Moi Renée

Moi Renée (died 1997) was a Jamaican-born singer and performer active in New York City's underground queer nightlife scene in the early 1990s.

Early life Renée was born in Jamaica. was known as Sam.

Renée appeared on the cover of a 1993 Village Voice issue; the accompanying story described him as a "singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and comedian." Renée performed in wigs and women's clothing, but rejected the drag queen label that later sources would apply to him: "I am not a drag queen." The track was widely played at gay clubs, tea dances, and balls.

Renée appeared on Stonewall Place After Dark, a late-night talk show on the Gay Cable Network, where he was interviewed and performed the song. He wore white lipstick, a towering green wig, and a black bodysuit by Douglas Says; two uninterested backup dancers flanked him onstage.

Death In 1997, Moi Renée was found dead in a hotel room.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, "Miss Honey" was remixed and sampled by DJs, including Eats Everything, whose 2020 "Honey" used Renée's vocals.

In 2022, Beyoncé sampled "Miss Honey" in "Pure/Honey" on her album Renaissance and credited Renée as a songwriter. The Fader wrote that the sample "[ties] it all together at the end". Beyoncé paid tribute to Renée's performance of "Miss Honey" in a montage of different looks from a visual teaser for the album.

Renée is the subject of several collage works by mixed-media artist Beau McCall, which were exhibited at the Wallach Art Gallery and the Stonewall National Museum and Archives.

Miss Honey: The Catsuit (2024), a short documentary directed by Brandon R. Nicholas, traces the creation of the bodysuit Renée wore on Stonewall Place After Dark. It premiered at the aGLIFF Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Nicholas is developing a feature-length documentary about Renée. Slip 'n' Slide Records