The Chicks - "March March"

The Chicks, as they are now known, have been through many iterations in their existence. They were at the height of international country stardom when their seemingly insurmountable tower was toppled by an off-hand comment about the then President of the United States, George Bush in 2003.

After being exiled from country music for years, with fans burning discs and memorabilia, they returned even more triumphant to win grammy after grammy award in 2007 with their monumental album, Taking the Long Way, and they’ve only gotten stronger since.

Seven years later they have fully embraced their legacy as political activists and after releasing their single “Gaslighter”, a smart commentary about the now current president, they’ve fought vailiantly forward and changed their band name in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the increasing tensions fighting against white supremacy in America.

These are the kinds of allies we need. These are humans who know their place in the world and are using their privilege to make sure equality is established.

So today, with my own drum banging in my hand, I choose The Chicks’ “March March” as my, go on with your bad self, like a flare in a storm, hold on to your truth, song for a, show them the way, forgive them, “If your voice had no power they wouldn’t try to silence you”, Thursday.

Jennifer Hudson - "Young, Gifted, & Black"

Standing on the shoulders of Nina Simone & Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson lends her powerful voice to this masterful interpretation of this classic song, which only becomes more relevant in today’s highly volatile socio-political climate.

So today with tension like a tightrope, I choose Jennifer Hudson’s version of “Young, Gifted, & Black” as my, raise them up, live for the dreams of children, be stronger than their hate, song for an, ignorance can no longer be anything but willful, shred the last bastions of hate hidden in "history”, remember that no one’s truth is truly objective but also no one truth should be the only one spoken, Wednesday.

MNEK & Zara Larsson - "Never Forget You"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

MNEK (also known as Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike) is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer who has worked with a wide spectrum of pop, dance, and R&B artists, in addition to achieving chart success on his own. First making a major impact on the British pop charts by co-writing early-2010s hits by the Saturdays and Duke Dumont, his strong, soulful vocals were featured on "Ready for Your Love," a 2014 Top Five single by London-based house duo Gorgon City. He went on to work with Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, and Madonna, and his 2015 collaboration with Zara Larsson, "Never Forget You," became a worldwide smash. His other longstanding collaborators have included Rudimental, Becky Hill, Shift K3Y, and Little Mix, among many others. MNEK was awarded an ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2016. He was featured on Stormzy's 2017 Top 10 hit "Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2," and his debut album, Language, was released in 2018.

Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike was born to Nigerian parents in the South London district of Lewisham in 1994. Although he started using the MNEK moniker in 2008, he'd already been creating '80s and '90s soul-inspired pop for a good four years. Recognition of his songwriting talent came in the form of a deal with EMI Publishing in 2009, but it was another two years before his debut solo single, "If Truth Be Told," was issued on Moshi Moshi Records. During this period, Brian Higgins of the Xenomania songwriting and production team enlisted his help on the Saturdays' track "All Fired Up." Not only did the single hit the Top Ten in the U.K., but a MNEK-penned lyric from the track went on to inspire the title of the British-Irish group's third studio album, On Your Radar.

Summer 2012 brought further success when MNEK co-wrote and produced "Home Run," the debut single by Manchester-born, eighth season X Factor semifinalist Misha B. Little Mix, the winners of that same series, also benefited from his programming work on their July 2012 U.K. number one, "Wings." Early the following year, MNEK co-wrote Duke Dumont's house-inspired U.K. number one "Need U (100%)," and was also involved in the composition of four tracks on Home, the debut album from London-based electronic act Rudimental.

In 2014, he was featured on the British Top Five hit "Ready for Your Love" by Gorgon City, while his own "Every Little Word" and "Wrote a Song About You" entered the British singles chart as well. Those two songs, as well as "The Rhythm" -- his first solo U.K. Top 40 hit -- formed the basis of the 2015 EP Small Talk. A July single featuring vocals by Swedish vocalist Zara Larsson, "Never Forget You," reached the Top Ten across Europe, including number one in Larsson's native country and on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Electronic chart. He followed with the singles "At Night (I Think About You)" and "Don't Stop Me Now" in 2016, later joining with Riton and House Gospel Choir on 2017's "Deeper." In early 2018, MNEK issued the single "Tongue," which landed on his debut full-length, Language (Virgin EMI). MNEK collaborated with Years & Years on their 2019 single "Valentino."

He’s the kind of writer that other writers love. He has the uncanny talent of helping the people he works with shine even brighter. Something very difficult to do when you work with some of the biggest stars on the planet.

So today, with stars shining bright all around me, I choose MNEK & Zara Larsson’s “Never Forget You” as my, remember all the beauty, try not to dwell, take the first step back toward happiness, song for a, look up little darling, run on home, shake off the dust and step into the sun, Tuesday.

Kehlani - "You Should Be Here"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

Tsunamis can't be tamed, just as the magnitude of Kehlani's profoundness can't be quantified. This Oakland, California native changed the trajectory of her life when her 2015 mixtape You Should Be Here obtained a top 40 slot on the Billboard 200, and later reaped a Grammy nomination for best urban contemporary album in 2016. Her debut album, SweetSexySavage, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, thereupon engraving the name 'Kehlani' into the pavement of popular culture. 

Singer Kehlani, who has said she’s part black, is a bisexual free-spirit from Oakland, California. Her hit songs “Distraction” and “The Way” have attracted mainstream attention. But it’s one of her lesser-known songs that will leave you with the utmost respect for the singer.  

In “First Position,” a bold Kehlani persuades a seemingly bi-curious woman to “stop messing with those boys and “get you a lady” and it’s utterly awe-inspiring.

It’s only a matter of time before more artists like this infiltrate the music scene. In the meantime, stay proud and claim your blackness and queerness deafeningly loud.

So today, with each part being valued, I choose Kehlani’s “You Should Be Here” as my, make your way, hold your breath, rest your legs then start the race again, song for a, you don’t have to be any other version of you, what you are is enough, you are worthy, Monday.

Big Freedia - "Rent"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

Who that? The Queen of Bounce, your honor. Big Freedia, the internationally acclaimed bounce musician, hailing from New Orleans, has released her own music and provided some of the most memorable features of the 2010s. On "Formation," the lead single off Beyoncé's Lemonade, Big Freedia emphasizes the fact that regular isn't in her genes. Perpetually carrying the stories of your people can become burdensome, but Freedia finds solace in redistributing remnants of culture across the globe. 

Freddie Ross[2] (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia (/ˈfriːdə/ FREE-də), is an American musician known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which was largely underground since developing in the early 1990s.[3] Freedia identifies herself as a gay man and has stated that she does not care which pronoun is used to refer to her.[4][5]

Freedia started singing in the choir of her neighborhood Baptist church, Pressing Onward M.B.C., and started her professional performance career around 1999. In 2003, she released the studio album Queen Diva.[6] She first gained mainstream exposure in 2009, and her 2010 album Big Freedia Hitz Vol. 1 was re-released on Scion A/V in March 2011, as well as a number of music videos.[7]

Freedia has been featured in publications such as Village Voice and The New York Times, and has performed on Last Call with Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and at SXSW, where she received a positive review from Rolling Stone. In 2011, she was named Best Emerging Artist and Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist in January's "Best of the Beat Awards,"[8] and was nominated for the 2011 22nd GLAAD Media Awards.[9] In 2013, she got her own reality show on the Fuse Channel, which chronicles her life on tour and at home. On July 7, 2015, she released her autobiography God Save the Queen Diva!.

In 2016 Beyonce released a surprise single Formation sampling Freedia's voice. At the end of 2016, Freedia was featured in a local New Orleans television ad for Juan LaFonta Law Office, in which she is shown rapping with bounce music and dancers. In 2018, she released the EP Third Ward Bounce.

April 2020 collaborated with New Kids on the Block, Jordin Sparks, Naughty by Nature and Boyz II Men in their Song "House Party", a song written during social distancing during Covid-19. The Video for "House Party" was shot on everyone's cell phone.

She also provided additional vocals for Drake's 2018 number-one hit "Nice for What", though she is not credited as a featured artist. In the late 2010s she befriended Kesha with the two collaborating on each others’ projects. Freedia has a new album coming out in 2020.

So today, with a little more bounce, I choose Big Freedia’s “Rent” as my, make them pay, shake it down, work it out, song for a, never be afraid to be you, daring is what you are, fearless is what we can be together, Friday.

Zebra Katz - "Ima Read"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

Ojay Morgan, better known by his stage name Zebra Katz, is an American rapper best known for his 2012 single "Ima Read". He is part of a wave of queer hip hop artists who emerged in the 2010s, who were influenced by elements of the LGBT African American ball culture other artists in the same movement include Mykki Blanco, Cakes da Killa, House of LaDosha, and Le1f.

The single "Ima Read", which took off when fashion designer Rick Owens used a repeated loop of the song to soundtrack his 2012 show at Paris Fashion Week, was released on Jeffree's, Diplo's imprint for the Mad Decent record label.  Its video was directed by RUBEN XYZ. It has been described by The Guardian as "queer rap's crossover hit", and has been widely remixed by artists as diverse as Tricky, Azealia Banks, Gangsta Boo, Grimes and Busta Rhymes.

