Black History Month Hype Train
Some Black creators for you to follow and support.
Hello! It's the last week of Black History Month, but just like Pride is all year, we should be celebrating Black people all year, too. So in today's post, I'm going to be highlighting some Black artists and creators that I really enjoy, and hope you will take them with you long after February is over. I tried, for the most part, to go for somewhat lesser-known people or media, because like hopefully I don't have to tell you how amazing Cynthia Erivo and N.K. Jemisin are, and if I were to try to list ALL of my favorite Black actors, singers, influencers, and media, we'd be here until NEXT February. So my goal here is to find at least one person you hadn't heard of yet for you to check out.
And listen, some of these are going to be people or things you've heard of before (probably especially if you're not white) or have hundreds of thousands of followers, and you're going to think, "Valerie, are you an idiot?" and while the answer is usually yes, my line of thinking here is that they are popular in their very specific spheres. So if you aren't into D&D, but enjoy funny internet content, you might not have heard of some of these people I found through the TTRPG world, or if you're not as addicted to TikTok as me, you might not have come across some of these accounts. But even if you have, my point isn't "hey look at these people I discovered" because obviously they had to have some semblance of a following for me to find them in the first place, my point is, "hey look at this content I enjoy." And hopefully you enjoy them, too. A lot of these people will be queer, because of who I am as a person, but they are not all queer, as far as I know.
I've broken them down into categories because that felt nice for my brain, but I did skip TV shows, since I figure I write about those enough here. But go watch Abbott Elementary. Okay let's get into it!
Music
I don't write a ton about music here, but I do listen to it a lot. I listen to a lot of Broadway, obviously (which I do write about plenty), but I listen to "real" music, too!
Be Steadwell (they/he/she)
Spotify | TikTok | Website
I first discovered Be Steadwell at an A-Camp (Autostraddle's former queer summer camp for adults) and I was absolutely MESMERIZED. Not only is their voice absolutely stunning, they used a loop pedal to create an absolute masterpiece before our very eyes. Pure magic. Some of my favorite songs of theirs include but are not limited to Netflix, Leo, and Ambidextrous. (They are also very nice and funny!)
Nxdia (they/he/she)
Spotify | TikTok | Website
I found Nxdia via TikTok but they are now finally starting to become more popular. They make fun queer music that is catchy as hell and extremely relatable. For example, in one of their hits She Likes a Boy, the chorus is full of anguish as they sing, "She likes a boy...I'm not a boy." They also have a song called Jennifer's Body, which I may be biased toward because that is a FANTASTIC film, but it is also genuinely great. One of their latest songs, Boy Clothes, has some Charlie XCX ft. Billie Eilish vibes. And Feel Anything has been trending on my side of TikTok and has me bopping to the beat every time I hear it.
Valerie June (she/her)
Spotify | TikTok | Website
I genuinely don't know where I found Valerie June. She has some really good Christmas covers (like I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus) so it's very possible I found her in my hunt for Christmas songs to bulk up my "bury me in the snow" playlist and her name caught my eye. Either way, I enjoy her. She has an old school sound, very classic. Her song Wanna Be On Your Mind sounds like the kind of song that would be wailing from an old record player in a haunted house, and I mean that as the highest of compliments.
BAYLI (she/her)
Spotify | TikTok | Website
BAYLI is another artist I found on TikTok. She is queer and based in NYC so the algorithm didn't even have to work hard to know I'd be into her. She has a fun, digital, poppy sound that is very much a vibe. Almost reminiscent of the early 2000s but with a modern twist. One of my favorite bops of hers is Sushi for Breakfast, which is not a concept I approve of, but a song I very much enjoy.
Jensen McRae (she/her)
Spotify | TikTok | Linktree
Jensen is someone I've followed on TikTok since her following was much smaller (not to be a hipster about it) because her song Massachusetts was huge in my little corner of TikTok, before it even had a name. But I'm happy that she's been touring and with Noah Kahan and gaining more popularity, because she's extremely talented. I'm obsessed with her folk sound and her voice is just incredible. I am partial to Massachusetts - it's one of those "if I listen to it once, I listen to it a dozen times in a row" songs for me - but I'm also a huge fan of her songs Praying For Your Downfall and My Ego Dies at the End.
