10 queer Black country music artists to add to your playlist
Cowboy Carter.Although some of these artists have been around for a good while, the Beyoncé effect is real, and interest in Black country music is absolutely exploding. So if you really want to feel like you’re living home on the range, here are 10 gay black country artists to add to your playlist…Gay rapper Lil Nas X arguably kicked off the popularity of being queer and country with his Billy Ray Cyrus assisted mega hit, “Old Town” road, released in 2018.
And though Nas X has since made a transition into being a pop-focused artist, there is no denying that he got everyone talking when he put on the pink cowboy hat and started talking about riding “’til I can’t no more.”Thanks to the eternal popularity of queer icon Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car”—and country star Luke Comb’s cover—Chapman has had a recent resurgence as an artist, particularly in country music circles.
The cherry on top being Chapman winning Country Song of the Year for the song, 35 years after its debut, and being the first Black songwriter to win the honor at the Country Music Awards.Speaking of Tracy Chapman, rising queer country star Joy Oladokun was reportedly 10 years old when she saw a music video of the “Fast Car” singer playing the guitar and was inspired to learn the instrument and sing.
Now the Arizona-born Oladokun is a well-known performer in her own right, with a captivating smooth voice that has held audiences everywhere—from intimate venues to the White House.Queer Canadian country singer artist Allison Russell was in several music groups, including the Po’ Girl, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters, before she ventured out on her own and released her first solo album, Outside Child, in 2021.
