L.R.: You’re a native New Yorker.
Why are you living in Los Angeles?
K.P.: New York is tough. Growing
up there and taking the subway, I feel
like I got all my tough shit out.
Now I’m living and enjoying the sun.
What did you learn from being
around your father ’s studio?Ten years ago, not a lot of women were
producing themselves. They’d record
a whole album, then come back with the
edits from the label, and re-record
everything all over again. It was startling
to watch music get mutilated.
Is it true your great-great-grandfather
Isidor Straus was a U.S. congressmanROCK AND ROYAL
who was considered a hero when
he died on the Titanic?
Yes, my great-great-grandparents were
wealthy Jewish philanthropists who
owned Macy’s, and they decided to take
a luxury trip on the Titanic. They
gave up their spots on the lifeboats to
die together—so romantic.
How hard is it to maintain a personal
life while you’re on tour? You used
to date [actress] Amandla Stenberg—
are you seeing anyone now?
I am dating someone now. The hardest
part of juggling a relationship is allowing
yourself to miss someone, and to know
that missing someone is healthy. But I’ve
found that type of pain informs my work.
I’m getting better at accepting the reality
that my life, in many ways, is transient.
Your real name is Mikaela Straus.
How did you get to be King Princess?
A friend of mine used to call me that,
and it just felt right. I wasn’t fully formed
into my genderqueer self at the time
and couldn’t comprehend all the
levels—but I am a King Princess. It’s very
in-between and fluid.
What were your goals for this
new album?
I wrote about 30 to 40 songs between my
EP and this new record. What I was
going for was something more evolved.
I wanted something a step up,
production-wise.
Do you ever just turn songwriting off?
I go through months where I’ll write
so many songs, then get bored with
myself and have nothing to say. So I’ll
do anything outside of music—like
comedy. Part of me just wants to be funny
because my music is sad. I play songs
for people, they tell me it makes
them really sad, and I say, “Yeah, I was
really sad when I wrote it.”
You used to be nervous to play
live. Are you more comfortable now?
I kind of am, because I’m
usually stoned.“Being gay gave
me more respect than I saw given to a lot of straight
women in similar situations,” says King Princess
about growing up around her father’s Brooklyn
recording studio. “It eliminated that sexual nature in
working with men,” adds the 20-year-old singer/
songwriter/producer. Her acclaimed indie EP on
Mark Ronson’s Zelig label led to this month’s
release of her debut studio album, Cheap Queen, and
a current U.S. headlining tour. Here, she discusses
studios, sexuality, and sad songs. By Lisa RobinsonVanities Music
40 VANITY FAIR OCTOBER 2019MEREDITH WOHL