Exclusive: Contessa ‘Cunt Mafia’ Stuto Debuts Ode To New York Pride, “Loser”

New York's underground has undergone some seismic cultural changes in the past few decades, claiming plenty of subcultural casualties along the way. Contessa Stuto, leader of the Cunt Mafia collective, has witnessed many of these massive paradigm shifts. A fashion icon, music producer, party promoter, legendary club kid, and real estate agent (yes, really!), Stuto's looks and music have consistently been ahead of the curve: She pioneered the genre of “trap metal” long before “emo rap” rose to dominate Bandcamp and Soundcloud, and her unique aesthetic, mixing elements of goth and banjee culture, has consistently been mopped by more mainstream artists.

Now, Stuto is exclusively debuting her latest track “Loser” with Into. Channeling her allegiance to the Big Apple, the new song is an ode to Pride: both in her hometown and her status as a queer, feminist punk. We chatted with Mother Contessa about the new track, her Pride plans, and her outspoken disdain for popular music.

Got any big plans for Pride month?

I started this venue, Fire and Ice in Bushwick. I'm concentrating on getting the space that I have out to the queer community. I want people to have a safe space there. I'm looking for day time things for the summer, like BBQs and tarot readings and community meetings. I've been working on this DIY event space and I've been reaching out to the new generation about DJing and performing. I want it to be a safe female space.

I don't really have time for the scene drama anymore. If someone cool invites me, I'll go out – but every single day for me is Pride. I haven't gone to the big parade in years – it's not that I wouldn't go, but if I'm going to do it I'd have to be on a float or something.

I think Pride should always be a time for political activism. I think it's pretty much the culmination of what people are doing with their lives, living their truth every single day. I guess being queer is political, so Pride's going to be political. Someone's always going to have an opinion, you know what I mean?

Do you see your music as political?

Yeah! My music is in-your-face, obvious politics. As a BBW, born and raised NYC, underground persona – every single day I walk out my door is political. I'm not one to hold back my thoughts. A lot of people don't live like that.

Everyone's opinion somehow is political now – even if it's like, what dog park to go to. As an artist, I just have to be conscious of what I'm trying to translate to the world.

What went into the making of “Loser”? Is there a message you wanted to convey with the new song?

We put on old New York scenery videos of the city in the 80s and 90s, so we got into a vibe. Dealing with nightlife for the past ten years, seeing how much New York has changed with gentrification, white supremacy, and the entertainment and media industries commodifying the city's underground aesthetic – stealing from artists, I've been stolen from, we know this – the song is kind of like a fuck you.

I'm trying to preach authenticity in the song. With my pretty, ugly bitches – it's a fuck you to misogyny. People assume women have to look a certain way and be a certain way to go out and have fun and get attention. But my pretty, ugly bitches is sexy – and we're better than all the stupid bitches who move to my town with their stupid looks, trying to be a bitch like me.

So it's kind of an anti-gentrification anthem, too?

I mean, I don't want to go so deep like that. It's really just like, at the end of the day, real New York girls never die. That's a quote. It's real New York bitches – we're the underdogs now. We get copied.

Fashion has taken on the Contessa Stuto MySpace look – it's the norm. I remember when no one dressed like me. Now girls go to the store and spend $100 on a bedazzled tank top and it's like – no, bitch, you're still trash.

I've always been punk rock, I've always been anti-capitalist. I take from the rich and give to the poor – that's why I work real estate during the day.

What changes have you seen happening in NYC, specifically in the gay and queer scenes?

The gay scene in the city isn't as sexually liberating in a way that is super queer. It's gotten more misogynistic and aggressive with all the toxic male energy. You're not really an underdog if you're a gay white male. They run companies now. They don't have to deal with women if they don't want to. There's a culture of treating women and trans women as objects or like a sidekick. Someone you go to brunch with.

At the same time, it's normal now to be weird in New York. The weirder you are, the cooler you are. Back in the day, no one knew anything about queer music in the mainstream. Now, you've got people dressing like weirdos and that's popular culture.

Back in Bushwick, like 15 years ago, our rents were like $200 and we shared it with like ten people. We were throwing real, DIY squatter punk parties. You wouldn't go to an queer party and hear Rihanna. There was no social media. No one gave a fuck. We were just turning up and having fun. Now, there's a more corporate attitude about everything.

Recently, there's been a wave of new hip hop artists taking inspiration from metal, rock, and punk culture – but you've been doing this for years at this point. What inspired you to combine these genres?

I was the only one doing it for a long time! I was the first one combining these genres with nu-Metal like Limp Bizkit and Korn. But I'm a woman, I get in people's faces. I'm not a thirsty hype beast. So people have taken that aesthetic and put it on a man and have sold it like it's a product.

I'm real New York but I'm also aggressive metal. It's what I've always listened to and it's who I've always been. I was ten years old and going to Marilyn Manson concerts – but even he had an urban aesthetic, with gold teeth and stuff. I live and bleed this shit.

“Loser” is more hip hop, but I can do heavy metal. And I can do heavy metal with trap.

I've always been conscious, unlike other people who are white in the hip hop game, that I'm a white woman with a rock background. When you see other people doing it – did they really come from that, or is it just inspiring to them now? A lot of these people are coming in with a ghost writer – I'm not going to do that.

It's funny because now all these white people try to claim rock and roll, but they didn't even invent it in the first place. You see how fast it changes right when it becomes a trend.

You were recently a guest on the metal talk show Two Minutes To Late Night, garnering some mixed responses from the audience. What was it like seeing those reactions?

After the InfoWars and WorldStar stuff where I had over 40 million views and I was getting tweeted at all day – I thought it was all funny. I'm kind of emotionless when it comes to people's opinions of me. I don't care! The reaction is irrelevant to me.

Someone called me a cross between Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and The Blue Meanie -- I don't get what's so bad about that! Someone tried to say I was Dog the Bounty Hunter's wife -- that's a compliment to me!