Sahara Davenport


Antoine Ashley, better known by the name Sahara Davenport, was an American drag queen, singer, reality television personality, and classically trained dancer. Davenport was best known as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Her drag sister, Kennedy Davenport, appeared on season seven of RuPaul's Drag Race.

''RuPaul's Drag Race''

Davenport joined the cast of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2010. She was pegged as "The Dancer" when in the first episode she had to "lip-sync for your life" against Shangela, her former classmate at Southern Methodist University. In the second episode, Davenport became a team leader when she and Pandora Boxx won the mini challenge. Sahara won the second episode elimination challenge by leading her team to earn the most money by pole dancing and selling Cherry Pie gift certificates on the streets of Los Angeles. In the fourth episode, Davenport gave a humorous impersonation of Whitney Houston in the "Snatch Game" challenge. In the Wedding Dress episode, she was placed in the bottom two again, but remained safe with her lip sync performance to Martha Wash's "Carry On". Sahara was eliminated in the sixth episode for not conveying enough of a "rock 'n' roll" attitude and being too much of a lady. The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars aired following her death, and featured her partner, Manila Luzon, as a contestant. The first episode was dedicated to her memory.

Music

In 2011, Davenport released her second single "Go Off." A remix EP was later released on January 31, 2012, and featured a remix by Manny Lehman. "Go Off" debuted at number fifty on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, before peaking at number thirty five. The music video for "Go Off" features cameos by Drag Race contestants Manila Luzon and Jiggly Caliente.

Personal life and death

Prior to her death, Davenport resided in New York City with her boyfriend Karl Westerberg, a fellow drag queen who goes by the stage name Manila Luzon and who was a contestant and runner-up on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Davenport died of heart failure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on October 1, 2012 at age 27. She is the first Drag Race contestant to have died. On the show, Davenport discussed her use of "designer drugs", such as ketamine, and how her drag mother had to help her out of her addiction.

Discography

Singles