TikTok Creators
These are just people who have made me laugh on the internet. Some of them have other ventures outside content creation, but that's what drew me to them so that's the hook I'm going to use to introduce them to you.
Jordan Rand (she/her)
TikTok | Instagram
I found Jordan Rand through her skits about being queer; her and her partner do skits about each other and sometimes with each other, and it's very cute and charming. She's a racer and a model, but I mostly see her queer content, which on top of the funny skits and cute moments with her partner (now fiance) also includes vulnerable moments where she talks about her mother's (rocky) journey to acceptance of her queerness.
Franchesca Ramsey (she/her)
TikTok | LinkinBio
Okay I'm starting to think that actually this section will all be very popular TikTokers that I just want to talk about because surely nobody has been on TikTok and NOT seen the "I never thought the leopards would eat my face" song. BUT Franchesca Ramsey is also a writer, author, and actress, and also has loads of other content, including other funny skits, songs, and serious and smart political takes.
Elyse Cizek (she/her)
TikTok | Linktree
I first discovered Elyse when she was (hilariously) teaching people how to spot an AI image, specifically in the world of interior design, but she's a ("self-proclaimed" according to her, but also just factually according to me) multi-hyphenate who is just a fun personality to watch. She recently had a haircut saga that had me in stitches, both her recent good "big chop" and her former "worst haircut ever" story.
Chanel Williams (she/her)
TikTok | Linktree
Well I guess it's time for another wildly popular TikToker I just want an excuse to talk about!! I discovered Chanel when the algorithm didn't know I didn't want to consume Harry Potter content anymore and she was doing hilarious sketches as Professor McGonagall. Now she does all kinds of non-HP sketches, but my personal favorites aer when she does reenactments/dramatizations of moments in her childhood. She's just so funny.
Grace (she/her)
TikTok | Instagram
It's only upon doing this list that I realized Grace doesn't post a second name online, she's just Grace! In my head her name is "Grace UnpreparedCasters" because that's what I know her from, and I guess i never questioned that further. Grace started off as the character artist for the podcast, then a hilarious and perfect guest, but lately I've been really into her random Tiktoks. There's something about the way she tells a story that is so engaging and hilarious. Most recently, I've been obsessed with her crashing out about the Locked Tomb series of novels (spoilers abound), because it was extremely relatable.
Podcasts
Again some of these are already popular but they are either new to me because I am perpetually behind the podcast times or just so good I need you to know about them.
Lemme Say This
Website | Peyton Dix | Hunter Harris
Hilarious pop culture podcast with two friends with an amazing dynamic. They usually bring on a guest to chat about random topics, and discuss the benefits of being a lover or a hater, depending on their mood this day. Just an all-around good time. I was late to this one but I'm glad I'm board too. Peyton is queer, and Hunter is not, something Peyton loves to remind Hunter of in ways that remind me of how I sometimes tease my straight friends.
Today in Gay
Instagram | Nay Bever | Jasmin Savoy
Created by Nay Bever and Jasmin Savoy (who you may know from a little show called Yellowjackets), Today in Gay is a daily news podcast that is specifically about LGBTQ+ topics. The hosts rotate a bit and while a lot of the news is a downer lately, they always make sure to add some good gay news in there. I will always and forever be a fan of queer content made for and by queer people.
The Amber and Lacey, Lacey and Amber Show
Linktree | Amber Ruffin | Lacey Lamar
This podcast is two sisters with a hilarious dynamic giving each other a hard time and also loving on each other. They have guests, play silly games, and are just generally hilarious. They tell stories about things that happened in their life, discuss pop culture news, and sometimes even give advice to people, which is often differing from each other. It's a great time, highly recommend.
Unprepared Casters
Website | Amelia Som's Linktree
Okay I know I talk about this podcast a lot. I just love it okay? But I'm not here to talk about the podcast as a whole, I'm here today to talk specifically about one of its two current hosts, Amelia Som, who is a brilliant DM and player on the podcast. They are so skilled at weaving a story, and can put on an incredibly soothing storyteller voice. They are incredibly knowledgeable about so many things, and I could listen to them go on a rant about a niche topic they happen to know a lot about any day.
