LGBTQ+ and 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 queer musicians every month. This November, we’re highlighting tracks by Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama, Dua Saleh, Girl in Red, Yung Baby Tate, Ms. Boogie, Octo Octa, James Indigo, Partner, Lava La Rue, Grove, and Kinlaw. Check them out below, listen along on our Spotify and Apple Music playlists, and see earlier monthly music roundups here.
Lil Nas X – “Holiday”
When Lil Nas X announced that he would be releasing a holiday single with a Back to the Future-inspired trailer featuring Michael J. Fox, it was abundantly clear that it would not be a typical, jingle bell-adorned Christmas carol. Instead, the Old Town Road artist enlisted in-demand rap producers Take a Daytrip and Tay Keith to helm the production on “Holiday,” a bouncy hip-hop track that serves as Nas’ victory lap. As he confidently boasts about his career accomplishments, he’s even brazen enough to slip in a bar or two that explicitly address his queerness: “I might bottom on the low, but I top shit,” he raps. Considering the fact that he literally advertised the song during the commercial break of an NFL game, I’ll consider that a win for the gay agenda.
Rina Sawayama – “Lucid”
Rina Sawayama had an incredible year following the release of her debut album SAWAYAMA, despite COVID-related tour cancelations and other setbacks. But as if to put the cherry on top of her successful 2020 (haha, “Cherry,” get it?), the Japanese British musician has dropped a euphoric dance pop song called “Lucid.” On the uptempo track, Rina sings about falling for a woman whom she can’t tell is “real or a hallucination.” In a press statement, the artist said that the track is about the classic queer dillemma of not knowing whether you want to “be with the dream girl or to be the dream girl.” Considering that, plus the EDM production that’s giving me Chromatica vibes, this song seems especially made for the gays.
Dua Saleh – “Angel Rock”
After releasing their ROSETTA EP in June, whose rebellious songs gave off a punk rock intensity, Dua Saleh has decided to cap this year with “Angel,” a track that’s airy in its instrumentation but just as weighty in its subject matter. In a press statement, the Minneapolis artist explained that they wrote the song two years ago while “reflecting on the significance of hope during a difficult event such as poverty,” and found that one remedy to the despair was “undying love.” Even as their trembling voice hangs over a delicate bed of strings, played by co-producer Yuli, sorrow hangs heavy in their words: “When I close my eyes/You’re on the other side/Oh, what a funny vibe,” they sing, hovering in an emotional space somewhere between confusion and relief.
Girl in Red – “Two Queens in a King Sized Bed”
Girl in Red has proven time and time again that she can make a damn good gay love song; her music often expertly captures all the sweet, delicate feelings that flood the honeymoon phase of a new relationship. Her holiday track “Two Queens in a King Sized Bed” is no different, as she frames a simple cuddle session with her sweetie as a sort of royal affair. “Two queens in a king sized bed/There’s no mistletoe above our heads/But I’ll kiss you anyway on Christmas day,” she sings, capturing the comforting stillness that only arrives when you’re alone with your loved one.
Yung Baby Tate – “Rainbow Cadillac”
Yung Baby Tate has been high in demand this year. Ever since her song “STUPID” with Ashnikko went viral on TikTok, the Atlanta rapper has been working hard, after being enlisted for a range of projects from J. Cole’s latest Dreamville compilation to songs by UK rapper Bree Runway and EDM duo Krewella. Now, Tate is gearing up to release her next EP entitled After the Rain, out December 4 on Issa Rae’s new Raedio label. The first single on the project, entitled “Rainbow Cadillac,” is a no-fucks-given rap anthem that shows off the rapper being her silly and playful self, as she revives a 2006 Danity Kane single. But like she did on her 2019 Girls album, Tate proves that she doesn’t need anyone else when she possesses the range that could make up ten girl groups.
