In the music video for Madame X track “Dark Ballet,” the artist cast queer rapper Mykki Blanco as Joan of Arc, and the video ends with a message from Blanco: “I have walked this earth, Black, Queer and HIV positive, but no transgression against me has been as powerful as the hope I hold within.” That purity of purpose is still evident today on Madame X, which grapples with issues like gun control and political apathy, the latter being something Madonna is clearly not familiar with. Madonna has been doing that work since the early days of her fame - she famously included information about AIDS in the packaging of her 1989 album Like a Prayer and was vocal in interviews about her support for queer people at a time when that alliance could have derailed her career. “I’m proud of having been even a small part of fighting for LGBTQ+ equality.” But she acknowledges that “even though we have a lot to celebrate, we still have work to do.” “It means everything to me to be at World Pride,” she says. The landmark anniversary has the Material Girl reflecting on the history of the movement and speculating on its future. With this year’s Pride festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, there was really no choice but Madonna for the closing performance at Pride Island. “It’s still exciting to have an album be so well received.” The icon is extremely demure about the acclaim, saying that even 14 albums in, it’s an honor to have her music appreciated. “ Madame X is an evolution of everything I’ve done as an artist," she acknowledges.
I start our conversation by congratulating her on the success of her new album, an experimental collection of overtly political pop songs (“God Control,” “I Rise”), slow burning dance tracks (“I Don’t Search I Find”), and stripped back bangers (“Extreme Occident”) that sounds like the spiritual successor of Ray of Light and American Life - if Confessions on a Dance Floor was the godmother. How do you pick a selfie to send to Madonna? Yesterday, I was asked to send her a photo.
A week later, she’ll headline New York City Pride. In a few days, Billboard will announce that her fourteenth studio album, Madame X, is her ninth album to reach number one on their 200 chart. Her hit single “Medellín” has just gone number one, making it her 47th single to hit that position on the US dance charts. It’s a Friday afternoon in New York City, the week before Pride, and I’m on the phone with the Queen of Pop. Madonna has just said my name and I don’t know what to do.