Trinity the Tuck is ‘taking back childhood trauma’ with new ‘Sinematic’ EP
Trinity the Tuck is overcoming her religious trauma with new EP Sinematic (Supplied)
Trinity the Tuck’s new EP is set to be released next month – but the record is already helping the RuPaul’s Drag Race icon work through her own religious trauma.
Having first burst on to our screens in 2017’s season nine, then winning All Stars 4 alongside Monét X Change in 2018, Trinity came back again for the all-winners All Stars 7 in 2022 – becoming the queen with the most wins in Drag Race history along the way.
It would be easy, therefore, to consign Trinity to the Drag Race hall of fame – and nothing else. Unfortunately for anyone with that mentality, Trinity has had other plans. There was the winner’s tribute series, a film with fellow Drag Race stars Heidi N Closet and Crystal Methyd, a podcast, music video appearances and further TV projects.
Trinity’s ventures have also extended to her own music. But with her latest EP, Sinematic, the tunes go deeper than your typical drag queen single with the words “slay”, “werk” and “diva” thrown over a beat. The tracks, inspired by the seven deadly sins, delve into Trinity’s own upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama, as a Southern Baptist.
“I grew up being afraid of God and afraid of religion,” she says. “It was like: ‘If you don’t do this, you’re gonna go to hell, and you’re gonna burn for ever’. If you’re gonna believe in a god, I can’t imagine a god being like that to people. If they’re there, they should be a god of love, not a god of fear.”
Trinity chose the seven deadly sins because, as well as being a theme that “you could do so much creatively with it,” she had a mission to reclaim her own childhood.
“I wanted to take back this childhood trauma of fear of religion,” she continues. “Most religions [are] used as a weapon, especially today. I know that’s not true for everybody. But I wanted to parody that through my experiences. This is true for me.
“Why would we, as human beings, want to bow down and be in handcuffs just to make other people comfortable, if we’re not able to live our lives comfortably and equal to everyone else?” she asks.
“Me putting this out is art. It’s not a proclamation that I worship the devil. It’s more the fact that I don’t subscribe to this religious oppression that is put upon queer people. And I am going to take that back and I’m going to use it.”
The music video for Sinematic’s lead single, “Til Death Becomes Us” is already out, and features, among others, Trinity, Jujubee, Peppermint and All Stars 6 winner Kylie Sonique Love, in a fabulous parody of the 1992 Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn film Death Becomes Her.
The production didn’t come cheap, though – especially after an unexpected disaster.
“This is the biggest budget I’ve ever spent [on] a music video,” Trinity says, adding that the shoot “felt like a movie set”, before regaling a tale of near crisis.
“I had this fake blood. It was just red acrylic paint. I was putting it on one of the garments and I accidentally got it the bannisters of the mansion. And it’s concrete. I was like: ‘I have to buy this mansion now’.
“Luckily, we got it out, I felt so terrible. [The owner] was a good sport about the whole thing.”
When quizzed on the inspiration for the music video and other references in Sinematic, Trinity is quick to emphasise how much of her drag is inspired by strong women.
“When I started drag, my character was almost goth and I only wore jet-black hair. I based my character around Trinity from The Matrix.
“I was raised by my grandmother, who was a very strong-willed Irish lady. That’s what fuelled who Trinity was, at least at the beginning.”
Trinity already has plans for a deluxe version of the album. The devil works hard, RuPaul works harder, but Trinity the Tuck works hardest.
The music video for the second single, “Miss Jesus Christ”, has already been shot. It focuses on the sin of pride and a “mad scientist in the pursuit of perfection, [continually] cloning herself”.
The deluxe album will include a solo version of “Til Death Becomes Us”, a feature on album track “Detonate”, and “one [or] two” more remixes, plus “at least one more original song” which will be the “debut of a drag girl group with four members”.
Sinematic will be available on 1 June. “Til Death Becomes Us” is available to stream now.