Zebra Katz was originally created while Morgan was studying at Eugene Lang College in New York City, growing out of a performance art piece called "Moor Contradictions". He subsequently worked on songs and videos as a hobby while working as a manager for a catering company, and began to pursue music more actively when he started garnering wider attention following the Owens show.

Morgan conceives of Zebra Katz as "the dark rapper, the dark villain, the dark lord of the fashion world". The single "Ima Read" is an allusion and tribute to Paris Is Burning, the influential 1990 documentary film about ball culture.

Morgan has since released two mixtapes, Champagne (2012) and Drklng (2013). He has performed many concerts in the United States and the United Kingdom, both solo and as an opening act for Azealia Banks.

In 2015, he released a collaborative EP with Leila, titled Nu Renegade.

His debut solo studio album, Less Is Moor, was jusr released a few months ago in 2020, and it is FIRE!

So today, with a b*^@# on read, I’m choosing Zebra Katz’s “Ima Read” as my, change that tune, slap that look right off your face, don’t step up unless you want to be sat down, song for a, not today karen, one too many times, you are the part of the “we” that needs adjustment, Thursday.

Kevin Aviance - "Din Da Da"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

One of the most well known performers to come out of the 90’s club kid era. He became an anti-violence activist after being the victim of a hate crime in 2006.

Kevin Aviance (born Eric Snead on June 22, 1968 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American drag queen, club/dance musician, fashion designer and nightclub personality. He is a personality in New York City's gay scene and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He is a member of the House of Aviance, one of the vogue-ball houses in the U.S. He is known for his trademark phrase, "Work. Fierce. Over. Aviance!" He won the 1998 and 1999 Glammy Awards, the award for nightlife personalities in New York City. He has worked with several artists, including Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston. In December 2016, Billboard Magazine ranked him as the 93rd most successful dance artist of all-time.

Aviance was raised in Richmond, Virginia, in a close-knit family of eight siblings. His father provided for them as a landscape contractor.  From an early age, Aviance dedicated himself to the study of music and theatre, his first experience in drag was in the seventh gr His early influences were "punk, Boy George, Devo, and Grace Jones". He moved to Washington D.C. where he worked as a hairdresser and did drag performances. He developed a bad crack habit but with help of the House of Aviance he was able to overcome it, after his initiation in the house he took the name Kevin Aviance. He later moved to New York City and made a name for himself as a dancer/performer at Sound Factory, a club mainly for queer Latinos and blacks. Major DJs and club promoters saw him performing and started hiring him, he became one of a handful of drag performers in NYC able to support themselves solely on performances. His career as a performance artist and club personality began in Washington, DC, continued in Miami, and eventually landed him in New York City. The House of Aviance was founded in 1989 (in Washington, DC) by Mother Juan Aviance. Kevin is regarded as Mother Juan and the House's "oldest daughter". In 1993, Aviance, who was living in Florida at the time, was asked to move to New York City by Mother Juan. He accepted his House Mother's request and shortly after landed a cameo role in Madonna's 1994 Secret video.  In July 1999, Aviance performed as part of Billboard's sixth annual Dance Music Summit.

Aviance has appeared in several films, including Flawless starring Robert De Niro and the independent film Punks. Besides his feature-film work he has made guest appearances on such shows as The Tyra Banks Show, and America's Next Top Model, also hosted by Tyra Banks, and worked with artists like Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston. His songs Din Da Da, Rhythm Is My Bitch, Alive, Give It Up and Strut, have all reached Number 1 of the Billboard dance chart. The only one of his singles not to peak at Number 1 to date is Dance for Love. Aviance's most successful dance radio hit to date is Give It Up released in 2004. His second album, Entity is a more consistent effort than his first.

On June 10, 2006 while exiting the Phoenix, a popular gay bar located in the East Village section of Manhattan, Aviance was robbed and beaten by a group of men who yelled anti-gay slurs at him. Four suspects were arrested under New York's hate-crime law, but reports say up to seven men were involved in the attack. Aviance was not dressed in his gender-bending performance clothes but as a boy. He had to have his jaw wired for a month. He also suffered a fractured knee and neck injuries as well as blows to the face. Despite suffering a broken jaw, he insisted on appearing in the city's gay pride parade later that month.

The four suspects, who ranged between 17 and 21 years old, were charged with gang assault as a hate crime. On March 21, 2007, they pleaded guilty and were sentenced to between six and fifteen years in prison. Without the plea agreement, they had faced up to 25 years.

So today, bopping along, I choose Kevin Aviance’s “Din Da Da” as my, don’t you - won’t you, would you - could you, should you - shan’t you, song for a, life is confusing, pain like river slowly slicing and winding it’s way through the terra firma of our hearts, so too the valleys as are the peaks, Wednesday.

