Black, Queer, and Hella Country
by Cindy Emch
Black folks making country music is not a new thing. Many music historians agree that both jazz and country music were birthed from the melting pot of juke joints and honkytonks of the American South where pianos were banged, banjos twanged, and basses thwapped by plenty of folks of every color and creed. In the 1920’s however, the young music industry, in the interests of maximizing profit, split this music into ‘race’ and ‘hillbilly’ records, and so began the erasure of African-Americans from country music.
Unfortunately, in today’s musical landscape, this myth is unfairly perpetuated and a lot of pretty amazing music gets swept under the rug and into the shadows. In the interests of shining a light on some awesome Black queer and queer-friendly country artists, I give you a list of my favorites.