Kossisko Releases 'Talk To Me' & Sets SLAYERZ BALL Album & June Tour

GRAMMY-nominated artist Kossisko (they/them/theirs) released the glamorous and high-energy celebratory single, “Talk To Me” alongside the visualizer premiered by Grungecake. Today, they also announced the SLAYERZ BALL album due June 7.

 In discussing “Talk To Me,” Kossisko said, “This song is a lot more disco leaning than the other songs on the album. Amazing Disco songs always have this very lavish sexy quality and they also always feel triumphant I think because of the string + horn combo. My inspo was I wanted to make a twerking song disguised as a disco song lol” – watch/share the visualizer + stream/enjoy on DSP's.

This single follows “Rich Bi$h,” the song that led to collaborating with Rick James's Stone City Band for this record. 

Some things can't be faked. The funk is one of them — and so is the search for one's authentic self. For Kossisko, it's been an ongoing evolution from the pimp-rap persona as 100s that brought their first taste of success to embracing their Prince-and RuPaul-inspired ability to slay.

SLAYERZ BALL is infused with electrifying funk, disco allure and R&B beats with soulful melodies serving as an ode to freedom, empowerment, and authenticity, encompassing themes of liberation, sexuality, love, and unapologetic self-expression. 

Kossisko started writing and recording demos with Grammy-winning producer, Cole M.G.N. (Beck, Real Estate) and Nathan Judd, an indie producer from New Zealand. They got the idea to try recording an entire album with Rick James's Stone City Band, which proved to be logistically impossible but band leader and producer, Levi Ruffin consulted on how they got their vibe — the harmonies, how they recorded, all the secret sauce.

The album brings together the funk genius of Rick James mixed with the dance-all-night vibes of Prince, the joy of RuPaul, and the sexy soul of Donna Summer but making SLAYERZ BALL required a couple of reckonings. One was the discovery of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a rare condition in which blood vessels in the brain get tangled. Kossisko suffered seizures, tingling, and numbness — all symptoms of this brain injury.

“The doctors thought I'd suffered a minor stroke, but found out later I was born with this and now it was hemorrhaging,” they say. “If I hadn't been hospitalized, there was a big chance I would have died.” The record was in progress when it was discovered. When they went back to work on it, it was with a newfound sense of freedom. “I came into it like this was my last record because I'd faced death.”

Kossisko also underwent a major evolution in their presentation of their gender. “I've been nonbinary my entire life, but I didn't have the language or community so I didn't understand it,” they say. They started dressing in drag as a kid, experimenting with their mom's clothes. Playing with a goth-glam look in previous projects was what they considered first giving themselves the freedom to dress in drag publicly  — which was a much-needed pivot away from their misogynistic rap persona. With their last 2022 World of Trouble album, they started to embrace the overtly feminine, wearing clothes cut for women's bodies and going full glam makeup. “But then I would never address my gender identity because I didn't feel safe in doing it,” they say. With SLAYERZ BALL, that all changes. “Now, I've been through a lot of s and I know I have to live my truth.” 

The Bay Area artist will perform on the SLAYERZ BALL TOUR starting June 13 in West Hollywood at Peppermint Club followed by San Francisco, Denver, concluding in Brooklyn at Baby's All Right. Tickets are on sale Friday.

SLAYERZ BALL TOUR

June 13 – West Hollywood, CA @ Peppermint Club - tickets

June 14 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop - tickets

June 16 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall - tickets

June 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right - tickets

Credit: Sophia Schrank   

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