Born June 22: Kevin Aviance

There was a moment in nightclub life when Kevin Aviance, so inventive, so ahead of his time, seemed he might be the next Josephine Baker. His sensational song “Din Da Da” is timeless, as fresh today as the first time he performed it while Junior Vasquez was spinning at Arena. It was #1 on the Billboard dance chart, as were four of his subsequent singles, “Rhythm Is My Bitch,” “Alive,” “Give It Up,” and “Strut.” He has appeared in the movies Punks and Flawless, as well as America’s Next Top Model, The Tyra Banks Show, and in a leopard-print bodystocking in Madonna’s oh so smooth Harlem-based video for “Secret.” In June 2006, leaving the Phoenix after midnight, Kevin was brutally attacked by four young men ages 16, 18, 20, and 20, yelling anti-gay slurs. Two weeks later, fiercer than ever, Kevin appeared in the pride parade wearing a white top hat with his broken jaw wired shut. He was unable to sing for months. In March 2007, his four attackers plead guilty and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to fifteen years. Last year he sang at Fort Lauderdale Pride along with Jennifer Holliday.