Welcome back to INTO’s Queer Music Mixtape, your #1 hub for all things new LGBTQ+ music. Here, we’re covering the hottest releases of the week in one handy guide.

We’re in the heat of Pride season, and the hits don’t stop coming. This week saw queer faves teaming up to storm and long-awaited albums land at last. And with talents like Saucy Santana, Ocean Kelly, and Tomás Matos showing up and showing out, queer rap is definitely getting its much-deserved shine this week.

We’ve included Instagram links in each byline, streaming links below for your convenience, and a full Queer Music Mixtape playlist from our Spotify page to keep you rocking out for hours to come!

this week’s Queer Music Mixtape:

“Whole Family” by Saucy Santana Feat. Flo Milli

Reworking “Apache” into a song based around calling someone’s whole family hoes is absolutely wild. Thankfully, coming from two of the wildest girls in hip-hop who’ve jumped on re-imaginings of everything from Madonna’s “Material Girl” to Fiddler on the Roof‘s “If I Were A Rich Man”, it hits just right. The video sees a zebra-clad Santana and a pop princess-styled Flo Milli getting done up in the salon and ready to let the girls have it. This pairing gels so well together that it’s a shame Santana is only letting us shake ass for two and a half minutes at a time! After having the same runtime for previous singles like “Bop Bop”, “Booty”, and “1-800-Bad-Bxtch”, we would love to hear these two delivering their taunting, infectious rhymes for at least ten minutes straight.

Stream Saucy Santana on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream Flo Milli on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“High in Brighton” by FIZZ

New supergroup FIZZ has branded themselves online as “your fave band”, and for some, they’re gonna be absolutely right. This new venture finds beloved queer songwriter Dodie, “Why Am I Like This?” singer Orla Gartland, and indie UK acts Martin Luke Brown and Greta Isaac coming together for a trippy, rocking adventure. Their debut single “High in Brighton” is an exhilarating introduction to the new quartet, especially considering the often more subdued modes of each individual member. They’ve already announced their debut album The Secret to Life due out September 15th, and we can’t wait to see how they explore their newfound synergy further.

Stream FIZZ on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“Can I Talk My Sh*t?” by Vagabon

On “Can I Talk My Sh*t?”, Vagabon rides a light, self-assured vibe of unmistakable sensuality. Instead of returning to melancholic self-examination, the singer is taking her upcoming album Sorry I Haven’t Called in a more playful direction. “I didn’t feel like being introspective, I just wanted to have fun,” she says of the album. “This whole record is how I talk to my friends and how to talk to my lovers. I think honesty and conversational songwriting can become poetry.” Her developing levity comes through in coy lines like “It’s not precious/ I know what you like, It’s impressive right?” delivered with a breathy, ear-catching quality that makes one want to let her talk her sh*t all she likes.

Stream Vagabon on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

My Dolphin Has A Virus by Ocean Kelly

Ocean Kelly’s artistic development over just a few short years has been fascinating to watch. It’s hard to believe that the dragged up, glitchpop-infused Black Pamela EP was only two years ago when more recent tracks like “Vitamin D” and “Bananas” have taken such a genre-true rap approach. The Oceanic exploration has only deepened on new album My Dolphin Has A Virus, complete with a full project studio visualizer. He writes through romance, mental illness, and industry games through his unique queer vantage point. The “Saint Tropez” interlude opens with a recorded conversation with a loved one telling Ocean about the impact of his artistry, all accompanied by a montage of their work from the earliest beginnings through the “Wanda’s C*nty Vision” era and into the present. It’s easy to compartmentalize the characters this artist has embodied throughout his career, but My Dolphin Has A Virus brings it all back to an interconnected whole.

Stream Ocean Kelly on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Revel by Donna Missal

Donna Missal’s first self-released album Revel is a breakthrough for the artist in more ways than one. The feels more intentional and well-honed than some of her previous work, and understandably so. The singer has been open with the struggles she’s faced in the time it’s taken to get this project together; in an Instagram post announcing the release, Missal shares that she was sleeping in her car a year prior and has had to do “some desperate things to get here”. The result is a project with equal parts range and consistency, guiding the listen through trip-hop, dance cuts, and soft acoustics with a steady hand throughout. “Revel is an album about the painful experience of transcending,” Missal shares. “It’s about reaching for light. I wanted to make an album you could dance or cry to — or both at the same time.”

Stream Donna Missal on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“End of the Night” by Johnny Manuel

Perpetual singing competitor-turned-recording artist is a tough line to walk, but Johnny Manuel continues to do so with aplomb. Following America’s Got Talent, The Voice Australia, and Eurovision, the singer continues to make his own path. Rather than opt for the basic radio-friendly pop or TikTok-dependent viral tracks one could expect, Manuel has settled into a gorgeous vein of contemporary R&B that feels authentic and true.

Stream Johnny Manuel on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Sugar the Bruise by Hand Habits

There’s so much to be said about the vulnerability, excitement, and clarity on Meg Duffy’s gorgeous new Hand Habits project Sugar the Bruise, but we can’t explain it any more perfectly than the artist themselves. Check out their lovely and extended explainer/acknowledgements here — and more importantly, take in the album itself.

Stream Hand Habits on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“HARD 2.0” by Only Fire & River Moon

International “Rave Princess” producer River Moon’s 2021 hardstyle single has gotten a chaotic upgrade from electronic artist Only Fire. You may remember the latter from their viral, raunchy text-to-speech style interpretations of songs like Ariana’s “Raindrops” or “Taki Taki” back in the late 2010s (some of which have been scrubbed from the internet for the crime of slapping too hard). They’re still keeping up their Siri-esque rap stylings here, and with the robotic voice delivering lines like “Bite my p*ssy like a lemon, b*tch I know you like it sour/ F*ck me hard out in Paris on the top of Eiffel Tower”, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Stream Only Fire on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Stream River Moon on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“On My Way Back” by Kat and the Hurricane

To the Masses™, a band solely comprised of they/thems making self-proclaimed “sad lesbian music” would be contradictory. First of all, identity is complex, dummy. Second, it’s about the vibes, and this Madison-based band has vibes to spare. The group kicks off their first new original music since their 2021 Sorry EP with “On My Way Back”, a rocking declaration perfect for a return. Now that they’ve made their way back, we can’t wait to hear what’s coming up.

Stream Kat and the Hurricane on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“KEEP IT PUMPIN’ (Reloaded)” by Tomás Matos

“Keep It Pumpin'” follows “Honestly, Cvnt” as the latest track to make its way from Tomás’ WYD Mixtape over to the mainstream. The song has been overhauled in the transition, probably due to its previous samples from “Heads Will Roll” and “America Has A Problem” both being a little difficult to clear. That in mind, the change in production does the track good, with 808Beach meshing the boastful rhymes with a more fitting house beat. The entire mixtape is a fun project, but even more fun is the thought of this b*tch track coming from someone you can just tell is a sweetheart in real life.

Stream Tomás Matos on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

“On My Mama” by Victoria Monét

Victoria Monét closes out this week with another slow jam, this time with a surprising Chalie Boy “I Look Good” interpolation. Between this and previous singles “Smoke” and “Party Girls”, it’s clear Victoria is having fun with this era; the line “I’m so deep in my bag like a grandma with a peppermint” is lyrical perfection and we won’t hear anything to the contrary.

Stream Victoria Monét on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

Keep it pumpin’ this week and join us back here next week for another Queer Music Mixtape!

Keep the tunes going with our official Queer Music Mixtape playlist: