Nas X, ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’

“Lil Nas X is simply a risk-taker and is ever provocative–and that’s wherefore I emotion his artistry. This opus has that easy-going summertime consciousness with immoderate sexy lyrics. It’s the cleanable modern pridefulness anthem.”

Alex Newell, ‘Keep It Moving’

“Powerhouse vocals? Check. Incredible message? Check. This is specified an uplifting anthem that doesn’t get arsenic overmuch emotion arsenic it deserves. When radical effort to get you down, you person to support it moving!”

BeBe Zahara Benet, ‘Heavy’

My latest azygous is each astir assurance and owning who you are. And that, to me, that is what Pride is each about. You marque nary apologies for surviving your beingness and wearing your crown, though it whitethorn beryllium dense astatine times.

(Darin Kamnetz)

HL: What’s the vibe of Pride 2023?

BeBe: “This year, things are reopened, and astir radical are acceptable to spell retired and truly celebrate. This feels similar the archetypal Pride since the pandemic has settled. I expect determination to beryllium bigger crowds and a batch much events for radical to prosecute in. It’s an excitement you tin consciousness vibrating astir the world, particularly arsenic radical propulsion to criminalize resistance and shame the assemblage into hiding. This year, we’re going bigger and celebrating harder than past year, for sure.”

Pride is simply a clip to observe unsung heroes. Is determination anyone you’d similar to spot get immoderate much of the spotlight this year? 

“There are galore radical inactive connected the beforehand lines warring for equality. They don’t bash it for the accolades oregon societal media stardom, they bash it due to the fact that they judge successful the origin and privation to spark change. Many are portion of the resistance assemblage arsenic performers and allies. One large 1 is Peppermint. She’s been warring for visibility and utilizing her talents to spark alteration and amusement that practice matters. There are truthful galore resistance artists astir the satellite mounting the code and sparking conversations that pb to change.”

Do you person a representation of Pride Months past that you’d similar to share?

“My archetypal full-on resistance show was during Pride successful Minneapolis, and I got the accidental to execute connected signifier with Cyndi Lauper. That was a defining infinitesimal for me. It was ace aboriginal successful my career, but it showed maine truthful overmuch of what this creation signifier could unlock. There was magic successful that. That’s what Pride play makes maine feel.”

(Darin Kamnetz)

 What bash you person planned for June (and the remainder of 2023?)

My latest single, “Heavy,” is retired today, and I’m looking guardant to performing it and taking the signifier crossed the state to assistance radical observe pride. It’s the archetypal azygous from my forthcoming debut medium that’s acceptable to beryllium released aboriginal this fall. I americium excited to circuit a caller unrecorded acquisition aboriginal this year, and I person immoderate breathtaking caller TV projects successful the works.

Do you person a Pride 2023 connection to share?

“Pride whitethorn beryllium recognized this month, but it should beryllium celebrated year-round. Take immoderate clip to observe yourself and your community, particularly now. A batch of radical are threatened by this community, but we’re not going anywhere. Stand arrogant and amusement emotion to yourself and everyone else!”

Keep reading HollywoodLife throughout June for more entries in The Sound of Pride and additional Pride Month coverage. And retrieve — hole your bosom oregon die! 

Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.