Meshell Ndegeocello - "Two Doors Down"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

Mercurial and masterful, Meshell Ndegeocello has survived the best and worst of what a career in music has to offer. She has eschewed genre for originality, celebrity for longevity, and musicals trends for musical truths. She has lived through the boom and bust of the industry and emerged just as she entered - unequivocally herself. Fans have come to expect the unexpected from Meshell, and faithfully followed her on sojourns into soul, spoken word, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, rock, all bound by a lyrical, spiritual search for love, justice, respect, resolution, and happiness.

Although Meshell Ndegeocello scored a few hits early in her career, the bassist, singer, and songwriter later opted to concentrate on more challenging material by exploring the politics of race and sex, among other topics. From her 1993 Maverick label debut through her releases of the 2010s for Naïve, she built a discography of recordings that defied classification through progressive mixtures of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and rock. Initially held in regard primarily for her bass playing and bold lyrics, her songwriting, which often examined dark interpersonal issues, was just as exceptional.

Michelle Lynn Johnson, born on August 29, 1968, spent the first few years of her life in Germany. Her father was both a military man and a jazz saxophonist. She relocated with her family to Virginia in the early '70s. As a youngster, Johnson developed an interest in music; during her teenage years, she began to play regularly in the clubs of Washington, D.C., but eventually settled down in New York City after a stint of studying music at Howard University. By this point, she was going by Me'Shell NdegéOcello -- her adopted last name Swahili for "free like a bird." After auditioning for several bands, including Living Colour, NdegéOcello struck out on her own and often performed solo with just a bass, drum machine, and keyboard. In the early '90s, she was one of the first artists signed to Madonna's Warner-affiliated Maverick label.

NdegéOcello's debut album, 1993's Plantation Lullabies, was produced with David Gamson, as well as with André Betts and Bob Power, and involved input from a wide range of musicians, including DJ Premier, Joshua Redman, Bill Summers, Wah-Wah Watson, and David Fiuczynski. An impressive first album, it spawned the hit "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" and received three Grammy nominations. A duet with John Mellencamp on a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night," released a year later, brought her more mainstream attention; it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Almost three years passed between the release of NdegéOcello's first and second albums, but during the wait, she collaborated with Chaka Khan on the track "Never Miss the Water," and she appeared on movie soundtracks (White Man's Burden, Money Talks) and on such multi-artist releases as Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing and Lilith Fair, Vol. 3. Peace Beyond Passion finally saw release in 1996, peaked higher on the Billboard 200 (at number 63), and was also nominated for a Best R&B Album Grammy. Its cover of Bill Withers' "Who Is He (And What Is He to You?)" topped Billboard's club chart. Produced by Gamson, it featured a longer list of noted associates, including several heard on the debut, as well as Billy Preston, Bennie Maupin, David Torn, Wendy Melvoin, and Paul Riser.

Another three-year break between albums occurred, during which time she collaborated with rapper Queen Pen on the track "Girlfriend." Bitter, for which she was billed as Meshell Ndegéocello, was released in 1999. She took another three-year break and emerged with Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape -- as Meshell Ndegeocello -- in 2002. Comfort Woman followed in 2003 and Dance of the Infidel, a sprawling album made with numerous collaborators from the jazz world, surfaced in 2005. Two years later, her fantastic Decca debut, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, which included guest appearances from Pat Metheny and Oumou Sangare, was released.

Her first pop-related recording in half a decade, 2009's Devil's Halo featured Ndegeocello in a quartet setting. The album also included guest spots from Lisa Germano and Oren Bloedow. Ndegeocello toured the album in opera houses and concert halls across the United States and Europe. In 2011, she partnered with Grammy-winning producer Joe Henry for the album Weather; it was issued on the Naïve label. In 2012, Ndegeocello released Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone, a collection of tunes intimately associated with the legendary vocalist and pianist. Comet, Come to Me, another deep set of introspective songs, followed in 2014. During the next few years, she appeared on a wide assortment of recordings by the likes of Terry Lyne Carrington, Chris Connelly, Benji Hughes, Marcus Strickland (whose Nihil Novi she produced), and Ibeyi. She returned as a leader in 2018 with Ventriloquism, for which she reinterpreted formative R&B classics of the '80s and early '90s.

She is a master re-interpreter and to watch her do so on such a classic country song like this one from Dolly Parton is incredibly impressive.

So today, with the door closed and the music coming in from my windows I choose Meshell Ndegeocello’s cover of “Two Doors Down” as my, deep breath, help is on the way dear, don’t give up yet, song for a, If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, hold on - hold on to yourself, Tuesday.