Black Queer Music History, Pt. 3 (1970s-1990s)

We have finally made it into the funky music y’all! It’s the years of disco and electronic music and black queer musicians were into it! If you watched Netflix’s series The Get Down, you know that queer folks were hugely instrumental in the spread of disco. We see it in the 70s with Sylvester and RuPaul takes over for him in the 80s and 90s as the genre changes. Over in the UK, Labi Siffre was playing with reggae sounds. Black queer women musicians were using this period of time to dig back into their blues and Americana roots to come up with some gorgeous soundscapes as well. Me’shell Ndegeocello (heart eye emoji), Tracy Chapman, Gaye Adegbalola and others were leaning into that older sound and making it fresh again, and this time, their queerness wasn’t implied, it was outright. Queer musicians have always had music in the mainstream, but what’s exciting about this time is that people were able to be out during their careers. Black queer babes growing up during this time got to see someone with the same identity as them who looked like them gain fame and acclaim. Representation matters y’all. These artists normalized being out, and their dedication to their craft made it possible our favorite artists of the 20th century to be who they are! This is my favorite era because the variety we hear during this time period is something like never before. Finally, queer black folks get to individually express their identities and aesthetics!