[3] His online popularity and imminent music career led Instinct Magazine to describe him as "[maybe] the most important gay pop star today, and he is yet to release his first single!
The video also featured drag queens Bianca Del Rio, Willam Belli, and Mariah Paris Balenciaga, all friends of Duff's.
[13] Duff spoke extensively about the desire to challenge criticisms of embracing femininity, especially as a gay artist, ones that he had received both before and throughout his career.
[1] "Girly" was followed up by his next single, the hip-hop mid-tempo song "Rich", made with producer Alex Delicata, released in September 2018.
"[7] In 2019, he made his film debut in the gay coming-of-age movie Cubby, written and directed by Mark Blane and Ben Mankoff.
[16] The single, described as "straddling the line between hip hop and house" and "scorchingly provocative", is about cunnilingus,[5][17] and Duff's writing received positive reviews from various outlets, who also interpreted it as a song about anilingus.
[4] Reviewers noted inspiration for the music video from artists like Liberace and TLC, and describing it as "perfect love song for the age of the pandemic.
[21] Stephen Daw of Billboard praised the album, calling it a "fabulous new project" and noting the tracks' themes of queer masculinity and religious discrimination.
[24] Duff described the EP as "a collection of songs that I wrote without consideration of rules", writing them about "everything [he] was told he shouldn’t do in life.
"[25][26] A portion of the EP's sales also contributed to The Future Perfect Project, an organization dedicated to promoting performances of original work by queer youth.
[27] The EP's debut single was "High Heels", a track that included vocals from Tony Award-winning Broadway singer Lillias White.
[26] Writing for PopWrapped, Rebecca Haslam described the debut single as having "lush orchestrations and breathtaking vocals" from Duff and White.
[26] In his review of the album, Stephen Daw noted "High Heels" as the highlight of Homo•Sapien, calling it the "musical pinnacle equivalent to a confetti cannon exploding.
[28] Duff also co-wrote two of Kylie Sonique Love's singles: "Complete Me" and "Do It Like Dolly", while also providing creative direction for the latter's accompanying music video.
The video came to attention by several outlets for Duff's nearly nude scenes, where he portrayed a gay man pretending to be heterosexual for his viewing audience.
Duff describes his 20s as a period of struggle with his mental health and addiction, which he worked through, including abstaining from alcohol consumption.