LGBTQ+ Artists To Follow This Pride Month

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As we wrap up Pride Month which also happens to be Black Music Month we’re showing love to Black LGBTQ+ artists making moves in the industry.

In recent times the pop and hip-hop community has been more and more appreciative of Black voices representing the queer community and we’ve assembled a list of artists

Saucy Santana

Saucy Santana is the super spicy and oh-so-sassy Miami rapper also known to many as the third City Girl. Santana gained the love of Caresha and JT fans after their hilarious Instagram lives continued to go viral. Before long, quotes like “What’s big sweetie?” and “Caresha, please!” became a part of social media’s trendy lingo, and Saucy Santana Stans were born.

Saucy Santana was born Rashad Spain in Miami, Fl. He started off as a makeup artist, but his personality took him to new heights as a rap artist in 2019.  His first single “Walk Em Like A Dog” was released the same year. He’s now signed to RCA Records and had consistent breakout hits like “Walk”, “Material Girl”, and “Here We Go.”

Siya

Michele Andrea Sherman, also known as Siya, was born in California and raised in Bedstuy, Brooklyn where she developed a love for Hip-Hop. In her mid-20s, Siya moved to Atlanta to pursue a rap career where she gained a sturdy reputation and fan base. R&B legend Tank soon found her and slid in her Twitter DMs to compliment her talent. From there, she was signed to Tank’s R&B Money LLC label.

The queer rap queen didn’t stop there! After releasing singles like “No Race” and “Circle Watching” as a preview for her 2018 EP Mad Energy, she appeared on the Oxygen reality TV series Sisterhood Of Hip Hop. We love her style and her swag is dripped down! You may have seen her viral freestyles floating around the internet.

Not only can Siya rap but she’s found a home on the small screen as well, currently starring in the BET+ show, Angel.

Chika

Chika Oranika or CHIKA is an outspoken Nigerian-American rapper who rose to stardom in 2018 after a viral post where she fired shots at Kanye West over his own “Jesus Walks” beat amid his public support of Donald Trump. In 2019 CHIKA dropped her first single “No Squares” and in 2020, she was signed to Warner Records, joined the XXL Freshman Class, and was Grammy nominated for Best New Artist. Now, that’s a come-up!

CHIKA is known to flirt with the ladies on social media and made a pride remix of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You.” Unfortunately, CHIKA’s feisty attitude and lack of filters have landed her in the hot seat a few times, most recently when she slammed T.I. and Tiny’s grandkids on social media.

CHIKA has yet to apologize for the tweets posted just earlier this month, but we hope to see more headlines involving her talent and music in the future. She’s expected to drop her new album “Requiem For A Dream” this summer, releasing her first single since 2021.

Bre Z

Carlesha Murray, also known as Bre Z, is a rapper and actress best known for her role as “Coop” on All American and Freda Gatz on Empire.

Bre Z’s music career popped off with an impromptu performance in Philadelphia at 14. At 15 she met Freeway of State Property, who then put her in the studio. She began writing with the biggest names in music including Dr. Dre and J-Lo, then moved to Los Angeles before being cast as Freda Gatz in 2018.

She usually keeps her romantic life private but we know that she proposed to her girlfriend Chris Amore in 2021 and the two starred in a super sweet Netflix video about their love.

Syd

Syd The Kyd was a part of the quirky hip-hop collective Odd Future before breaking off on her own and founding the sultry alternative soul band The Internet.

She’s now dropping music as a solo artist with the same smooth voice and records inspired by early 90s RnB vibes.

Syd has never really wanted her queerness at the forefront, overshadowing her talent. She explained to The Guardian in a 2021 interview how she felt pressure from her label to be “more gat” although her videos and lyrics made it clear subtly.

“I’ve always made it a point to just be gay,” she says. “It was just like: ‘Look, there’s a girl in the video with me. What else do I need to say?’”

Her 2021 album Broken Hearts Club was her last project under Columbia, and she’ll be dropping more love songs independently in the coming months. Most recently she of five songwriters on Beyoncé’s Renaissance track “Plastic Off the Sofa.”

Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy is also formerly a member of The Internet where he played the guitar alongside Syd.

After the group decided to split, he released his self-produced EP Steve Lacy’s Demo in 2017. The same year, he came out as bisexual and released songs such as “Like Me”  in support of those struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. He also sat down for an interview with The Guardian.

“As a kid, I just thought it would be a fantasy. I kiss a boy? That’s like” – he bursts into a Sade rendition – “sweeeetest taboo! It was just so out of the way of anything I could obtain; it sounds crazy, electrifying, that that could ever happen to me.

The 25-year-old now has industry legends backing him and had his first Billboard Hot 100 entry reach No. 1 this year! His second EP Gemini Rights is currently available for streaming.

King Sis

King Sis is a bisexual LA-based R&B singer who broke onto the scene in 2019. With chill-hop hits like “Big Moody” and “Yeah You (Thinkin’ Bout You),” she’s garnered a following who excitedly awaits her new music which she drops every other Friday.

Have you caught any music from the LGBTQ+ artists on this list?