Mélange Lavonne is an American rapper active in the

homo hop LGBTQ representation in hip-hop music has existed since the birth of the genre even while enduring blatant discrimination. Due to its adjacency to disco, the earliest days of hip-hop had a close relation to LGBTQ subcultures, and multiple LGBT ...

movement, a subgenre of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

performed by

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

artists. Her songs focus on issues such as social equality, discrimination, and faith.

Early life

Lavonne was born and raised in

Rialto, California Rialto is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 56 miles east of Los Angeles, near the Cajon Pass, Interstate 15, Interstate 10, State Route 210 and Metrolink routes. Its population was 104,026 as of the 2020 census, ...

, and attended Luther Burbank High School in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. In 1991, when she was twelve years old, she was diagnosed with

Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

, which went into remission after

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

. She was later diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

, a possible result of previous radiation treatments. She attended college at

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on a basketball scholarship, but was forced out by the coach, who suspected she was gay. As she was not

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

to her parents at the time, she instead told them it was due to injury. "Mélange Lavonne" is a stage name, a combination of the French word ''mélange'', meaning mixture, and her middle name, Lavonne.

Career

2007–2009: ''The Movement''

Lavonne's 2007 song, "Gay Bash", tells the story of Kevin, a fictional gay man murdered by gay bashers. The music video, directed by Camrin Pitts, was nominated as one of

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

's videos of the year, and played at the 2007 Queens International Film Festival in New York City and the 2008 Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles. Later that year, she starred in a television series called ''Don't Go'', directed by Amber Sharp, playing butch character Jaden. Her album, ''The Movement'', was released in 2008, produced by Bobby King of Lethal Recordz. The album addresses themes of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

gang culture A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectiv ...

, and

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Lavonne toured as part of HomoRevolution, the first LGBT hip-hop tour, in 2007 and 2008. She also appeared on the Southern California version of ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

''. She was named one of "Who's Who in the Black LGBT Community" by

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

in 2009.

2013: ''A Walk in My Shoes''

In 2013, Lavonne released a studio album, ''A Walk in My Shoes''. In an interview, she called it "a bit more relaxed, more addressing entertainment, a party atmosphere. My last CD was more on the activist level."

Influences

Lavonne grew up listening to

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

, and

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

. She has cited LGBT hip-hop artist Deadlee as one of her influences, saying, "he definitely paved the way, he wasn't afraid to be himself, he wasn't afraid to rap about basically being gay, as a gay male I know it's a little bit harder."

Personal life

Lavonne is lesbian, coming out publicly in 2007 with the release of her song "Gay Bash".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavonne, Mélange Living people American lesbian musicians 21st-century American women rappers African-American women rappers African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ rights activists LGBTQ people from California People from Rialto, California Rappers from California Activists from California 21st-century American rappers Year of birth missing (living people) American LGBTQ rappers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians