In heavy times like these, experiencing joy is a form of resistance. Not only does it allow us to escape, reenergize and refocus, but it also reminds us what we’re fighting for. Brooklyn’s indie dance pop king Boy Radio’s latest genre-blurring EP Himbosim is all about taking his listeners on a journey “into a joy sensation”, and we want to go along for the ride. Following his debut album Pop That, and recent singles like “Leather and Denim” and the viral hit “Himbo”, 2025 looks set to be a breakout out year for the innovative singer-songwriter as he fuses tech house, liquid drum and bass, and R&B vibes to create an electrifyingly seductive dance pop soundscape.
Away from recording music and performing his live shows, Boy Radio’s appearances as an actor have seen him show off his comedy chops in Julio Torres’ delectably queer HBO series Fantasmas, as well as bringing the heat in his magnetic scenes opposite Guillermo Díaz in New Queer Cinema pioneer Todd Verow’s cruising thriller You Can’t Stay Here. While he was serving certified hunk in power couple Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s Drag Me To Dinner on Hulu alongside some of the world’s most iconic queens and legendary host Murray Hill.
Ahead of the release of Himboism this Valentine’s Day, February 14th, Boy Radio speaks exclusively with The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann about his inspirations and influences, the essence of Himboism, and mixing the fun with the sexy. With exclusive photography for The Queer Review by Steven Menendez.
James Kleinmann, The Queer Review: I love the intro track and the flow of these songs. Do you envision people listening to them in order and taking them on a journey with this EP?
Boy Radio: “Definitely, that’s something that I want any play-through project to do. I always want to be able to press play on track one and listen right through without worrying about changing my station or shuffling onto something else for however many minutes it lasts. So that’s what I hope for with Himboism, that you press play on track one and stay with it right through to track five.”
What kind of journey do you want to take folks on with Himboism?
“I wrote Himbosim as a meditation. I don’t mean to sound hokey about it, that’s not who I am and that’s not what I’m doing with this, but I want it to be a play into changing your energy, changing the state of your mentality, inviting you to lean into a joy sensation for a few minutes. There’s a lot of “-isms” in the world, both good and bad. One of my favorite “-ism” albums is Baduizm by Erykah Badu. My EP isn’t related to that at all, it’s not the same energy. But when I first listened to that album I immediately knew that I was able to get fully immersed into the world of an artist who I could vibe with. That’s what I’m playing out in this landscape. I’m creating a world. It’s the Himbo mindset. It’s the joy mindset. The puppy mindset.”
These last few weeks, I’ve been reminded of music’s capacity to transport us and really shift our moods and our mindsets. I found that in Himboism which I’m grateful for. I’ve also had the Tiesto mix of Mel C’s “I Turn To You” on repeat. It popped up on a fitness playlist that she made for Apple Music and I love the Tiesto elements of it, but the lyrics resonate right now too. I’ve been dancing to that in my kitchen and escaping for a few minutes and feeling so much better afterwards.
“I’ve been doing the same thing. I’ve been listening to a lot of old albums and new albums that take me out of my head and give me the chance to dance a little. If it’s more jazzy or orchestral, I’ve been letting the music soothe my senses, taking a moment to relax and breathe, and finding myself in those rhythms to calm down a little bit.”
It’s the musical version of taking a walk around a lake or something.
“100%! It’s the musical version of touching grass. Some of the songs on this EP touch on that too. I introduce some genres that I’ve been wanting to play with for a long time. There’s liquid drum and bass. There’s dance pop, which I love too much not to do. Then there’s that R&B soul sound which “Medulla Oblongata” touches on. Finally, there’s a tech house energy that comes in with the “Himbo” remix.”
For anyone who pre-orders the EP, they’ll get to listen to “Hypersexxd” first. I love how fun that track is as well as being super sexy. How crucial is to you to have that playful aspect in there along with the sexy?
“Yes, please! I love that you said that because I really like making people laugh. I have a sense of humour that offsets my seriousness and I believe that humour is something that can change the landscape of any situation. Even if you are genuinely angry, if there’s humour there you can find some common ground. You can find a way to de-escalate if there’s a little bit of humour.”
