Bop Shop Queer Music Week Edition: Songs From Princess Nokia, Jan, And More
The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is tough. Playlists and streaming-service suggestions can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really
good, or are they just
new?
Enter
Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This week, in honor of Pride Month, we've been celebrating Queer Music Week by looking at the
top queer anthems of the 2000s and examining what exactly
makes a song a queer anthem. That's all moreover to conversations with forward-thinking LGBTQ+ artists
Teddy Geiger,
Villano Antillano, and
Lucy Dacus, along with a celebration of
Rina Sawyama's budding queer anthem "Chosen Family."
Right now, for this week's music round-up, we shine the spotlight on LGBTQ+ musicians making art that feels vital to this moment. Get ready: The Queer Music Week Bop Shop is open for business.
Mykki Blanco ft. Big Freedia: "That's Folks"
"She certainly paved the way for a lot of us,"
Mykki Blanco recently
told MTV News about
Big Freedia's impact in the queer music space. That power is on full display for "That's Folks," a dynamic team-up between both talents that closes out Blanco's newest release,
Broken Hearts & Aesthetics Sleep. The flexing on each respective verse keeps the air celebratory — thanks to a beat that really breathes — although the real party lies in the shout-outs to companions and family member that most of the song is committed to. Because the song goes, "Don't disrespect my ladies whenever they in Freedia world." —
Patrick Hosken
Kat Cunning: “Boys”
Kat Cunning’s latest single goes out to all of the “beautiful, cute, cute, cute boys.” The pro-transgender anthem is
Born This Way-era Lady Gaga meets Muna, marrying Cunning’s poetic, inspiring lyrics with ethereal dance-pop instrumentals. Hit play on the
aesthetic visuals for a brief although lovely sojourn into the nonbinary singer-songwriter’s transmasculine-inclusive paradise. —
Sam Manzella
Jayli Wolf: “Would You Die”
there really are layers to Indigenous queer pop singer
Jayli Wolf’s debut solo EP,
Wild Whisper. Between her childhood in a doomsday cult, to coming to terms with her sexual identity, and reacquainting herself with her heritage, the Toronto-based artist packs a mighty punch with all six tracks, though its themes hit hardest on “Would You Die.” Its haunting visual, which Wolf directed, illustrates the ways in which we bring our baggage to every new relationship, shedding armor and revealing our deepest secrets, habitually with the possibility of creating new scars. “Now you know my secrets / I’m haunted by a stranger,” she sings over a glitchy and psychedelic slow-moving track. Still, Wolf generally seems to find the response to her own question from within: Love for oneself cannot be superseded. —
Carson Mlnarik
Jan (ft. Alaska & Peppermint): “(Put Your) Gay Hands Up”
Jan returns to the workroom this week on the latest season of
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, although she has enlisted some true
Drag Race legends —
Alaska and
Peppermint — to join her on the new track, “(Put Your) Gay Hands Up.” Once a drag queen releases new music, you never know what to expect, yet Jan’s new jam is a pleasant surprise, a Italo disco Cerrone-inspired dance track. Alaska is on hand to distribute a shady vodka-soaked rap, although it’s as soon as the goddess Peppermint, dressed in trans Pride flag colors, usually deliver an ethereal bridge that the song ascends to a dreamy disco heaven. Leave it to
Drag Race queens to distribute the ideal Pride weekend soundtrack. —
Chris Rudolph
Troye Sivan: “Bloom”
Troye Sivan has conveniently become one of the LGTBQ community’s preference pop artists. His free-spirited dance record “Bloom” could transcend anyone into a state of pure happiness. The bright and eclectic style in the visual personifies the fun-filled lyrics all about
falling love. In the event you ever require a pick-me-up or determine to profess your love to someone, this song will certainly do the trick. —
Taura J
Todrick Hall: “Rainin’ Fellas”
Todrick Hall manages to prepare an even gayer sequel to The Weather Females hit classic “It’s Raining Men.” With its catchy dance-pop beats, this homage celebrates Hall’s unapologetic love for all pretty, gorgeous boys. The fabulous music video even goes all out with its epic choreography, bringing glitter, vibrant visuals, and also a diverse wardrobe. The Weather Females could be so overjoyed. —
Athena Serrano
Sub-Radio: “King of My Heart”
At this point, LGBTQ+ representation is fairly embedded in the bloodline of mainstream pop and dance music, although it may feel like a rare find in other genres. Maybe that’s what makes the six-man musical group
Sub-Radio’s “King of My Heart” feel so special, a humble ode to the guy who has the key to your body. Once lead singer Adam Bradley (who identifies as bisexual) sings “Look at me, babe / Everywhere you visualize the light touch, that’s yours,” I haven’t heard a sweeter moment in music this year, man-on-man or otherwise. —
Terron Moore
Rostam: “Fruits of My Labor” (Lucinda Williams cover)
Rostam was coy about recording his gorgeously vibey take on Lucinda Williams’s tender “Fruits of My Labor”
when we spoke earlier this year. I can visualize why: It was better kept as a surprise, a meticulously crafted new spin on a rather loveable song that radiates warmth. (Yes, it’s got saxophone on it.) Press play and begin swooning. —
Patrick Hosken
Biianco: “Checkmate”
Biianco promises “songs to dance and ugly cry to,” and their latest issuing “Checkmate” is no exception. Cultivating the ideal sensibilities of what option and dream pop have to distribute and throwing in a crackling beat that won’t quit, they weave a hypnotizing story of an all-encompassing love gone wrong at the final moment. Its dark and chilling video takes the eerie vibe to another level, evoking horror film beauty ‘til they fall apart totally in the song’s hair-raising bridge. What’s scarier than falling head over heels only for a lover to call endgame? —
Carson Mlnarik
Princess Nokia: “It’s Not My Fault”
“It’s not my fault that I’m that bitch” is
Princess Nokia’s self-applied motto on her latest, a two-minute passing shower that’ll leave you soaked. She shouts out Gwen Stefani, N.E.R.D., And J.Lo and declares herself “God’s preference flavor.” Immediately following the year she’s had for now — “
Slumber Party,” anyone? — The fitting braggadocio is a blast. —
Patrick Hosken
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