INFLUENCER'S CHOICE - PRIDE ARTIST EDITION

Here at We Are: The Guard, we are constantly telling you all about what we’re listening to. While we have (we dare think) excellent taste and bring you the best new tracks every week, we thought it would be fun to switch it up and hear what some of our favorite artists have been bumping during Pride month. We asked our Pride 2020 Emerging Artists and other pals (and legends in our circle!) what they’ve been enjoying. Not only did we get song recommendations from absolute legends and icons like Big Freedia and Peaches, we also heard from Elton John’s new favorite Rina Sawayama, Wrabel, Pabllo Vittar, our very own BAUM, and some of our favorite new artists! We are absolutely stoked to share these jams with you!

SYLVESTER

“Sylvester was one of the first artists who influenced me as an LGBTQ artist. Sylvester was an artist who was loud and proud and knew who he was. I have most definitely been inspired and have translated my own stories and personality in my music. Loud and proud.”

Selected by: Big Freedia

SHAMIR

“'I adore Shamir!!! Had the pleasure of collaborating with them on a song from my first EP which brought this incredible energy to the track and really rounded the meaning behind it. Such a unique talent and this new track was one of the most instantaneously brilliant things I've heard this year.”

Selected by: Rina Sawayama

ABDU ALI

“Abdu Ali is a master performer and not only because he can command your attention with high energy experimentation. I saw him perform in this huge gorgeous skirt , and after whipping the crowd into a frenzy, he had the whole audience sitting in a circle completely silent and hanging on his every word like he was Julie Andrews teaching the family Von Trapp how to sing their first notes. He is not afraid to experiment and feel free. I admire him for that. This song always puts me in a great positive mood!”

Selected by: Peaches

URIAS

"Let's talk about Urias! She is an incredible artist with just one EP released yet, and great videos. She represents a lot of what I like when we talk about “having the whole package.” I just love her, you should listen to her music and watch her videos ASAP!”

Selected by: Pabllo Vittar

KIMMIE DEVEREUX

“I found this song on one of my friend’s blogs called Thread and was just like wow. I wish I had this song when I was younger to help me through. A beautiful song from a beautiful person.”

Selected by: Wrabel

070 SHAKE

“One of my fav new artists is 070 SHAKE, I love her style, her atmospheric sound and all around dark and moody vibes. She has an awesome blend of hip hop and great pop melodies. "Guilty Conscience” is a great song more on the pop side. Then you have “Morrow,” which has a darker, sadness to it. In general, I love to just put her album on play because there are so many gems in there.”

Selected by: Leon Else

BRONSKI BEAT

“An artist and song that helps me relate to pride month is Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy.” I was a small town boy with big dreams, coming from a small seaside town on the south east coast of England. It takes me back to when I was there dreaming of a freedom to be myself and a world that was out there somewhere. A place where I would fit in and could meet others like me and be myself. It gives me all the feels. I was bullied and didn’t fit in, and this song gave me hope.”

Selected by: Leon Else

BAYLI

“I've been non-stop listening to anything by Bayli. She's an incredible queer artist that makes such bouncy music with tons of edge and cool behind it. Her latest single "Boys Lie" is a super fresh sound that always steals attention in any playlist. To know what else I'm listening to, feel free to check out my playlist Bronze BPM which is updated daily.”

Selected by: Bronze Avery

BRONZE AVERY

“I'm listening to Boys! by Bronze Avery. Bronze is an artist, writer, and producer who writes gay bops. I've been lucky enough to get to know him irl and he's also a fire individual.”

Selected by: Myylo

THE REPLACEMENTS

“The song “Androgynous” by The Replacements is so closely linked with my first Pride experiences. When I heard this song for the first time I had never heard an artist sing explicitly about gender queerness. I remember hearing “and tomorrow Dick is wearing pants / and tomorrow Janie’s wearing a dress” and feeling like this thing I experienced - the fluidity of my sexuality and gender - was a cool thing.”

Selected by: BAUM

While this turbulent Pride month comes to a close, it’s easy to feel bummed out about not being able to celebrate as usual, but don’t fret! First off, coming together to protest against injustice is exactly what pride is about (if you’re unfamiliar, I gave a brief history lesson in our last pride post), and secondly we still have amazing music. Make no mistake- the songs mentioned above aren’t just gay anthems and new tracks to play for the next week until July comes around, these are new, on-the-rise artists who are on course to blow up, and legends who you need to know about. Thanks to our artist pals for having such great taste!

Images by:
Kowarski CC 2.0
Levi Manchak CC 2.0
Justin Higuci CC 2.0
Bruno Figueiredo CC 2.0

Arielle Tindel is from Cleveland, Ohio. She recently graduated from Berklee College of Music with degrees in Music Business Marketing and Songwriting. In her free time, Arielle can be found gardening or playing bass.