Hip-hop turns 50 this year, which is fitting for its place as the biggest genre in the world. As artists, outlets, and fans continue to celebrate the heights reached in rap over the last five decades, this momentous occasion also highlights the changes made since 1973. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community and being a rapper were two separate worlds for most of hip-hop’s history. Queen Latifah, who started her career in the 1980s, and Da Brat, who rose to fame in the 1990s, are both deemed legends today, but didn’t come out officially until recently, long after they found pioneering success.
In the early 2000s, Caushun emerged as one of the first openly gay artists to sign a major record deal. And soon after, Cazwell found mainstream success by merging pop and rap into records that lived consistently on Billboard’s dance charts. But even then, other rappers weren’t receptive to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ artists, causing Kanye West to speak out against homophobia in rap in a 2005 interview with MTV. A few years later, a Chicago-bred duo named the Freaky Boiz (composed of Prince Charming P and TTGoitIt) would go viral on YouTube and eventually appear on The Breakfast Club, a small win toward mainstream acceptance within the genre. And by the time the 2010s had officially rolled around, things really started to shift.
Frank Ocean, who raps but isn’t considered a “rapper,” came out via an open letter on Tumblr in 2012. That moment, in part, set the tone for a decade that soon marked the rise of other LGBTQ+ artists such as Azealia Banks, Young M.A, and Tyler, The Creator. Around 2020 and following that first wave of unapologetic acts, Lil Nas X made history as the first gay rapper to go diamond with his smash single “Old Town Road.” This reflected two things: first, rappers no longer needed to hide their sexuality, and second, gay artists could compete in the same space as the heterosexual big dogs.
Now, a new era has officially arrived where there are more LGBTQ+ artists than ever, with even acts like Isaiah Rashad coming out as “sexually fluid.” So, in celebration of rap’s 50th anniversary, Black History Month, and the long string of acts who have been bold enough to continue breaking barriers, here are some of the most prominent Black LGBTQ+ artists in hip-hop right now.
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Young M.A
Young M.A is a pioneer when it comes to LGBTQ+ artists in the rap game. When her career first launched on the heels of “OOOUUU” back in 2017, a track that has since been certified 4x platinum, M.A was one of the few artists at the time to find mainstream success while being open about her sexuality. Speaking with The Guardian when the song took off, M.A explained that she’s not the first, but definitely one of the most remarkable, to wear her flag with honor.
“There’s a lot of rappers out there, a lot of gay girls expressing themselves; I’m not the first to say it, I’m not the first to rap about it. But I’m the one who broke down those doors that everybody has been trying to break down. I did that. I’m the one who went triple platinum first,” she said.
Her cultural impact and history of making pool party bops and street hymns have been undeniable. From an accolades standpoint, M.A has since scored top 25 albums and songs on Billboard’s respective charts.
Tyler, The Creator
For a while, it was hard to put the finger on Tyler, The Creator’s sexuality. Earlier in his career and around the 2011 release of Goblin, the Odd Future chief was called out by fans for using homophobic references in his music. However, in 2017, Tyler’s lyrics seemingly confirmed that he’s part of the LGBTQ+ community. Heard in the Flower Boy cut “Ain’t Got Time,” Ty raps, “Next line will have ’em like ‘whoa’/I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004.”
That was one of the early instances of his sexuality being mentioned. Still, if people pay attention a little closer, they’ll realize that Tyler hasn’t ever shied away from his bisexual nature. Later, in 2019, he told GQ, “I like girls—I just end up fucking their brother every time.” Either way, Tyler is now one of the most celebrated artists in the rap game. He’s created a huge following which, over the years, has paid off in the form of gold and platinum plaques. The genre-defying act has also won Grammy Awards for albums like IGOR and, most recently, the Gangsta Grillz tape Call Me If You Get Lost. It’s also worth noting that Tyler has six top 5 albums on Billboard’s 200 charts, with three reaching Number 1.
Saucy Santana
Saucy Santana has been busting down barriers in the rap game since he got into it. With breakthrough tracks like “Material Girl,” “Walk,” and “Walk Em Like A Dog,” released over the last few years, Saucy has been thriving as an outspoken leader in hip-hop’s LGBTQ+ movement. In a 2022 interview with Office Magazine, Saucy discussed how at first, he didn’t want to be labeled as a “gay rapper.” But eventually, there was a change of pace. “Now I don’t mind someone calling me a gay rapper or a LGBT rapper because that is my community. That is my culture. And that is who I’m fighting for,” he said. A little later, Saucy continued, “I’ve proven even with me being gay, that my music touches everybody.”
Last year and with his raunchy music moving from clubs to radio airwaves, Saucy was named as a 2022 XXL Freshman, an honor that stamps 10-12 blooming artists as the next stars in hip-hop. When asked what he brings to the class and the rap game, the now-established personality and performer proudly responded, “[I bring] loud and proud. Black, feminine, flamboyant, gay boy. Never seen this shit before. None of them out there is like me, period.”
