LGBTQ Hip-Hop Artists Who Thrive Against All Odds

Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin".

While in high school, Rico Nasty began self-releasing content in 2014 and had released five solo mixtapes by late 2017. She gained a local, underground following with SoundCloud singles such as "iCarly" and "Hey Arnold". After gaining wider recognition in 2018, she signed to Atlantic Records where she released her sixth mixtape, Nasty (2018). This was followed by the collaborative mixtape Anger Management (2019) with long time associate Kenny Beats. Rico Nasty's debut studio album, Nightmare Vacation, was released in December 2020. Rico's seventh mixtape, Las Ruinas, was released on July 22, 2022.

Anna Wise (born February 16, 1991) is an American singer, who has independently released music as a member of bands Sonnymoon and Built to Fade. She became more widely known for her collaborations with rapper Kendrick Lamar and hip hop group CunninLynguists. She won a Grammy Award for her collaboration with Lamar, "These Walls".

Wise began her musical career with the band Sonnymoon, a collaboration with Dane Orr, who she met while studying at Berklee College of Music.

She was a part of the group Built to Fade alongside Dane Ferguson, Zoë Wick and Kno of CunninLynguists. While Wise was touring with Sonnymoon, Kendrick Lamar contacted her after hearing her music on YouTube through another emcee, Tunji. She now has become a regular collaborator with Lamar, appearing on 11 tracks. Since 2016, she has released three solo albums.

Jordan Mary Capozzi, better known by her stage name Lil Debbie, is an American rapper, model and fashion designer. Debbie started her career in 2011 as part of the now-defunct group The White Girl Mob, with rappers Kreayshawn and V-Nasty. In 2012, Debbie started a solo career, releasing a series of singles with rappers Riff Raff and former White Girl Mob group member V-Nasty, some of which ended up on her first solo project, a mixtape titled Keep It Lit. In October 2013, Debbie released her first EP, titled Queen D. In March 2014, Debbie released her second EP, California Sweetheart, followed by California Sweetheart Pt. 2 later in the same year. In November 2014, Debbie released her second mixtape, Young B!tch. Debbie also DJs under the moniker 'CAPOZZI'.

Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist among other accolades, and his two studio albums have been listed on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020).

Dave Hamelin is a Canadian musician, songwriter and producer known for his work with indie rock band the Stills. Originally the band's drummer, he moved to guitar and co-lead vocalist in 2005 when guitarist Greg Paquet left the band.

Kari Rose Johnson better known by her stage name Kari Faux, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. She is best known for her flamboyant dress, and conversational style of rap. Her songs are most commonly characterized as "internet rap" with repetitive hooks, minimal production, and an emphasis on clever wordplay.

The discography of Scottish music producer Sophie consists of one studio album, one compilation album, one remix album, one extended play, 14 singles, and eight official remixes. Sophie was also known for production and writing work for other artists such as Charli XCX, Madonna, Kim Petras, LIZ, and MØ among others.

Mykki Blanco is an American rapper, performance artist, poet and activist. She has collaborated musically with artists including Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and Blood Orange.

Shayna McHayle, known professionally by her stage name Junglepussy, is an American rapper and actress from New York City. Her first mixtape Satisfaction Guaranteed was released in 2014. She has received recognition from different artists such as Erykah Badu and Lil' Kim.

Brittnee Moore, known professionally by the stage name bbymutha, is an American rapper. She was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and began her career through SoundCloud. In 2017, she rose to prominence after the video for her song "Rules" went viral. Her debut studio album, Muthaland, was released in 2020.

Moore was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both of her parents were in high school at the time of her birth. Moore was raised primarily by her mother, a devout Christian. She has stated that her father, a barber, was physically abusive. She has a younger brother.

Moore had a turbulent adolescence. At school, Moore was an outcast and was bullied. At the age of 12, she moved to Pensacola with her mother. After physically assaulting a teacher at her school, Moore was committed to a psychiatric ward, where she was diagnosed with depression and ADHD. She was expelled from the school and moved back to Tennessee. By the age of 13, Moore had begun selling drugs and having sex with older boys. At 17, she became pregnant with her first pair of twins, Mekel and Mekeila, who she has raised alone, describing the children's father as a 'pedophile'.