Ms. Boogie – “Fem Queen” [ft. Bella Bags, Miss Blanks, and Trannilish]
For Ms. Boogie, “fem queen” is not just a description or an identifier. “[It’s] a descriptive term for the joy of our being,” she told Office Magazine recently. “Think of it like a new church.” And like any successful leader of a movement, the Brooklyn rapper has decided to gather her congregation of fellow badass fem queens for a “megamix” of her August single “Fem Queen.” The trap track sees her alongside New York model/musician Trannilish, Miami-based artist Bella Bags, and Brisbane rapper Miss Blanks as they deliver cocky bars that seem to dare anyone to say they are anything less than flawless and fabulous. Together, they form a small fem queen army, making the term a rallying cry, a royal title, and a way of life.
Octo Octa – “River”
Octo Octa and Eris Drew, the New Hampshire-based DJ and producer couple who launched their T4T LUV NRG label last year, have recorded a 70-minute mix for the “fabric presents” series that explores themes of witchcraft and shamanism through UK garage, trance, progressive house, and more. It includes Eris’ exclusive track “Reactiv-8” and some rare ‘90s cuts, as well as Octo Octa’s new single “River.” In a statement, the artist has said that the 8-minute acid house track is about her relationship with Eris, the “ever-changing and shifting nature” of water, and her goddaughter River. “I saw her youth and excitement and thought about the future and all the healing to come,” Octo Octa said of the little one. “I wanted to bring all of that movement into the song.”
James Indigo – “Dick Print”
James Indigo is the rapper to watch going into 2021. Earlier this month, the Birmingham, England artist dropped off his latest Married to the Game EP — a collection of three bombastic, sex-positive tracks. While he’s been known to dabble in dancehall and more rave-ready sounds, he channels New York rap royalty like Nicki Minaj and Quay Dash while delivering rapid fire bars and giving shoutouts to femme tops on the standout track “Dick Print.” It’s not a question of whether his star will rise, but when.
Partner – “Here I Am World ”
Lucy Niles and Josée Caron of the Canadian band Partner have dedicated their careers to proving that dads are not the only people who are allowed to make dad rock. Since forming the project in 2014, the two frontwomen have played with the sounds of classic rock, usually associated with hypermasculine white dudes, and subverted them into their hilarious songs about queer identity. One standout song on their new album Never Give Up is “Here I Am World,” a sardonic anthem for everyone who wasn’t asked to be born in the first place. Triumphant and cheery, the track captures the thrilling feeling of being queer and feeling indifferent about the fact that you don’t have a place in the world.
Lava La Rue – “Angel” [ft. Deb Never]
Ahead of their upcoming Butter-fly EP, London artist Lava La Rue dropped off “Angel,” a collaboration with the Los Angeles alt-rocker Deb Never. Earlier this month, the artist described the track to them. as a “cross pollination of ‘70s acid rock and Talking Heads-inspired avant-funk” with their own “W10 London wave,” referring to their own West London postal code. This new foray into psychedelic indie pop track sees Lava rapping and singing about falling in love with a girl, showing off her ability to make an incredible queer love song out of any genre.
Grove – “Sticky”
Grove is a DJ, producer, and vocalist from Bristol, England who likes to blend elements of dancehall, hip-hop, and experimental rave in their eclectic music. Their latest track “Sticky” is another genre-melding track that was written as an ode to the Black, queer nightlife spaces they frequented pre-COVID. Over glitch sounds, they describe an encounter with a stranger during their first night attending Pxssy Palace, a London club night run by Black, queer femme creatives for queer womxn, trans, nonbinary and intersex people of color to party. Through their sensuous sing-song rhymes and raucous drum and bass production, Grove manages to capture that wonderfully messy and mesmerizing feeling of letting go in the club, for all of us who can’t be in one right now.
Kinlaw – “Permissions”
Kinlaw, the Brooklyn-based choreographer who has helped helm large-scale performances like 2016’s Authority Figure, seems to have endless modes of expression. A trained opera singer who has gone on to teach dance and pursue performance art, her next project is her very first solo record, The Tipping Scale. In the premiere of her latest single “Permissions,” Kinlaw told them. that she felt the song was the “most complex” of all the tracks on the album, in terms of the lyrics. “They’re very introspective, at times they can feel a little bit like pleading, and yet, it builds into this dance track,” she said. “That polarity of having an emotional confessional mixed with dance music feels really curious and interesting to me.”
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