Chika
Chika’s reputable EPs Industry Games (2020) and Once Upon A Time (2021) doubled as statements of her arrival and an audible celebration of her queer identity. Tracks like “FWB” and “Cinderella, Pt. 2” address her relationships with women and stand as larger extensions of her 2019 cut “Can’t Explain It,” which arrived with an accompanying music video that featured her then-girlfriend as a love interest. Chika also spoke about being bisexual with Them. “My music is queer because I’m queer. It’s not something that you can easily separate because both are just a big part of who I am,” she said during the conversation.
As of late, Chika has continued to soar as a respected lyricist and songstress, being nominated for Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammy Awards. This is just the beginning of her career, but Chika has already garnered enough momentum to declare herself as the “queer Beyoncé.” And other feats, such as being named an XXL Freshman in 2020, plus becoming GLAAD’s Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist in 2021, are evidence that she’s heading in the right direction to make that title stick.
Kidd Kenn
Chicago is a city infinitely rich with talent. One of the most promising new rappers from that area is out artist Kidd Kenn. Over the last few years, Kenn added to his buzz with a remix to FBG Duck’s “Slide,” along with tracks like “Eriod” and “Good Day.” The last two have caught fire over time and lived on 2018’s Childish and 2021’s Problem Child, both revered efforts in his still-growing discography.
In a conversation with Red Bull that took place a couple of years ago, Kidd spoke on the influx of LGBTQ+ artists in the music industry right now. “People in my community [are] building stuff in this game and it shows from what everybody is doing that [success] is going to happen. We’re making room. We’re here,” he said. Additionally, in a mid-2022 discussion with Billboard, Kenn looked forward to the representation of LGBTQ+ artists in ten years, adding, “I see us running the game, literally.”
Kenn, a former GLAAD Awards nominee for Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist in 2021, was also stamped in the organization’s 20 under 20 list in 2020. Additionally, his voice has also made plenty of noise thanks to his standout performance during the 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He made history as the first out gay artist to perform in a BET cypher.
Ice Spice
Like air, Ice Spice is everywhere right now. The Bronx-bred rhymer first gained notoriety with her viral smash “Munch” in 2022, a record that has yet to go gold but became platinum in the streets almost immediately. She followed that track with another flame called “Bikini Bottom.” And during a lyric breakdown for the song on Genius’ Verified series, Ice spoke on her sexuality as a bisexual woman.
Explaining the lyrics “Flow the nicest but I’m rude/I like niggas, bitches too,” she said, “I was just like, they need to know, we’re here and we’re queer.” More recently, speaking with Apple Music 1 in January of 2023 upon the release of her breakout EP “Like…?,” Ice also confirmed that she doesn’t date “squares” but certainly likes “good boys and girls.”
Lakeyah
Lakeyah’s career started popping off thanks to notable moments in the freestyle circuit. In the late 2010s, She ripped JT’s “First Day Out” and Monica’s “So Far Gone” with such great execution that she ended up inking a deal with the famed imprint Quality Control. In 2020, Key also sat down for an interview with DJ Small Eyez, where she came clean about her sexual orientation. “I’m a lesbian,” she said during the talk.
Lakeyah has only been rapping for a few years, but has undeniably earned respect in the music industry for being a venomous spitter. Examples of her elite-level lyricism can be heard in her 2021 BET Cypher and XXL Freshman Cypher/Freestyle that arrived that same year.
Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X’s accomplishments in music will be known forever. His breakthrough record, “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus, is nearly double diamond-certified in just four years. Additionally, the track went to Number 1 and stayed there until it was named the longest-running Number 1 song in Billboard’s Hot 100 history. Nas also topped the charts with platinum-selling follow-ups “Industry Baby” featuring Jack Harlow and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” in 2021, redefining the reach of a gay artist in music.
Upon the video release “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” in 2021, Nas wrote an open letter to his 14-year-old self, reassuring that with his openness of being queer, he would impact the next generation: “I know we promised to die with the secret but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.” He also made headlines that same year by featuring a same-sex kiss in his BET Awards performance, reflecting his will to be “out there with it.”
His numbers speak for themselves, but throughout the last couple of years, the Grammy Award-winning act has also spoken about his experience as a gay artist in the industry. In a 2021 conversation with GQ, Nas said, “I do feel like this newer generation of rappers who are coming in, and the ones who are here, are going to have to reshape their thoughts. Because change is happening. There’s going to be so many gay rappers. There’s going to be more trans people in the industry and whatnot. Ten years from now, everything that I’m doing won’t even seem like it was shocking.”
