Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Kehlani, Kevin Abstract, Blondshell & More
In need of some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We're here to help. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists.
From Kehlani's lovelorn new R&B track to Kevin Abstract's confessional new collaboration, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
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Break ups don't always have to be a hot mess. With her latest offering 'Folded,' Kehlani isn't aiming to put her ex on blast, but rather to extend them an olive branch. A breezy R&B melody helps the singer glide through this airy song of moving on after lost love, as she asks her lover if they can come pick up their clothes. 'I have them folded,' she offers.
We love it when a plan comes together, and seeing Brockhampton frontman Kevin Abstract reunite with his old friend Dominic Fike on their new duet 'Geezer' feels like the best of plans. Over some indie guitars and a scattershot beat, the pair trade verses about finding their way to success, even when the people around them still feel stuck in the same place. It's a tender take off Abstract's upcoming new LP, and one that's only bound to make you more hype to hear the whole thing.
If you're still jamming out to Addison Rae's cult-favorite track 'Diet Pepsi' from last year, then allow us to offer you a little bit more with a slightly different vibe. Indie star Blondshell takes Rae's breakout alt-pop track and puts the emphasis back on the 'alt,' as she translates the song into a shimmering alt-rock track that sounds like it could've come off her latest album. Add in Blondshell's excellent live vocals, and you've got a killer cover on your hands.
When it comes to soundtracking modern romance, there are few people more adept that Michelle Zauner. So it's no wonder why A24 tapped the alt-rock star to pen her new Japanese Breakfast song 'My Baby (Got Nothing At All)' for their new film Materialists. Throughout this sunny slow jam, Zauner takes some light shots at the gold-diggers of the world, opting instead for a tune about how little her lover has — and how special that makes their own connection in turn.
The Yoruba word 'gbesoke' roughly translates to 'lift it up' in English — and after listening to salute's latest collaboration with Peter Xan, you'll understand why they chose to use that word as their title. With salute's top-tier dance production working overtime alongside Xan's alt-rock voice delivering commands to the listener, 'Gbesoke' easily accomplishes its goal and will have you lifting it all up as you bounce along to this banger.
What even is Pride Month without a big, campy, gay pop song to play? Thankfully, G Flip is here with just the right track for the occasion. 'Big Ol' Hammer,' the Australian star's country-meets-synth-pop magnum opus, sees them embracing their butch side as they sing about a lover that makes the 'feel like a man.' The music video only adds further context, with Flip dancing it out in a garage surrounded by fellow queers in coveralls as they declare that they're hanging 'in a tool belt, like a big ol' hammer.'
Check out all of our picks below on Billboard's Queer Jams of the Week playlist:
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San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Is SoSF the Bay Area's Fyre Festival?
What was supposed to be San Francisco's hottest new Pride Weekend celebration has devolved into confusion and controversy, leaving many ticket holders frustrated and struggling to secure refunds. SoSF, a waterfront concert scheduled for Saturday, June 28, with headliner Kehlani, faced backlash earlier this month after the Oakland R&B singer withdrew from the lineup. Her exit followed a string of concert cancellations due to her outspoken support for Palestinians. DJ Adam Kraft, founder of event company Fake and Gay, and drag queen Nicki Jizz, who created the 'Reparations' drag show, subsequently dropped out, citing disagreements with the festival's stance on the issue. Organizers offered refunds to ticket holders due to the lineup changes, but mere days before the outdoor event, many report they're struggling to get their money back as promised. 'It's pretty sketchy behavior,' Jackson Bowers, 29, told the Chronicle. In the weeks that followed the lineup changes, organizers changed the event's name, switched its venue and wiped its social media presence. 'I was excited that they offered refunds but now it seems like they're just totally ghosting us.' The Cole Valley resident said that organizers sent out an email on June 5 announcing the lineup change. The event, set to take place outdoors at 900 Marin St., across the street from Pier 80's warehouse where it was originally booked, is still set to feature 'Nasty' singer Tinashe and Grammy-winning pop star Kim Petras, among others. After consulting his friends who had also purchased tickets, Bowers decided to request a refund on Thursday, June 19, via the email address provided by organizers. He said he paid a little more than $100 for one ticket. The Chronicle has reached out to SoSF organizers for comment. 'I texted my friend and I asked him, 'If we were rich, would we have fallen for Fyre Festival?' because I kind of feel like I did,' said Manuel Gallardo, referencing the disastrous luxury music festival that was meant to take place in the Bahamas in 2017 but was quickly canceled after its initial attendees lacked basic amenities. The 32-year-old Mission District resident said that he spent more than $200 for two tickets after fees, but decided to request a refund after the lineup changed and the event rebranded to Pride 2025 Block Party, sparking confusion. Like Bowers, he is waiting for his SoSF ticket refund, despite having reached out to organizers several times since June 18. 'I don't have very strong feelings about the political arguments that are being made, but I think that the response to Kehlani's political stance was offputting to me,' he said. 