Culture

10 New Songs By Queer Artists You Need to Hear: Zebra Katz, 070 Shake, Tove Lo, More


Openly queer artists are releasing tons of great music, now more than ever. To help you with this extremely good problem to have, them. is selecting the best songs released by rising queer artists. This month, we’ve highlighted tracks by Zebra Katz, 070 Shake, Ryan Beatty, Tove Lo, Ryan Beatty, Saucy Santana, Rina Sawayama, Caroline Rose, Lauren Auder, Raveena, and Jonah Mutono. Check them out below and listen along on our Spotify and Apple Music playlists.


Zebra Katz – “ISH”

Zebra Katz is BACK! The pioneering rapper — along with the likes of Mykki Blanco and Cakes Da Killa — forged a unprecendent scene around queer hip-hop back in the early 2010s with his slick-tongued, ballroom-infused rap, and broke out for his 2012 single “Ima Read.” After releasing his last solo mixtape Drkling in 2013, Katz is now finally prepping his debut album, Less Is Moor (out March 20). The newest single from the project, “ISH,” reveals Katz at his most sinister and grimy, switching between disses (“You fucking basic”) and lines of self-hype (“I came to own it”), as production by Sega Bodega turns the rapper’s voice into a cyborgian growl that even further fuels the sense of power and intimidation that Katz projects.

070 Shake – “Guilty Conscience”

New Jersey native 070 Shake broke out in 2018, when her soul-bearing voice cropped up all over the albums of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music release marathon that year, including Pusha-T’s Daytona and Kanye’s ye. But having recently released her debut full-length Modus Vivendi, Shake has proven that she’s an affecting songwriter in her own right, one who knows how to mine complex relationship trials to make evocative, lovelorn R&B. The best track on the album, “Guilty Conscience,” is a cruising ‘80s-inspired jam in which she sings about feeling absolved of guilt from cheating on her partner after discovering that they were cheating too. When she rips into her unfaithful partner with a beautiful metaphor (“You look like the moon in the morning/Jaded, faded, almost gone”), it’s only further proof that her strength is her ability to evoke nuance in her emotional states.

Tove Lo – “Bikini Porn”

“Bikini Porn,” the new single and video from Swedish pop star Tove Lo, makes a strong case for quitting your day job to prance around in a swimsuit all day. “All I do is drink champagne all day/
And I dance around my room naked,” she sings over a beat that’s more summer trop-pop than jacked-up house, like last year’s Sunshine Kitty album. But “Bikini Porn” is also not just a throwaway party song; co-produced and co-written by Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and producer, the track becomes darker and more twisted as heavier synths and menacing pitched-down vocals join Tove Lo towards its end.

Ryan Beatty – “Dark Circles”

Today, Ryan Beatty — the California singer best known for collaborations with Brockhampton and Tyler, the Creator — releases his sophomore album Dreaming of David, a turn into a more experimental, electronic take on pop. “Dark Circles,” a stand-out from the new full-length, sees Beatty taking a cue from Frank Ocean’s Blonde, with its use of pitched-down vocals, hypnotic R&B melodies, and incorporation of club genres — in this case, 2-step garage — into a larger dream pop landscape.

Rina Sawayama – “Comme Des Garçons”

Japanese-British musician and model Rina Sawayama’s latest track, “Comme Des Garçons,” is a svelte house-inflected bop that sees the pop artist flexing her confidence “like the boys.” It’s the second single from her forthcoming debut album SAWAYAMA (out April 17), and a change of pace compared to her earlier nu-metal-inspired single “STFU!,” perhaps hinting that SAWAYAMA is going to show a multitudinous array of sounds and attitudes.

Saucy Santana – “Gold Digger”

Tallahassee rapper and City Girls associate Saucy Santana only started rapping a year ago, but he blew up last fall with the outrageous Southern rap song “Walk Em Like a Dog.” His growing popularity made him a target of a drive-by shooting in December, which he says was a homophobic attack. But he quickly recovered and released a response track called “You Can’t Kill Me” to his assailants later that same month. Santana then proved that he actually is unstoppable when he released his debut mixtape Imma Celebrity in January, which features even more trunk-bumping tracks like “Gold Digger,” a boisterous party rap song that has a horn line that’s just as bold, sassy, and audacious as Santana is.

Caroline Rose – “Feel the Way I Want”

It’s possible that nobody has ever had as much fun as Caroline Rose does in the music video for “Feel the Way I Want,” a single from her forthcoming album Superstar (out March 16). Through the funky electro-pop anthem, Rose makes a case for self-love. “I’m so in love with myself, it’s so romantic/I see ’em starin’ as I walk down the line,” she sings over squiggly ‘80s-inspired synths. Her jubilance and spunk is so contagious, it’s hard not to follow suit and fall in love with her, too.

Lauren Auder – “june 14th”

Over the past year, Lauren Auder has gained a growing reputation amongst fans for their classically orchestrated avant-garde pop. But on their latest single and first official song since coming out as trans, “june 14th,” the 21-year-old London-based musician has never sounded so explosive and daring. With their rich baritone, they sing wrenching lines that resemble Lana Del Rey’s frankness: “Put me on the spot, I’ll say I do/Darling, every moment with you.” As the song grows to a melodramatic crescendo, so does Auder, seemingly unafraid to bear every inch of their soul.

Raveena – “Headaches”

Raveena Aurora’s voice is so warm and sultry, it could melt glaciers. The New York City-based musician is known for her sensuous, glowing R&B, which often touches on her sexuality, love, and spirituality. “Headaches,” the first single since the release of her 2019 debut album Lucid, is no different; the dream pop song is all about healing from heartbreak. The accompanying music video, which features Hitomi Mochizuki as her partner, is a beautiful portrait of how dizzyingly magic queer love can look like.

Jonah Mutono – “Circulation”

“Circulation” is R&B musician Jonah Mutono’s second single under his own name; for years he released music under the moniker Kidepo, a reference to a river and park in his home country of Uganda. The new single marks a turn into a more expansive, open sound for Mutono, as his Moses Sumney-like warbly voice floats above a swirling electronic instrumental. He also went back to Uganda to film the single’s Isaac Eastgate-directed video, which features two men circling and intertwining with each other as they engage in a hypnotic duet. “The piece is about tension — physical and emotional — and in this particular case, political,” Mutono said in a statement. “There is little kindness and space given to queer stories in that corner of the world.” 


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