“I actually wrote “Hypersexxd” from an angry place. I was very multi-minded and that’s why every line is a different idea and the chorus comes in with, “ADHD…no, I’m just hypersexxd”. It’s meant to be cheeky and funny, but I didn’t want it to be corny. I feel like I write songs that could potentially be RuPaul’s Drag Race challenge songs, but I don’t want them to be that campy!”
“I played “Hypersexxd” for one of my friends who is a very serious musician and artist. She knows that I make pop rap and when I saw her smile and then laugh after hearing a few lines I was so happy because I knew that she got the cheekiness of it, but there was something in it that made her spirit jump too. It’s supposed to be a play into joy.”
You mentioned Drag Race. If you were to go on the show would you rather compete as a queen or be pit crew?
“Honestly, I would love to go on as pit crew for a season! But I do want them to wear shoes sometimes. They have those boys out there completely barefoot!”
Are you worried that they might step on something?
“Yes! I’m worried for their foot health. There’s a lot of rhinestones and hot glue and all sorts of stuff in that werk room and those boys are the only ones walking around barefoot in their Andrew Christian underwear. It’s a little scary. If I went on as a drag queen, I think I’d have a hard time because I don’t want to shave my facial hair. Also, I just watched the episode where Joella was wearing that giant quilted mattress as her runway look. Everyone I was watching it with was like, ‘That was a terrible look!” It probably would have been better suited for a club, and she didn’t really make the mark, but I was like “It’s a brilliant look!” But if I had worn it, my reveal underneath that mattress would either have been a smaller mattress or a bed bug!”
Oh, I love that idea!
“Or the tooth fairy or a cum sock! Basically, my type of drag is too crunchy for Drag Race which has now become very elevated and very pretty. So I’m all in for being pit crew, 100%.”
I think that look definitely needed a reveal, but she did become an instant meme with it.
“Yeah, my friends and I call that the golden boot on Drag Race, when a queen has to sashay away but they go out wearing something so iconic that they are unforgettable in it.”
On “Hypersexxd” you sing, “In a drag persona I’m like Britney, kinda freaky like Missy”, why are you drawn to channeling Britney and Missy when you do drag?
“Because Britney’s been lip-syncing for almost 25 years! As far as learning how to lip-sync, she’s one of my greatest teachers. Missy Elliot is one of the greatest surrealist R&B pop artists ever, from her music videos to all of her character personas and the way that she embodies her rap. She’s a hip hop artist through and through, but she’s always been a pop rap artist. For me, she’s the reason that a song like “Hypersexxd” can exist. It’s in that same genre and I take my hip hop influences very seriously, but I would never try to go toe-to-toe with any of my rap constituents. I’d never be like, ‘Me and Kendrick…” or make a diss track. I can’t because I make pop music and I legitimately love pop rap.”
You name-check some Drag Race icons on “Hypersexxd”, including Alaska whom you’ve performed with. You also got to work with some of the world’s most beloved queens on the Hulu show Drag Me To Dinner. What is it like being around those queens?
“I’ve always been really humbled and lifted by all of them. They’re so fun to be around and everyone is always so happy when they’re in drag. Actually, on Drag Me To Dinner Bianca Del Rio kept saying, “Remember everyone, drag is fun!” That mantra, at a foundational level, is such a good outlook. No matter what drama is around you, if you’re in drag, if you’re in something that is is meant to elevate your visibility, it’s supposed to be fun.”
“On that track I name-check Trixie and Katya, who are both very fun and funny. Then I say, “Get ’em mad like Willam, Tammie, Phi Phi, Yvie“, who are four very controversial queens from controversial seasons. Then I say, “I don’t have to ask ya bitch, you can ask Alaska” because, like you mentioned, I’ve worked with her a lot. We were doing a Britney-themed show once and I needed to add a little something extra to my costume. I got really crafty and made a boot cuff by taking a sleeve off something, flipping it around, and pinning it. Alaska was like, ‘You really are my drag daughter, aren’t you?!” So that was a nice moment.”
On Himbosim we get the “Himbo” club mix rather than the original version, what does that mix brings out in the track?
