JAMES INDIGO

Rapper & songwriter

What do you stand for?

Love, equality and for being a bad bitch. How have you found navigating your career as a Black queer artist?

I don’t see myself as a “gay rapper”, I see myself as a rapper that happens to be gay. I hate that we get put into boxes and categorised; I’m just a boy that wants to make music. That being said, I will talk about Black and queer issues because I’m proud to be Black and queer.

Have you encountered any racism and homophobia along the way?

I get at least a few messages a week from trolls calling me “gay” or a “faggot”. I also get called a Satanist a lot, which is bizarre to me; I really think people [believe] because I am gay and in the industry I’m some sort of devil worshipper!

The hip-hop and rap scene have a reputation for, sometimes, being homophobic. What has your experience been?

I surround myself with people that don’t care about my sexuality and applaud me for being different. Of course, I get messages from people that hate to see a gay person doing rap, but I don’t care. I’m going to continue being me.

How do you feel about Lil Nas X’s rise to the top?

I got invited to his album release party by his record label – I got a first listen to the album before anyone else. He is really doing his thing.

In what ways do you feel he is pushing the boundaries?

He is Black and gay and topping the charts. That alone is pushing boundaries. That alone is inspiring. I wish, growing up, I had had someone like that I could relate to. It would have made me expect myself much earlier.

Do you think the ripples of his success will be felt on this side of the pond, in terms of platforming POC queer artists in the UK?

The UK queer scene has been buzzing on the underground for a while. I’m really pushing to make noise in the UK scene and many more amazing queer Black artists are.