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A relative newcomer to music, the Peruvian-American artist dropped “Chill Chica” last summer, a track proving she definitely has the chops and confidence to make it as a vocalist in Miami’s buzzing urbano scene.
During Pride Month 2023, La Cruz went from an independent artist trying to make his mark to an empowering gay voice in reggaeton music.
Though her spotlight seemed to dim in recent years, the fierce dembow diva had a roaring comeback in 2018 with exuberant features on La Materialista’s “Cocoro” remix and Jhon Distrito’s “Que Rico Todo.”
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DJ Guapis has become one of Mexico City’s go-to reggaeton pied pipers, stirring crowds into sweaty perreo frenzies while actively promoting the safety, comfort, and visibility of trans and gender-nonconforming partygoers.
The 23-year-old Argentine singer, who is bisexual, got her start as an online content creator before self-releasing her debut EP “222” in 2019. An openly gay woman, Miko raps unapologetically about the sensuality of queer courtship, as heard on the breezy bangers “Wiggy” and “Castigada.” The rapper says this bold queerness gives her work a strong individuality.
Within a genre that I’ve listened to all my life, I had never heard a song where I could say, ‘Wow! The fear only stops you. The murder underscores rising violence in Puerto Rico amidst the island’s ongoing economic crisis – a concern for locals that even led Bad Bunny and Residente to pay Governor Ricardo Rosselló a late-night visit to demand better education funding as a means to reduce violent crime.
As Latin trap’s first openly gay standard bearer, Fret once again ignited debate over the space queer and trans people hold within the urbano movement.
Mabiland explores every part of her intersecting identities in her music, like in the powerful “Wow,” where she spits rhymes about the injustices against the Black community while celebrating Afro-Colombians in the music video. In 2020, Antillano broke out with the queer anthem “Pájara” where she proudly reclaimed anti-LGBTQ+ slurs.
The Dominican rapper made her musical debut in 2018 with the single “Pícala,” and a steady stream of singles – including collaborations with J Balvin, Rosalía, Marshmello and Madonna – has transformed her into one of the leading exponents of dembow, a dance genre with roots in Tokischa’s native Dominican Republic.
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“I feel [Pride Month] is necessary to see how far we’ve come and where we can go next,” La Cruz tells Billboard over Zoom.
Her frequent collaborator Pabllo Vittar made history as the first drag queen to perform at Coachella. At the same time, Tokischa is proudly pushing forward Dominican dembow music. Word to the wise: Don’t sleep on Solomon Ray.
Based in Bonao, Dominican Republic, Shakatah Astoa’s viral chapiadora anthems made her one of our favorite dembow breakouts of 2018.
Since then, there has been a notable increase of LGBTQ people in reggaeton, with women like Young Miko and Villano Antillano leading the way. “With my music, I want to give visibility and normalize a lot of things on a social level that are looked down upon.
I feel like it’s all about freedom. It’s all about having the freedom to be yourself, to do what you want, to embrace who you are, and not be afraid or scared or embarrassed of anything because that’s just us.”
Being openly queer can be met with a lot of resistance, though. Throughout his debut album Hawaira, which is named after his Venezuelan hometown, his objects of affections are clearly identified with male pronouns.
That was me showing the world that other things exist. Singles like “El Otro” and “Over You” lean directly into Ray’s mainstream ambitions, singing of loss and heartbreak over glossy pop production, while the sexy playfulness of “Así Así” practically dares industry naysayers to underestimate his raw potential. La Cruz has since manifested that gay fantasy into a blossoming music career with co-signs from giants in the genre like Karol G, Young Miko and Danny Ocean.
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Like Uchis, her frequent collaborator and close friend Omar Apollo is another American-born artist who is embracing his Latino roots in his music.
In the music video for electro-pop anthem “No Te Kiero Olvidar,” Blue brought his locker room fantasy with the men’s soccer team captain to life. In 2020, Luísa Sonza, who is openly bisexual, enlisted Vittar and Anitta for the queer Brazilian anthem “Modo Turbo.”
Kali Uchis is part of the new wave of American-born artists who are embracing their Latino roots in their music.