“The reason why the single version of “Himbo” isn’t on this EP is because it’s going to be on the full album. I’ve been going out a lot with my friends recently and they are all really into techno. Techno is super activating for me but there are elements of tech house and club sounds that I’m more aligned with like drum and base, tech house, and new disco. I don’t get to hear those kinds of sounds much in the club these days because New York City is super techno heavy right now.”
“With “Himbo”, I thought, ‘How do I find my way into a club but keep it vocal?” So the club remix, produced by m0$h Blac. Beat, is an instrumental that I loved and that remix holds true to the tech house feel. It keeps the tempo up, it’s something that makes you move while keeping it in that puppy-minded, joyous state.”
You worked with different producers on each track but you wrote every track on the EP didn’t you?
“Yeah, this project for me has been all about the writing. I did all the lyrics, all the melodies, and all of the mixing. I’ve never been a bigger or better top in my life. I’ve just top-lined everything.”
What about “Medulla Oblongata”, what were the inspirations for that song and how did the finished version come together with that R&B soul vibe?
“It’s produced by an artist who goes by NVRMIND. I heard the track once and then I wrote the song in a day because it was just where my heart and my mind were at. I’ve felt homesick a lot lately. I live in New York now, but I was born and raised on the West Coast and I haven’t been home in years. I miss my family; my cousins that have all grown up now; my aunties and uncles; everybody. When I heard that track I’d been thinking deeply about how I’d been in my head so much and how my thoughts were shaping my my feelings. I was thinking about my memories of where I come from and the parts of Los Angeles that I miss.”
“They say home is where the heart is, but when I think about my home I think about the past and the things that shaped me there. So I thought, my home is also where my head is because that’s where I imagine my home. For instance, I can be in my thoughts remembering sitting on my old dog’s dog house that used to overlook the flat lands of Rancho Cucamonga and the Inland Empire. I could see the entire stretch of land all the way to the 10 freeway at night. I could see the lights coming from thousands and thousands of houses. It was magical. When I thought about how it fills my heart with joy to remember that and being there, I started to write this song from that same space that Chappell Roan wrote “HOT TO GO!” I was like, I wonder if I could spell this out and I was so happy and surprised that when I spelled out Medulla Oblangata letter by letter it worked!
“Medulla Oblangata is the part of our brain that allows us to function without consciously thinking. It allows us to breathe and our hearts to beat. So that’s where that song stemmed from. The idea that I can sit in my memories of where I come from or instances with my ex. From there, the song kind of wrote itself. I didn’t really think too much about it.”
It showcases your storytelling skills as a lyricist beautifully, as does the final track on the EP, “Model Behavior” which I found really cinematic. I love the beat on that track too.
“I’m so glad to hear that. The producer on “Model Behavior” is Coco Tekel. He made the tracks for two of my recent singles, “Leather and Denim” and “Don’t Stop, Run It”. After working on those songs together, I mentioned to him that I’d been listening to a lot of liquid drum and bass and sent him some songs and some moods.”
“Liquid drum and bass is usually very ethereal with light chords over a fast drum and bass beat. It’s reminiscent of old PlayStation sounds, like those snowboarding games or other environmental racing games. They had drum and bass in the background because those top lining chords allow you to feel safe when you’re coasting. That’s what I’d been listening to a lot and that’s the energy that I wanted to share. With my live shows, I want to do sets where I can play more drum and bass and let people have a moment to calm down a little bit, but still keep the tempo up. That’s what “Model Behavior” is.”
“It’s a true story about a night out that I had with my ex-partner. It also plays into the idea of encouraging you to close your eyes and let the music tell you this story, so you feel like you’re watching a movie. I love this track so much. I think Coco did such a good job. It was one of those moments where I mentioned to him what sound I was playing with and what I wanted to do and he immediately nailed it on the first go.”
I loved your role on Fantasmas created by Julio Torres, which has just been GLAAD Award nominated. I thought you were hilarious in it. What was that experience like? I imagine there were a lot of visual effects involved in your scenes with the little ones, those tiny blue creatures?
