Aja

Venus Nadya Oshun, known professionally as Aja Miyake-Mugler, better known mononymously as Aja (born January 4, 1994), is an American rapper, reality television personality and drag queen best known for competing on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

Aja was born on January 4, 1994, in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

She was raised by adoptive parents.

She used to suffer from PTSD and anxiety, which she attributed to her single-parent home, but stopped having panic attacks after starting drag.

She lived as a trans woman for a year at age 18, later coming to identify as genderqueer after learning about non-binary gender identities.

Aja identifies as a person of color.

She is of African American and Puerto Rican descent.

Aja began doing drag in Manhattan at age 16, participating in contests at Posh Bar, the Stonewall Inn, Metropolitan Bar and Sugarland.

She was announced as one of 14 contestants for the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 2, 2017.

Aja placed ninth that season and subsequently returned to participate in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

Aja was eliminated during the fifth episode of All Stars 3, but she returned in the following episode to compete for a chance to win re-entry to the competition.

Another contestant, Morgan McMichaels, rejoined instead, which placed Aja seventh overall.

The drag house Haus of Aja, based in Bedford–Stuyvesant, includes members Aja, Kandy Muse, Momo Shade, Dahlia Sin, and Janelle No5.

Aja released the single "Level Ya Pussy Up" with producers WNNR and DJ Accident Report in February 2017.

Aja's single with fellow season 9 queens Sasha Velour, Peppermint and Alexis Michelle, titled "C.L.A.T.", was released on April 21, 2017.

The track was produced by DJ Mitch Ferrino, who was featured on "Purse First" by Bob the Drag Queen.

Producer Adam Joseph remixed Aja's rant about fellow season 9 queen Valentina in a track called "Linda Evangelista".

In September 2017, Aja appeared in the music video for Velo's song "Big D*ck Daddy" alongside Phi Phi O'Hara.

Aja released her debut EP, In My Feelings, in 2018, followed by her debut studio album, BOX Office, in February 2019.

They performed at Hardware Bar until the house dissolved in June 2018.

Aja appeared in a commercial for H&M's Pride OUT Loud campaign in May 2018.

Since June 2018, Aja has hosted a talk show called Ayo Sis on WOW Presents Plus.

In July 2018, Aja announced that she no longer wish to be known as a drag queen but rather as a queer artist, stating to them. magazine: "[B]eing a queer artist is more generalized, and being a drag queen is way more specific. I know I kind of let go of the idea of being a drag queen because, for most people, the stereotypical drag queen lip syncs and performs. I've been working on my burlesque and my live music, and I don't really have the drive to dance and flip flop and be doing dips and, 'Is she gonna jump from there?' It's just not something I want to do. It's something that is part of me, but it's not something that I'm carrying into the future, so I'm kind of leaving the term behind."

For the next three years, Aja focused primarily on her musical career.

In September 2021, she stated that she would again begin performing in drag.

After seeing Kylie Sonique Love win the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Aja said: "It really hit me at that moment that trans is who I am and drag is what I do,... that me doing drag has never taken away from who I am as a person.... As of today I can feel comfortable to say that I am a drag artist again."

In 2023, Aja appeared on the first episode of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars as a “lip-sync assassin”, where she faced off against the week's winner, Kahanna Montrese, to Beyoncé’s “Freakum Dress”.

Aja won the lipsync and revealed which of the bottom queens had received the majority of the queens’ votes to go home, that being Monica Beverly Hillz.

In July 2023, after having altered her Instagram display name months before, Aja formally announced that she was no longer part of the House of LaBeija, and that she is to be referred to as "Aja 007".

On March 1, 2018, Aja released a solo music video, "Finish Her!", which was produced in collaboration with WNNR and DJ Accident Report.

It features some of Aja's runway looks from All Stars 3.

Her debut EP, In My Feelings, was released on May 11, 2018.

Videos for two other songs from In My Feelings, "Brujería" and "I Don't Wanna Brag", were released on May 7, 2018, and July 13, 2018, respectively.

Her second EP, ALL CAPS, was released in June 2019.

She released Nail in the Coffin, a Halloween-themed EP, in collaboration with Shilow later that year.

She was a contestant on the third season of Legendary on HBO Max, where she finished in 6th place with the House of LaBeija.

In May 2019, Aja was sponsored by Starbucks to promote the company's S'Mores Life contest.

Aja's second EP, All Caps, was released on June 28, 2019.

Aja's debut studio album, BOX Office, was released on February 7, 2019.

The album consists of fifteen tracks and includes features from Shea Couleé and Cupcakke.