AFRICAN QUEER ARTISTS you should know JAMAL GROOTBOOM
Music is an integral part of many African nations with various genres having gained global popularity including Afrobeats from Nigeria and gqom from South Africa. And while many artists from the continent have gone on to receive global recognition, when it comes to queer representation there still a lot of room for some queers in this house. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of seven queer music artists who you need to know.
DESIRE X
TROYE SIVAN
ONE of half queer supergroup FAKA, Desire has been an unmistakenly queer artist who has travelled the world because of their unique outlook of queerness with a very in your face approach in the visuals both live and in their music. With FAKA’s music even being the inspiration for Versace’s S/S 2019 collocation landing them and fellow bandmate Fela Gucci to be front row at the show but also having the world take note. Recently they dropped their first solo album, Desire, which saw the artist push boundaries thematically with regards to queer expression and sonically playing with various genres including gqom and various club infused subgenres. They are a voice that had changed the queer scene for both South Africa and the continent.
While Troye Sivan started his journey as the lead actor in the Spud movies he later gained popularity on YouTube and spun that off into a highly successful singing career. When Troy came out in 2013 it was a big moment since he was the lead in a highly successful film series. His debut album Blue Neighbourhood explored the trials and tribulations of queer adolescence. And for the time having an openly gay man making music that focused on queer love opened lots of people, especially his young audience at the time, to the normalcy of it. Although he is Australian, Troye was born in Johannesburg before his parents moved Down Under when he was 2 years old. And still today his music is unabashedly queer with him dropping his latest EP In a Dream in August.
