PWR BTTM's favourite Queer Rappers

We caught up with PWR BTTM to discuss their new album Pageant, but also got onto a sidetrack discussing their favourite queer rappers. Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce introduce us to three of their faves...

Big Momma
“The first mixtape that he put out was seriously fire,” says Bruce. “He has some of the most tense and fucked up flow that I’ve ever heard.”

Big Momma may not be the most well-known rapper in the movement but he’s certainly one of its unsung heroes, gaining attention guesting on tracks by fellow queer rapper Cakes Da Killa. Describing his aesthetic as a mix between Lil’ Kim and the WWE wrestler The Undertaker, Big Momma’s music is fast, frank and fearless.

Khalif Jones (f.k.a. Le1f)
“I think Le1f has been hinting on Twitter that he might be wrapping up that project and starting to work under a different name,” says Bruce – right enough, Le1f recently uploaded his “last music video as Le1f” for the track Umami / Water to Facebook in February, and has since deleted his Twitter. But Le1f’s legacy will live on as one of the most honest and outspoken rappers of his generation, with Jones sharing his first music under his new alias earlier this month.

Mykki Blanco 
“She is such a genius, incredible creator and has become a friend,” says Hopkins of the performance artist turned rapper. Initially created as a female alter-ego for a video art project before switching to a gender-fluid persona, Mykki Blanco quickly rose to the forefront of the queer rap movement. Following a string of independent releases, Blanco released much-anticipated debut album Mykki through Berlin-based !K7 Records late last year.

Catch Mykki Blanco at Love Saves The Day festival in Bristol on 28 May, and at Southbank in London on 17 Jun as part of the M.I.A-curated Meltdown Festival.