USA TODAY International Edition
5 black LGBTQ artists to know
It’s hard to feel celebratory this Pride Month. The country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic as protests over the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other black men and women take place in cities from coast to coast.
As people look for ways to support and listen to the black community, we wanted to spotlight just a few of the black LGBTQ artists making waves across genres. Although you may already be familiar with Frank Ocean, Janelle Monae, Lil Nas X and bounce artist Big Freedia ( of Beyonce’s “Formation” fame), here are five more musicians that should be on your radar.
Shea Diamond
The Flint, Michigan- bred singer arrived in 2017 with her empowering ballad “I Am Her,” which she wrote in a prison cell while serving a 10- year sentence for robbing a convenience store, in a desperate attempt to fund her gender- affirmation surgery. Since then, the 42- year- old has served up a soulful blend of blues, rock and hip hop on singles “I Am America” and “Don’t Shoot,” with achingly personal lyrics about gun violence, discrimination and her proud trans identity. “Who tells the trans children that they’re gorgeous or that they’re handsome? That’s what is needed,” Diamond told Buzzfeed News. “We need love in this world if there is going to be hope.”
Serpentwithfeet
The 31- year- old artist ( real name: Josiah Wise) grew up in a strictly Christian household singing in church, which helped inform the type of lush, experimental gospel music he makes now. The Baltimore native, who cites Bjork and Brandy as major influences, doesn’t shy away from his queerness on his sensual 2018 debut “Soil,” crooning about love and lust on tracks such as “Waft.” “That’s what I’m proudest of – that I was able to talk about desire in a way I never knew how to before,” Wise told The New Yorker. “The way a black man smells, the weight of his body odor, how that transports me.”
Kevin Abstract
The Brockhampton co- founder is helping change the face of hip hop right now, along with queer artists including Young M. A, Kaytranada and Tyler, the Creator ( a major influence on the Texas rapper/ singer). The 23- yearold ( real name: Clifford Simpson) has rapped candidly about boyfriends and celebrity crushes – Shawn Mendes and Zayn Malik, among them – since coming out in 2016, but has bristled at labels such as “queer icon.” “I don’t want to be labeled as ‘ queer rapper’, I just want to be a rapper,” he told BBC Radio 1’ s Annie Mac. “I have to exist in a homophobic space in order to make change and that homophobic space would be the hip- hop community. So me just existing and being myself is making change and making things
easier for other young queer kids.”
MNEK
You’ve undoubtedly heard the London- based singer’s hit collaborations with Zara Larsson (” Never Forget You”) and Gorgon City (” Ready For Your
Love”), or the many songs he’s co- written for other artists. ( Dua Lipa’s “IDGAF,” anyone?) But the 25- year- old ( real name: Uzo Emenike) also explores queer love in all its messiness and glory on his shimmering 2018 debut “Language.” The album’s cover features him embracing another man, which was born of his frustration with the lack of gay black representation he had growing up. “I never saw anyone in magazines like me, I never saw anyone on TV like me, and I wasn’t listening to any pop artists who were like me either,” he told Pride. “And I definitely never saw anyone like me on an album cover – until now.”
Kehlani
The silky- voiced R& B singer gets bracingly honest about toxic relationships and insecurities on her featuresheavy sophomore album “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t,” released last month. The 25- year- old Oakland, California, native, who has collaborated with Cardi B and Eminem, came out as queer in a series of tweets in 2018. She later said she received backlash from fans after announcing her first pregnancy. “I’ve gotten everything from ‘ I thought she was a lesbian’ to ‘ she was using queerness to promote her career, then went and betrayed us with a man,’ “she told Nylon. “I never identified as a lesbian. I’ve always been pansexual. My first mixtape included songs about males and songs about women.”