In this KARAMO interview, queer artist Eddie Wayne shares his personal journey toward self‑acceptance, describing how moving to New York allowed him to finally come out. He defines "queer" as a stance of unapologetic individuality and views Pride as a collective celebration of authenticity. Eddie outlines his musical style—a blend of hip‑hop, R&B, funk, and rock—citing influences ranging from Anita Baker and Stevie Wonder to Incubus and Musiq Soulchild. He reflects on the difficulty of being labeled a "queer musician," noting that past artists like Sylvester or Sam Smith were judged solely on their music. As a Black queer man, he discusses the pressure to conform to certain stereotypes and emphasizes that his music’s core message is that it’s okay to feel vulnerable. A pivotal moment recounted is his 32nd birthday conversation with his father, where after years of strained relations he finally disclosed his identity and received acceptance. Eddie concludes with advice for younger queer people: do not second‑guess yourself, live authentically, and own your life.
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I actually was never actually able to really come out, but when I came to New York, I was able to really like open up with myself and be comfortable with myself. And I really actually, I don't think I've ever been able to come out, so this might be the time. Hello world, I am Eddie Wayne. I am a queer artist residing in Jersey City, originally from Austin, Texas, who is an artist who loves R&B and hip-hop. Music and fusing those things together. Queer to me is any person that does not give a fuck being queer, is not trying to be like all of the other girls that are around. Pride to me is the time of the year when everybody, everybody, allies, everybody can come together and just celebrate being themselves. A time of fun, reflection, history, and just acceptance of oneself, of being them true selves. And that's what I think Pride is. My music is a mixture of hip-hop, R&B, funk, rock, all of the things that influenced me when I was a kid. Like, 'cause I used to love from everything from like music, Soulchild, to Incubus, to Stevie Wonder. Anita Baker is literally my angel. "Angel" was the first song I've ever heard in my life, even in the womb. Like, my music is literally a mixture of everything that I heard and all of those cookouts that I heard music growing up. That's what you're gonna hear from me. <LYRICS>Seems like you're controlling me. Still got a hold on me, I can't let go.</LYRICS> Even announcing myself as a queer artist, I've never even thought about it at all to even have to say that because I feel like musicians from the past, from like the Boy Georges, the Sylvester of the world, even the Sam Smiths, the Luther Vandrosses of the world, they never ever had to sit over here and identify themselves. The only thing that ever mattered was the music and them expressing themselves through that lens for all of us. With me being a Black queer person, It's hard to showcase that side of ourselves because what I feel like, how we're viewed most of the time is that we always have to be strong or we have to be like the Saucy Santana's of the world and be like this and that. No, I'm a person that's trying to express myself the way that I want to express myself. The message that I hope people receive from my music is that it's okay. It's okay to cry. There's a light at the end of the tunnel and you don't always have to be in that dark space. Something that I overcame was on my birthday, my 32nd birthday, when— oh, this is rough. On my 32nd birthday, I was in LA, and I— me and my father have a very strained relationship at times for at least the past couple of years. And I, I have been out to everybody. I've been living my life. For years in New York, and I had never been able to, been able to actually come out to him and actually talk to him about it because of the type of person that he is. He's very strong and he's always been a protective person to me, and we have not been able to see eye on eye on things. But when I was able to finally talk to him and I held in so long and not being able to tell him, when everybody else knew about me and I was finally able to come out to him was very— it was really hard, but I was able to do it and he actually accepted me with open arms at that time. So that was a really big thing for me. What I would tell younger queer people is to not second-guess yourselves at all, because at the end of the day, you have one life to live and there's no point of being scared or running away from who you truly are. Nobody is gonna live your life but yourself.
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