Today we’d like to introduce you to Lupe Dragon.
Hi Lupe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been a singer, I used to annoy my family singing along to the Millennium album by the Backstreet Boys. Once I started school, I was really active in choir and even did band for a little bit and learned how to play the trumpet. I ultimately stuck with singing and picked up the guitar around 12 or 13 years old and taught myself how to play off of YouTube videos. I took both guitar and vocal lessons for a bit but my parents couldn’t afford to keep up with them anymore so I continued to learn online how to play. When I turned 18 I realized very quickly that I wanted to make something out of myself… I wanted to put out a project and work out of a studio setting and really get my footing with music. That’s how my first EP Can’t Even Stand It came to be. My music and myself included has changed a lot. The way I think about the music industry has changed a lot. The way I look at music production has changed a lot as well. I don’t think every good song needs to be made in a fancy studio with the best producer and the best this and that. I think you just need a really good song and maybe a couple friends to make magic happen.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road… Last year I hit a really rough patch when I got iced out of the studio I was working out of. I was working out of a studio in Boonton NJ that I really loved and was working with a producer who I considered a best friend of 3 years. What happened was a long story but I found out that the drummer in my live band (who had been my friend of at least 20 years since I was 4 years old) was “pleasuring” himself to Instagram photos of me, my fiancee and my female bandmate at the time. I immediately took to Instagram to share this story and found out other women in the music scene in NJ had dealt with the same issue as I did with this person. I told the owner at the studio in Boonton that I did not want to be in the same room as him and if he was there to call me and let me know ahead of time so I can reschedule my session or band rehearsal time. The owner said and I quote “You should be flattered” (regarding my bandmate pleasuring himself to me and my loved ones). He said I shouldn’t be upset by such a trivial thing that was not a trivial thing for me. I was sexually violated and he didn’t take it seriously. So I told the engineer who was my friend at the time that we need to have a talk with the owner and said he would smooth it over with him. He tells me a few days later I am not allowed back at the studio cause I’m causing “too much trouble”. I have faced many issues with being a queer female in this industry and this by far was the worst of it cause I learned that no one cares about you, only yourself. Whats so ironic about all of this is the song I was working on in the studio before I got iced out was a song about my fiancee’s story with being sexually assaulted… It just made everything worse and I spiraled into a dark hole of depression and drinking a lot. I have thankfully come out of that but it was by no means easy to find my footing in music again… it took a very long time to even come to terms with what happened, to heal, and to start making music again. I am so traumatized by this experience that I don’t know if I’ll ever see myself in a traditional studio setting again especially with male producers. The way this producer spoke about my female friends was also very sexualized and he never saw these women as humans, only sex objects.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself a musician and more importantly an advocate. I advocate for people to vote, to be proud of their queer identity. I’m also Brazilian and very outspoken about my Latina culture and how important it is to me because the way I was raised was very different from other people that I know. I think I’m known for being unapologetically myself and not afraid to speak up for what matters. I’m really proud of my advocacy work. I’ve done shows to fundraise for the homeless, for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and for Change The Ref for gun violence awareness. I think giving back to communities who need it the most is one of the greatest things we can do in this world.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I’m hoping that we continue to be outspoken about Ai art. I hate Ai in the creative space. Get rid of the ai videos and ai influencers and ai photos. I recently went to a concert for a really well known artist and all their tour visuals were clearly ai videos. You’d think a band with a lot of money would pay extra for authenticity but they didn’t which is super disappointing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lupedragon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lupedragon/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lupedragon
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lupedragon
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lupethedragon
