Quanah Style
Quanah Style | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 35–36)[1] Moberly Lake, British Columbia |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Genres | Electronic |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2012-Present |
| Labels | Wet Trax[2] |
| Associated acts |
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| Website | thenapoleoncollective |
Quanah Style is a Cree two-spirit, transgender drag queen, musician, dancer, and actor from Victoria, British Columbia.
Early life[edit]
Quanah Style was born in the Cree tradition of the Saulteau First Nation on Moberly Lake, British Columbia.[3] In an interview with The Discourse Magazine, Style mentions that she enjoyed growing up in the Saulteau First Nation and cites her Aunties and the other outgoing women in her community as a source of positivity and inspiration.[4] In an article on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Style commented that she "grew up as a little boy who always dreamed of being a performer, who always dreamed of being onstage."[5] Style first became aware that she was transgender at the age of thirteen, two years later she started transitioning, and at the age of eighteen she had a gender confirmation party.[6][1]
Career[edit]
Film appearances[edit]
In a 2019 Telus StoryHive competition, Quanah Style was one of the thirty finalists that applied to the film industry development program who received $20,000 in order to make a proposed film. The program was specifically looking for Indigenous storytellers, and the theme of the competition was contemporary stories told through the lens of ancient cultures. Style's proposed film was entitled Dance With Me. The plot of the film follows a young boy who becomes captivated by powwow music and the jingle dress during their elementary school years and uses the music and dancing as a way of expressing themselves. The film decolonizes gender roles by exploring the history, culture, and traditions behind a two-spirit identity. The intended result is to educate the audience and encourage acceptance by demystifying an otherwise unfamiliar experience, which is done by showing the main character's experience making their first jingle dress and attending their first regalia. The film also delves into the stories of prairie elders who express the meaning of the traditional dance and teach essential lessons to the next generation of two-spirit leaders. The documentary's story was originally spoken in Cree and later translated into English.[3] Style commented on the film saying that it was a way to "explore identity, what it means to be two-spirit (trans), and dance through cultural teachings about the jingle dress."[3] According to an interview with The Discourse Magazine, the film is an autobiographical story of Style's experience growing up in the Saulteau First Nation and her interest in dancing jingle instead of dancing grass. Style reminisces on how she used to dance jingle at home when no one could see her, but now she is learning how to properly dance jingle as an adult.[4][7][8]
Season two of Canada's a Drag features thirteen new performers in addition to the nine performers from season one,[9] and Style is the focus of the twelfth episode in the season.[10]
Live performances[edit]
Style has opened for many drag stars in Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles such as Buffy St. Marie, Lady Bunny, Bif Naked, and Peaches.[11][6] The Huffington Post compared Canada's a Drag to the United States' RuPaul’s Drag Race and noted Style as one "of Canada's most interesting, entertaining and jaw-dropping queens."[12] Style is the "drag mother" of another Vancouver-based drag queen named Ilona Verley, who cites Style as a mentor in discovering what it means to be two-spirit and how to be true to her Indigenous identity.[13] Verley even modified one of Style's jingle dresses for one of her drag performances.[14] Style is also good friends with drag queen Scarlett Bobo.[15] Style also travelled around Canada in 2016 to perform and celebrate at Pride festivals and marches.[1]
Other work[edit]
Style performed "Give Me Life" with Diana Boss on the soundtrack for the Queens directed by Pat Mills.[15][16]
Style was the star of the docuseries Quanah: Trans Op.[7][6] She performed in the role of Luna in the Zee Zee Theatre production entitled Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women directed by Fay Nass.[17] Style was the producer and screenwriter for the DeadCENTER Film Festival 2020 film entitled I Am Me.[18] Style is featured on an episode of Oil Patch Queens.[15] Style was featured on FLARE Magazine for beauty and skin care recommendations.[19] Style was featured in an episode of Unreserved where she discusses her career in entertainment and what transformation means to her.[20][21]
Music career[edit]
Style began her musical career with The Napoleon Collective, which released a self-titled album in 2012.[22]
In 2015, Style began a solo project, and released her first single, "Beat of My Heart" followed by her first extended play, Beat of My Heart: The Remixes. Her second single, "Drip Sweat" was released in 2015, and was followed in early 2016, by the album and extended play entitled Drip Sweat: The Remixes.
Style released another album in 2016 and filmed a music video for the title track entitled "Love Will Set You Free." In 2017, Style released the single entitled "The Diana Boss Remixes" and in 2018 she released the single "Go Off."