Tierra Helena Whack (born August 11, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager, but later on reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut studio album, Whack World, was released in May 2018 and received widespread critical acclaim.

Whack was born in 1995 and raised by her mother in North Philadelphia. She has two younger siblings. In a 2018 interview with The Fader, Whack mentioned that she and her father are estranged. Whack was an introverted kid growing up; she would write to help herself deal with her insecurities. As a child, Whack loved the author Dr. Seuss so much that she would rhyme together each of her sentences for her homework assignments.

The Internet is an American alternative R&B band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of vocalist Syd, keyboardist Matt Martians, bassist Patrick Paige II, drummer Christopher Smith, and guitarist Steve Lacy.

Meghan Boody (born 1964) is an American artist. Her work consists largely of digitally manipulated photographs as well as some multimedia sculpture. It is surreal in nature – the surrealism movement began in 1924 – and heavily narrative, often focusing on themes of self discovery. The subject is usually a young girl, often elaborately dressed, who is placed in a bizarre setting. In the 1990s she began working with Adobe Photoshop, creating digital work based on composite imagery, and is considered one of the first artists to us this technique effectively.

Meghan Boody, born Margaret Liscomb Boody, was born in New York City in 1964. She was the only adopted child of her older parents and was raised on the upper east side. Her father worked at Columbia University and her mother worked as a tester for the Education Records Bureau. She spent lots of time alone, as she was the only child of two working parents, and created worlds of her own incorporating her toys, dog, and pet mice. Her family spent time in Long Island during the summer and weekends. She says of the experience that she “felt liberated and less alone, roaming the fields barefoot and shirtless, making forts with the neighborhood kids.” In 1995 Meghan married James C. Ayer Jr., who worked as a portfolio manager. He graduated from Yale and Oxford. Their marriage did not last, but they have a son together, who Boody credits as an inspiration to her work. She noticed that after his birth her work became “a little lighter and more reality based”.

Kathryn-Leigh Beckwith, also known as Kitty Ray, known professionally as Kitty, is an American rapper. She started her career in music as a teenager, uploading original songs to her Tumblr blog under the names Kitty Pryde and ♡kitty♡.

"Marcy & Hunson" is the seventh episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Graham Falk and series showrunner Adam Muto, from an outline by Muto, Jack Pendarvis, head writer Kent Osborne, and Julia Pott. The episode, which debuted on December 17, 2017 on Cartoon Network, guest stars Martin Olson as Hunson Abadeer.

The series follows the adventures of Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada), a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Peppermint Butler gives Finn a new sword, the Night Blade. However, he also summons Hunson Abadeer. When Finn and Jake let slip that his daughter Marceline (voiced by Olivia Olson) is performing a solo concert for ghosts, Hunson forces his way in.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation. Born and raised in Compton, California, Lamar began his career as a teenager performing under the stage name K.Dot. He quickly garnered local attention which led to him signing a recording contract with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005.

Lakisha Kimberly Robinson (born May 10, 1990), known professionally as Kilo Kish, is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist.

Kilo Kish was born in Orlando, Florida, on May 10, 1990. She attended Glen Rock Elementary School in Bergen County, New Jersey, but later returned to Orlando, where she graduated from Winter Park High School.

Aged 18, she received a scholarship to attend the private art college Pratt Institute in New York. While taking a year off, she worked multiple jobs before enrolling in the Fashion Institute of Technology for textile design, from which she graduated in 2012.

Kish began to pursue a musical career when her roommates, Smash Simmons and Mell McCloud, decided to set up an in-home studio, starting a project called the "Kool Kats Klub". It was through this exposure that she initially met Matt Martians of the neo-soul band The Internet, and collaborated on The Jet Age of Tomorrow's "Want you Still" and The Internet's "Ode to a Dream".

Himanshu Kumar Suri, better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapper from Queens in New York City. Best known for being part of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, Suri is also the founder of Greedhead Music, an independent record label. In 2012, Suri released his first solo mixtape, Nehru Jackets, on his Greedhead imprint and in conjunction with SEVA NY, a community-based organization from Queens of which Suri is a board member. In August 2015, Heems announced that Fox had bought his story rights for a potential sitcom, and that he was working on the pilot. He is currently a member of Swet Shop Boys along with actor and rapper Riz MC and producer Redinho.