Lil Wop
Late 2010s tracks “No Heart,” “Lost My Mind,” and “Like A Savage” are just a few of the records that resulted in Lil Wop’s popularity in the rap game. He was previously linked as a signee to Gucci Mane, before eventually going off on his own path. That new road also included more spiritual freedom, apparently.
In 2022, Wop got on Instagram and, in a since-deleted post, confirmed his sexuality by saying, “I’m Bisexual I Like Guys & Girls.” Some fans assumed he was “clout chasing,” considering how soon the post was taken down. But in an interview with Say Cheese! that same year, Wop doubled down on the announcement. “I was just saying how I feel, for real, on some real shit,” he added. Wop hasn’t said much else on the matter, but his coming out was mostly met with praise from fans who appreciated the honesty. He continues to release music and inspire people across the globe by refusing to be anyone other than his true self.
Megan Thee Stallion
In a lot of ways, Megan Thee Stallion sets the bar when it comes to women in rap. She’s won Grammys for songs like “Savage” with Beyoncé, has secured a slew of platinum plaques for tracks like “Body” and “Hot Girl Summer” with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, and has proven herself through a long list of viral freestyles that showcase her in full form as a lyrical assassin with a Texan bounce. She often uses a hurried cadence, though once fans look past the flow and zero in on the content, it becomes apparent that she’s hinted at being bisexual multiple times over the last few years.
In her 2020 hit “Captain Hook,” she rapped, “I be texting with a bi chick/We both freaky, just trying shit.” In her “Tuned In” freestyle that came out a year later, she spits, “I got a nigga but I think some of you bitches cute.” Elsewhere and in a 2020 interview with British Vogue, she was asked about the bisexual reference in “Captain Hook,” to which she explained, “I mean, you know, I kissed a few girls before [laughs]. We not scared of the ladies. It’s all love.” Aside from her co-collaborator Cardi B (the two combined for the platinum-selling, chart-topping smash “Wap” in 2020), Meg is easily one of the biggest women rappers on the planet. And she proudly wears her rainbow flag across her chest.
iLoveMakonenn
iLoveMakonenn’s “Tuesday” featuring Drake and “I Don’t Sell Molly No More” were inescapable when they were first released in 2014. The breakthrough records brought Makonnen’s first big wins in the music industry from a circulation standpoint. They preceded eventual standouts like the Gucci Mane-assisted “Spendin’.” Years after he found his initial success, Makonnen came out of the closet in a since-deleted 2017 tweet, where he wrote, “And since y’all love breaking news, here’s some old news to break, I’m gay. And now I’ve told u about my life, maybe u can go live yours.”
As recently as 2021, Makonnen opened up about this in an interview with Variety. Regarded by many as an inaugural voice in hip-hop’s now prospering melodic wave, he explained his decision to come out, which stems from him not wanting to lead fans on by lying about his real identity. “I feel like if you’re coming out in hip-hop, you have to be very brave. Understand that you’re doing this for so many people who are silent, not just for yourself.” Continuing a little later, he added, “I want to be a voice and a face for those in the industry and outside the industry—to let them know that they can just “do you.”
Azealia Banks
Like Tyler, The Creator, Azealia Banks was accused of being homophobic after she tweeted gay slurs. In 2015, the early purveyor of rap and house music’s modern-day combination clapped back on social media and shut all of that down while also confirming that she is bisexual. “Just give the Azealia banks is a homophobe thing a rest because I’m not. I have a transgender sibling. My whole life is gay,” she wrote from her since-deleted account. She followed up by tweeting, “All of my friends are gay, I am bisexual…. So please… Stop.”
Over the course of her career, Azealia has always been outspoken about how she feels across the board. And she’s built a cult following that respects her honesty and the extent of her artistic ability, as heard in records like “212” and “Anna Wintour,” among many others. That’s why even though she’s said some controversial things over time, Banks still prides herself on being a part of the LGBTQ+ community and jumps at any given opportunity to let it be known that she “caught the gay” a long time ago.
Cardi B
The rap game has never seen an act like Cardi B before. Over the last half-decade, since she started making music, Bardi has secured three diamond plaques (“I Like It,” “Girls Like You,” and “Bodak Yellow”), a handful of Grammy Awards for her first and only album Invasion of Privacy, four No. 1 songs and a No. 1 album. Hate it or love it, the proud stripper-turned-rapper is already a legend. And her wins in rap are also won for the LGBTQ+ community.
Listening through her small but effective catalog reveals that she has always been honest about her sexual experiences and preferences as a bisexual woman. However, a few years back, some fans accused Cardi of lying bout it all. Cardi denied that she was fronting and quoted a fan’s post by writing, “I ate bitches out before you was born. Sorry I don’t have razr phone pics to prove it to you.”