In 2019, Style released two promotional singles, "Where Do We Go From Here?"[23] and "All Night." She released the single "Where Do We Go From Here?: The Remixes" later the same year. Style released her debut self-titled album in 2020 followed shortly by her sophomore album entitled House of Style. Style was featured on the 100th episode of Reclaimed where they played "Love Will Set You Free" and "Where Do We Go From Here? (Boy Pussy's Disco House Mix)."[24] Style's self-titled album was selected by Billboard as one of "The 10 Best Dance Albums of 2020."[2]
Personal life[edit]
Quanah Style is two-spirit transgender Cree woman.[4] Style's father, Art Napoleon, is an award-winning television personality and musician, and her sister, Niska Napoleon is also a musician.[3] Style is now living in Vancouver and is a transgender performer and musician.[11]
Filmography[edit]
Web series[edit]
- Dance With Me (2019)
- Quanah: Trans Op (2019)[25]
- I Am Me (2020)
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- The Napoleon Collective (2012) (With Art Napoleon and Niska Napoleon, as The Napoleon Collective)
- Drip Sweat: The Remixes (2016)
- Love Will Set You Free (2016)
- Quanah Style (2020)[2]
- House of Style (2020)
Extended plays[edit]
- Beat of My Heart: The Remixes (2015)
- Drip Sweat: The Remixes (2016)
Singles[edit]
- Beat of My Heart (2015)
- Drip Sweat (2015)
- The Diana Boss Remixes (2017)
- Go Off (2018)
- Where Do We Go From Here? (2019)
- All Night (2019)
- Where Do We Go From Here?: The Remixes (2019)
- Savage (2020)
Guest appearances[edit]
- Scarlett BoBo - "Freak" from #BoBosexuality: The ReRelease (2015)
- Diana Boss - "Give Me Life" from Give Me Life (2017)[5]
- Danny Dymond - "Turn It Up (Your My Bish)" from Nightlife, Love & Liberty (2018)
- Danny Dymond - "Turn It Up [Your My Bish] - Gr00vement Remix" from Nightlife, Love & Liberty (2018)
- Diana Boss - "Give Me Life - dj genderfluid Remix" from Turn It Up [You're My Bish] (Gr00vement Remix) (2019)
Compilation appearances[edit]
- "Drip Sweat - Boy Pussy's Acid House Mix" from Wet Bangers, Vol. 1 (2016) (with Boy Pussy)
- "Beat of My Heart - SpekrFreks Remix" from Wet Bangers, Vol. 2 (2017) (with Spekrfreks)
- "Love Will Set You Free - Boy Pussy's 6 a.m. Mix" from Wet Bangers, Vol. 3 (2018) (with Boy Pussy)
- "Come Inside My House - dj genderfluid remix" from Wet Heaters: Solar Red Edition (2020) (with dj genderfluid)
- "You Gotta Go - Boy Pussy's Bathroom Stall Mix" from Wet Heaters: Solar Red Edition (2020) (with myst milano. and Boy Pussy)
- "Where Do We Go From Here? - Boy Pussy's Disco House Mix" from Wet Heaters: Solar Red Edition (2020) (with Boy Pussy)
- "You Gotta Go - Boy Pussy's Trashy Mix" from Wet Heaters: Hyper Blue Edition (2020) (with myst milano. and Boy Pussy)
- "Come Inside My House - Gendered Dekonstruktion Remix" from Wet Heaters: Acid Yellow Edition (2020) (with Melleefresh and Gendered Dekonstruktion)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kirby, Molly Gibson (August 5, 2016). "Influential Trans Singer Quanah Style to Perform at Kelowna Pride". KelownaNow. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "The 10 Best Dance Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Peebles, Frank (February 9, 2019). "Takla Trap House Chosen As StoryHive Finalist". Prince George Citizen. Glacier Community Media. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Morgan, Brielle (May 8, 2019). "This Indigenous Mom's Two-Front Fight Might Be Gaining Ground". The Discourse News. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Warner, Andrea (June 8, 2020). "A Pride Playlist: Orville Peck, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Peaches, More". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Knegt, Peter (February 13, 2019). "She's Quanah Style And She's Unapologetically Blazing A Trail For Powerhouse Transgender Drag Queens". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Peebles, Frank (June 15, 2016). "Singer Draws On Personal Pain". Prince George Citizen. Glacier Community Media. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Why this matters to me: Indigenous creators share a photo of themselves with an item of meaning, and a message". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Knegt, Peter (February 6, 2019). "Shantay, We Stayed: The Trailer For Canada's A Drag Season 2 Is Here — And It's Beyond Fierce". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The True North Strong And Fierce: Watch The Entire Second Season Of Canada's A Drag Right Now". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 Takeuchi, Craig (February 1, 2019). "True North Strong And Fierce: Vancouver Drag Queens Among Performers Spotlighted In Canada's A Drag". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Garel, Connor (June 28, 2019). "Here Comes 'Drag Race Canada' Is Now Casting (Plus 6 Queens You Should Know)". Huffington Post Canada. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Ritchie, Kevin (August 14, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race: Vancouver queen Ilona Verley on Indigenous representation and that ass critique". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Allaire, Christian (August 31, 2020). "Indigenous Queen Ilona Verley On Bringing Two-Spirit Representation To Canada's Drag Race". Vogue. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Villeneuve, Phil (June 21, 2020). "12 Queer Or 2 Spirit Artists To Celebrate On National Indigenous People's Day". Yohomo: Toronto Queer Culture Now. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Villeneuve, Phil (June 18, 2020). "Queens Bring Drag And Drama To Network Television". Yohomo: Toronto Queer Culture Now. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Smith, Janet (March 16, 2020). "Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women Was An Act Of Resilience, In More Ways Than One". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver Free Press. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Pickering, Brittany (June 16, 2020). "deadCenter 2020: Female Directors". Oklahoma Gazette. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Louzado, Joel (June 25, 2020). "6 Canadian Drag Performers On Taking Care Of Their Skin". Flare Magazine. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Johnson, Falen (May 26, 2019). "Unreserved With Falen Johnson | 'I Own It': Transgender Drag Queen Quanah Style On Living Her Dream". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Transformation: Making Change To Challenge Perceptions". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 24, 2019. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Peebles, Frank (June 15, 2016). "Singer Draws On Personal Pain". Prince George Citizen. Glacier Community Media. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Celebration, Resilience, and Resistance: A Pride 2021 Playlist by ELLE Canada". Elle Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ↑ Martineau, Jarrett. "Dance Party (100th Episode)!". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "'I Own It': Transgender Drag Queen Quanah Style On Living Her Dream", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2019, archived from the original on November 19, 2020, retrieved November 16, 2020 Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
- Quanah Style discography at Discogs
- Official bandcamp of Wet Trax
- Official website of The Napoleon Collective
- Official website of the Saulteau First Nation
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