“Actually the little ones were all there with me! It was all done with practical effects. There were five or six puppeteers on set and all of the little ones had movements that were happening in real time. Every little one had a heartbeat attached to it. So it was really easy and fun to act with them because I felt like I was interacting with characters that could react back. We shot that in three days and I had a blast doing it. The stories all came together so well. It’s like a surrealist New York Twilight Zone. My story on the show was so New York-oriented. It’s that bad roommate situation that you can easily find yourself in when you don’t want to pay too much rent. You end up in an overcrowded sublet, then they bring even more people over and you just don’t have the courage to be like, ‘Hey, this really isn’t working for me!'”
You also had some sultry scenes with Guillermo Díaz in Todd Verow’s 1990s-set indie thriller You Can’t Stay Here, which folks can watch on Tubi. What was that like to be a part of?
“I’ve admired Guillermo so much over the years. He’s an icon to me as queer actor and a mentor. He’s such an attractive, energetic and gracious actor, so being able to reflect that sexy energy back to him was so easy. What I enjoyed about it so much was that we shot it in the summertime so we were able to actually be out there in Central Park for as long as we wanted without worrying about the weather changing or the sun going down. Shooting in New York is fun because no one cares what you’re doing so you just get on with it and Todd is such a great filmmaker to work with. He knows exactly what he wants but he allows his actors to play and to explore too.”
“For that film, I remember thinking so much and so deeply about it being a reflection of a real-life activity that I’ve never done. I’ve never cruised in the park, but I love that the movie furthers these kinds of stories without it being too much in the mainstream, but just enough for people to know that it is possible and it can be fun. There’s an element of curiosity, discovery and joy in that movie that’s aligned with a spooky, thriller element. I really love that combination.”
Going back to Himbosim, what’s your intention as you put this new music out into the world on February 14th, Valentine’s Day 2025?
“I love Valentine’s Day, it’s always been one of my favourite holidays, and being a romantic I thought it would be nice to put something out that day to give everyone a Valentine. I know that there’s a lot going on in the world and I truly believe that music is a healer, I really do. The connection that artists have with their listeners when they share music is really powerful. As music creators, we have a responsibility to not just make things that elevate our own egos but to set a vibration. There’s a lot of music out there, a lot of releases every day, and a lot of mainstream artists who who have the platform and the labels behind them to really push their music out. But there are also a lot of indie and underground artists like myself who are doing the same thing. It’s so nice to know that music reaches people in whatever way it reaches people.”
“I’m so grateful that I have people out there who are receiving my music. I’ve been writing songs for a long time and this year it feels really important to lean into sharing what Himboism is. It’s a play into joy behaviour; into thoughtless, unconditional joy. That’s a hard thing to do with all the stuff that’s going around us right now, to flip the switch and be like, ‘No, I’m not going to think about that today. Not because I want to disassociate, or not engage with reality, but because, for my own self care today, I need to dance. Right now, I need to sit with the feeling that things are going to be okay so that tomorrow, when I come back into the world, I am going to stand up for myself’.”
“I don’t want to fight anyone right now, but the best way I know how to stand up for myself is when I’m happy. If someone takes my happiness from me then they’re meeting me at my worst self. But the only way that anyone is ever going to be able to take my happiness away is if I let them. The only thing that I’m in control of is my reaction and I can do everything in my power to maintain my calm, my respect and kindness for myself and for other people through maintaining my joy.”
“That’s me. That’s not everyone’s bag. Some people are cynical. They don’t like that, that’s fine. If you want to be cynical, great. Good for you, honey! But for me, I need an ice cream pop—even though I’m lactose intolerant—and a few shakes of my ass and my thighs, and a smile and a laugh. When I’m happy, I swear to you I could literally take on the world and if I can spread that feeling that’s what I’m going to do. So that’s what this first part of Himbosim is all about. We’re just getting into it and with what’s coming next it’s going to get even more fun.”
By James Kleinmann
Boy Radio’s Himboism EP releases Friday, February 14th, 2025. Pre-save Himbosim on Apple Music now. Follow Boy Radio on Spotify, YouTube Music, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook. Subscribe to his YouTube channel. Head to Boy Radio’s official Himboism website for news about his latest music releases and upcoming shows.