That wasn’t the first time Cardi spoke on her bisexuality as a result of intrusive fan commentary. Back when she was featured on Rita Ora’s “Girls” in 2018, Cardi hopped on Twitter and said, “I personally myself had experiences with other woman, shiieeett with a lot of woman! I thought the song was a good song and I remember my experience,” she declared in response to people who assumed that she was queerbaiting.
Kevin Abstract
Kevin Abstract, a former lead vocalist and founder of Brockhampton, was moved by Frank Ocean’s Tumblr letter about being with a man in 2012. “I had just had my first experience with a dude. It was just like, Thank you. It saved me,” he recalled to The FADER in 2016. That same year, Abstract’s first solo album, “American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story,” came out, a dedication to the first boy he fell in love with and a liberating moment that confirmed his sexuality. On the track “Papercut,” he looked in the rearview mirror and sang, “Can’t tell my mother I’m gay/The hardest part of my day is wishing I was fucking straight/Life could be so fucking easy, man.”
In 2021 and years after living his truth publicly as an artist, the gold-selling melodist talked with Esquire about his decision to come out publicly during that time. “Early on, I wanted to avoid [discussing sexuality] as much as possible and not make it a big thing, but the more you tour and the more you meet kids, they seem very moved by what you say. So it seems it’s only right to give back in that way,” he said, naming Lil Nas X as an inspiration.
Brockhampton appears dead after years of becoming one of the best groups in rap (see the Saturation series). Still, Kevin has another solo album in the tuck that could illustrate those previous stories of chasing freedom.
Kaash Paige
Kaash Paige has established herself as a maven of melodies and a core piece of hip-hop’s growing Rap&B scene. Projects like 2019’s Parked Car Convos (“Love Songs”), 2020’s Teenage Fever (“Mrs. Lonely”), and 2022’s S2ML (“All Girls Cry”) evidence the sonic capability she possesses. Kaash’s membership in the LGBTQ+ community is heard in her lyrics; that’s how her mom discovered that Kaash was bisexual.
“When I first made love songs, I tried to keep the word ‘girl’ out of it. I was like, I don’t think my momma wants to mess with that. [But then] I just did it—I put everything [out there]. My mom heard it, and she was kind of like, ‘Woah…’ But I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you, man. It’s music. It’s already out. This is me,’ she said to V Magazine in 2020.
Digging a little further back to a 2019 interview with the Dallas Observer, Kaash spoke on the advantage that being bisexual affords her music: “I find it cool because it’s like I’m speaking from a male and a female perspective at the same time. So I feel like that’s why everybody really fucks with me.”
Taylor Bennett
Taylor Bennett, the blood brother of Grammy Award-winning rapper Chance The Rapper, has managed to stay out of his family’s shadows by releasing well-received efforts like Restoration Of An American Idol in 2017, which housed timeless tracks like the Kyle-assisted “Favorite Colors” and “Grown Up Fairy Tales” with Chance. He came out as bisexual in a 2017 tweet and, since doing so, has become a notable advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Growing up, I’ve always felt indifferent about my sexuality & being attracted 2 one sex & today I would like to openly come out to my fans. I do recognize myself as a bisexual male & do & have always openly supported the gay community & will keep doing so in 2017. #ThankYou,” he wrote.
When speaking about the reception of his coming out announcement nearly five years later, Taylor told People in 2022, “[Since coming out], these have been the best years of my life. I’ve never been happier than now. I’ve never felt more confident in myself. I’ve never wanted to do more. I’ve never felt that I could do more. I’ve never felt more represented. And not just by myself, but by other people.”
His freedom has certainly been respected among fans across the globe. And while he may not be a stat-loader like his celebrated brother, Taylor’s music continues to land where it needs to be heard.
BbyMutha
BbyMutha, the devoted parent of two sets of twins, has been dropping EPs since 2014 and started to gain notice with tracks like “Rules.” In addition to the fiery songs and out of the many projects she released (some of the most applauded are 2015’s Wave and 2018’s BbyShoe), the alternative rapper has taken her talents from the depths of SoundCloud to the realm of mainstream acknowledgment. On the heels of her 2020 effort Muthaland, the world is now hip to the fact that she’s become a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community’s wave of rising rappers.
In a 2017 tweet, BbyMutha confirmed that she now identifies as gay. And a couple of years past that, she spoke on that coming-of-age experience as an adult. In conversation with The Gumbo, she discussed her performance at “Renaissance One”—a show that celebrated the LGBTQ+ frontrunners in music— and said, “Now that I’m grown I can just be gay, and I appreciate being able to play at shows like this because I can really really just be me! With other people that are like me!” Respectfully, she’s not a huge commercial draw, but her music speaks to a cult following that prioritizes freedom over social acceptance. There’s a reason why college students across the map are writing dissertations on her movement of sexual revolution.
