Honey Mahogany

Background

Mulugeta first started performing in drag while earning his undergrad at University of Southern California, then stopped until he was in grad school at UC Berkeley where he co-founded the annual drag competition: Berkeley's Next Top Drag Performer in 2008. While at Cal, he mostly performed at lesbian clubs in Oakland, stating that at the time he had "many more lesbian friends than gay friends." Mulugeta ended up choosing his drag name based on the two colors of Revlon makeup that were closest to his skin tone.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Mulugeta was one of the 14 contestants to be chosen for the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, competing against Jinkx Monsoon, Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, Detox Icunt, Alyssa Edwards, and others. Mulugeta was the first contestant on the show to hail from San Francisco, and also had the distinction of being one of the few performers who sang live, as opposed to lip syncing.

In the opening episode of the season, RuPaullywood Or Bust, Mulugeta's runway look was an all-gold outfit with a gold mesh headpiece. In week two for the episode Lip Synch Extravaganza Eleganza, Mulugeta placed within the top four. In week three, Mulugeta partnered with Coco Montrese for a puppet performance with which the judges were not impressed. Combining the runway and being judged individually for the puppet performance, Mulugeta ended up being safe that week. In episode four, Black Swan: Why It Gotta Be Black?, Mulugeta took to the runway in a caftan, which the judges were not impressed with. He was placed in the bottom two, lip syncing against Vivienne Pinay to Britney Spears' Oops I Did It Again. After the performance, both Mulugeta and Pinay were eliminated in a double elimination.

After Mulugeta was eliminated, when asked to choose who he would like to win, he picked Seattle-based Jinkx Monsoon, who did end up taking the crown.

At the beginning of season 6 of Drag Race, Mulugeta stated that he was "Team Courtney" for who should win, referring to Courtney Act. Mulugeta and Act had met when both auditioned for The X Factor.

Music

In 2010, Mulugeta released a cover of Adele’s Hometown Glory, which was recognized by Limelight Records as one of the Best Cover Songs of the Year.

In 2012, Mulugeta released his second single, this time an original track titled It's Honey, which had an accompanying music video featuring Raja and Jujubee. Both Raja and Jujubee were RuPaul drag alum as well.

In February 2014, Mulugeta released his debut EP Honey Love, which was written and co-produced with Erik Ian Walker of WakoWorld Music. One of the tracks on the EP was Shoulda Known Better, which Mulugeta, as Honey Mahogany, performed on the HBO show Looking in 2014. The EP features 3 original songs: Mountain, Take Him From Me, and Shoulda Known Better; and two covers: Feeling Good and Madonna's Lucky Star.

Theater

Mulugeta has also been involved in a number of theatrical productions, including Queer Rebels of the Harlem Renaissance, Dirty Little Showtunes, Oprah: The Dragsical (in which he held the title role), Halloween: The Ballad of Michelle Meyers, and the collaborative drag/performance art show Work MORE! Mulugeta also joined trixxie carr for her show The Right to RULE in 2012 in the United Kingdom at the Abandon Normal Devices (AND) Festival.

The Craft... of Drag!

In 2013, Mulugeta joined Peaches Christ's The Craft... of Drag! The play was a satirical take on the 1996 film The Craft. The show featured Peaches Christ, Sharon Needles, Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, and Honey Mahogany. The show was held in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre and was sponsored by Midnight Mass, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Amoeba Records and Good Vibrations. Mulugeta played Rochelle, part of the main foursome from the original film. The show was performed live as a 50-minute production.

Mulugeta joined another Christ production later in 2013, that being the 16th Annual Showgirls performance, based on the 1995 film Showgirls. While in that production, Mulugeta worked with Rena Riffel, who played Penny/Hope in the original movie. Mulugeta played the character of Nomi.

Other

In 2011, Mulugeta was voted Best Drag Queen by readers of San Francisco Weekly.

In both 2013 and 2014, Mulugeta emceed Topsy Turvy: A Queer Circus Extravaganza. Topsy Turvy is described as a "geographically and culturally diverse cast of queer, trans*, and gender-variant circus performers us[ing] their bodies to tell unique stories that subvert traditional ideals of beauty, sexuality, and power."

In 2014, Mulugeta hosted the Castro Street Fair, which is annually held in San Francisco.

As of June 2016, Mulugeta continues to headline and emcee Mahogany Mondays, a drag and cabaret show held at Midnight Sun in The Castro. Mahogany Mondays started in December 2012.

Personal life

Mulugeta was raised as a Roman Catholic and is of Ethiopian ancestry. He received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California with a minor in Musical Theater. Upon graduation, Mulugeta interned at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and soon after applied and was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Masters in Social Work. Using that degree, he works as a social worker in Contra Costa County during the day. Some of the clients that he works with are people with HIV and homeless LGBT youth.

Mulugeta prefers to identify as queer (rather than "gay").