LeVar Burton Reads
Website | Instagram
Again, I don't think I need to tell you who LeVar Burton is, but I just wanted my fellow millennials to know that if you, like me, grew up with LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow, you can have his incredibly soothing voice back in your life in podcast form! In this podcast, he reads short stories that only have one thing in common: he likes them and wants to read them. I find it incredibly relaxing and also exposes me to authors and short stories I definitely wouldn't have ever encountered on my own. Technically it stopped making new episodes last year, but there are hundreds of episodes so I'm not even close to being out of stories.
Authors
Okay I know I write a lot about books and writing here so I probably should have skipped them like I did TV shows and movies but TOO BAD here we are. Also, shout-out to StoryGraph, the Black-owned answer to Goodreads that comes with much better reading stats and very enjoyable graphs, as the name of the site promises.
Kalynn Bayron (she/her)
Website | Linktree
LISTEN SHE'S MY FAVORITE OKAY I'm not going to NOT bring her up even though I know you KNOW because she's shown up on every book list I've ever made and will continue to do so for as long as she keeps writing books!! She is the queen of the fairytale retelling and I just really love her strong voice and her amazing main characters. I don't have many auto-buy authors, but she's top of my list.
Jessica Lewis (she/her)
Website | Linktree
Monstrous was the first Jessica Lewis book I wrote and I was struck by how FUNNY it was, despite it also being horror. That's my favorite combination, personally, as someone whose default coping mechanism is humor. I love a sarcastic inner monologue, and her main character in that book and also Bad Witch Burning are flawed, complicated characters you can't help but root for. I look forward to reading more of hers, as well.
Rebecca Barrow (she/her)
Website | Instagram
Rebecca Barrow is really good at packing a lot of drama and mystery into her stories, so they feel fast-paced without feeling rushed. I have such a strong visual memory of the two books of hers I've read so far, with And Don't Look Back being stressful in a fun way, and Bad Things Happen Here being devastating in a satisfying way. Her next novel is going to be about a boarding school tournament featuring two ex-girlfriends and you know I'll be there with bells on.
Joelle Wellington (she/her)
Website | Beacons (basically Linktree)
I discovered Joelle through a horror anthology and knew I had to read her standalone books. I just recently finished her supernatural thriller The Blonde Dies First and it has officially raised the bar for sapphic horror novels for me. It was SO good, and it was clearly written by someone who was raised on the same slasher as I was, but with a queer bend to it. I can't wait to read the rest of Joelle's bibliography.
Nic Sam (she/her)
Author Page | Bluesky | Instagram
Last but absolutely not least is one of my very best friends in this whole wide world, NJ Nic!! She is an amazing friend, always your #1 hype girl, and even though sometimes you have to remind her that she is, indeed, a writer, she writes amazing reviews of movies and TV shows with so much heart. She is funny and smart and some of my favorite writing experiences I've ever had have been co-writing about TV shows like The Last of Us and Arcane with her. Also if you follow her on Bluesky and Instagram you will get hilarious jokes (she loves a pun), hot TV takes, and cute af OOTDs. 10/10, highly recommend.
And there we go! That should be enough to keep you busy for a minute. I had to limit myself to five in each category (and limit myself to four categories) otherwise we'd be here all day, because Black people are out there creating and doing amazing things. I know a lot of Black History Month content is about, well, Black History, and that’s so very important, but I am not the right resource for that kind of information. I do encourage my fellow white people to be constantly education ourselves about Black history, because Black history is American history, and a lack of education and a denial of our history is part of the reason we’re in This Mess to begin with. We need to arm ourselves with knowledge. That said, I’m a pop culture queer, so this felt like it was more in my wheelhouse. And a lot of Black History Month content made by white people is often so heavy and Serious (Especially corporations.) So I figured I’d do it my way, because Black joy is just as important as Black history. And hey, I'm always happy for an excuse to talk about some of my favorite creators, but like I said, we should be celebrating Black voices all year round, so hopefully you found someone who strikes your fancy on this list to follow and enjoy.