
As the holiday season hits its stride, take a moment to celebrate some of your favorite queer artists by listening to their latest music. Billboard Pride is here to help with First Out, our weekly roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
From Rebecca Black and Slayyyter’s edgy new single to Saucy Santana’s long-awaited collab with City Girls, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Rebecca Black feat. Slayyyter, “Read My Mind”
Two queer pop artists coming together may not be anything particularly new, but the way Rebecca Black and Slayyyter take their sounds and fuse them into the digital-punk banger “Read My Mind” is well worth a listen. Chunky guitar lines get strewn about the song, along with some glittering synths, as the pair give in to a less-than-perfect relationship. “Read My Mind” will have you ready to headbang your way through the weekend while singing along: “We’ll ride into the night/ Your hand up on my thigh/ Wish you could read my mind.”
Saucy Santana, “Shisha (feat. City Girls)”
Among the many electrifying songs off rapper Saucy Santana’s new album Keep It Playa, the one that manages to hit the hardest is “Shisha,” the star’s long-awaited collaboration with his good friends, City Girls. Passing both the titular hookah and the mic back and forth, Santana, Yung Miami and JT trade bars as they gas each other up.
Pussy Riot, Rage Remixes
If you thought Pussy Riot’s music was chaotic and cool before, just wait until you get into their new versions with their Rage Remixes EP. A collection of updates to the Russian collective’s latest string of singles, Rage Remixes sees producers and artists like Hana, Boys Noize, Young & Sick and many more bring new life to their protesting masterpieces. Ranging from early-2000s rave to nu-metal to modern hyperpop, Rage Remixes has a little something for everyone.
Big Thief, “No Reason”
Indie mainstay Big Thief has always had a way of creating gorgeous soundscapes that could soothe even the most anxious of listeners — that remains true on “No Reason,” the excellent new single off the band’s forthcoming album. Adrienne Lenker’s voice shines as usual, singing about the kind of togetherness that many of us search for around the holiday season when she croons, “Come together for a moment, look around, and dissolve.” “No Reason” is chicken soup for the soul in a time when we’re all desperately in need of it.
Abisha, “Numb (Jess Bays Remix)”
Feeling like you want to dance through the holidays this year? Abisha has got you covered with the new remix to her single “Numb.” Collaborating with rising DJ Jess Bays, Abisha brings a new house sensibility to the formerly groove-heavy R&B single. Now with a pulsing beat and some deep bass humming throughout, “Numb” transforms into a new dance floor favorite, bringing a new context to her words as she sings, “We fall in lust, but we don’t fall in love.”