'It's a bummer that the event didn't really seem that it had its attendees top of mind or made us feel very good about going.' Oakland resident Julie F. was similarly bothered by the way organizers responded to the 'After Hours' singer's politics, and said that she and her partner requested refunds to ensure that they're 'standing in solidarity with what we feel is the deplatforming of Kehlani.' She declined to share her full last name due to safety concerns regarding her political opinions. While Julie's partner reached out at the beginning of the month and received a refund on June 11, she is still awaiting a response after sending her own request on June 15, plus several follow-ups. Jeshua John, 31, also received a refund on June 11 after submitting his request on June 8. The Haight-Ashbury resident said he decided not to support the event because it didn't align with his values, and he wanted to respect the local artists who had voiced concerns. 'I think it's important to not just have your ear to the ground but also be able to take cues from local artists that we all know and respect,' he said. 'I just feel better about myself knowing where my dollars are going.' John said that he was already skeptical of organizers when they announced the lineup change on Instagram, and screenshotted the post in which they asserted that all ticket holders would be eligible for a refund. The post has since been deleted. 'It's been frustrating but not necessarily surprising,' Julie, 27, said. 'They haven't really been very forward about what to do, what the process is, and also applying an unfair standard for people based on when they had the capacity to process refunds.' She said she paid $95.61 for her ticket by using a discount code, and has attempted to cancel her transaction directly through her credit card, though the process typically takes a few weeks. Even if their refunds aren't issued before Saturday, Julie, Bowers and Gallardo all said that they don't plan to attend. Instead, Bowers plans to hang out in Dolores Park, while Gallardo says he'll check out a different event. Julie doesn't have anything lined up yet. Gallardo noted that he was particularly disappointed by the SoSF shakeup because he wanted to support the revitalization of San Francisco's party scene. 'I just feel like with nightlife kind of coming back in the city after the pandemic I was wanting to support something that was gonna be new,' he said. Bowers also noted he was looking forward to something different. 'It's a shame since everything has unfolded since then,' he said.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
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Queer Jams of the Week: New Music From Kehlani, Kevin Abstract, Blondshell & More
In need of some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We're here to help. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ+ artists. From Kehlani's lovelorn new R&B track to Kevin Abstract's confessional new collaboration, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below: More from Billboard Donna Kelce, Monet X Change, Eric Nam & More Join 'The Traitors' Season 4 Cast Earbuds, Speakers & More New Products to Enhance Your Summer Listening FIFA Club World Cup on Hulu + Live TV: How to Watch Paris Saint-Germain F.C. vs. Atlético Madrid Online Break ups don't always have to be a hot mess. With her latest offering 'Folded,' Kehlani isn't aiming to put her ex on blast, but rather to extend them an olive branch. A breezy R&B melody helps the singer glide through this airy song of moving on after lost love, as she asks her lover if they can come pick up their clothes. 'I have them folded,' she offers. We love it when a plan comes together, and seeing Brockhampton frontman Kevin Abstract reunite with his old friend Dominic Fike on their new duet 'Geezer' feels like the best of plans. Over some indie guitars and a scattershot beat, the pair trade verses about finding their way to success, even when the people around them still feel stuck in the same place. It's a tender take off Abstract's upcoming new LP, and one that's only bound to make you more hype to hear the whole thing. If you're still jamming out to Addison Rae's cult-favorite track 'Diet Pepsi' from last year, then allow us to offer you a little bit more with a slightly different vibe. Indie star Blondshell takes Rae's breakout alt-pop track and puts the emphasis back on the 'alt,' as she translates the song into a shimmering alt-rock track that sounds like it could've come off her latest album. Add in Blondshell's excellent live vocals, and you've got a killer cover on your hands. When it comes to soundtracking modern romance, there are few people more adept that Michelle Zauner. So it's no wonder why A24 tapped the alt-rock star to pen her new Japanese Breakfast song 'My Baby (Got Nothing At All)' for their new film Materialists. Throughout this sunny slow jam, Zauner takes some light shots at the gold-diggers of the world, opting instead for a tune about how little her lover has — and how special that makes their own connection in turn. The Yoruba word 'gbesoke' roughly translates to 'lift it up' in English — and after listening to salute's latest collaboration with Peter Xan, you'll understand why they chose to use that word as their title. With salute's top-tier dance production working overtime alongside Xan's alt-rock voice delivering commands to the listener, 'Gbesoke' easily accomplishes its goal and will have you lifting it all up as you bounce along to this banger. What even is Pride Month without a big, campy, gay pop song to play? Thankfully, G Flip is here with just the right track for the occasion. 'Big Ol' Hammer,' the Australian star's country-meets-synth-pop magnum opus, sees them embracing their butch side as they sing about a lover that makes the 'feel like a man.' The music video only adds further context, with Flip dancing it out in a garage surrounded by fellow queers in coveralls as they declare that they're hanging 'in a tool belt, like a big ol' hammer.' Check out all of our picks below on Billboard's Queer Jams of the Week playlist: Best of Billboard Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble, Pentatonix & Train Will Bring Their Holiday Hits to iHeart Christmas Concert Fox Plans NFT Debut With $20 'Masked Singer' Collectibles 14 Things That Changed (or Didn't) at Farm Aid 2021
Yahoo
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Keke Palmer, the quintessential millennial multihyphenate, has played nearly every role the mind can generate. A box office queen who can lead films alongside Oscar winners (2022's Nope with Daniel Kaluuya) and pop stars (2025's One of Them Days with SZA), an iconic child star with her own talk show, an Emmy-winning game show host, a Billboard charting singer-songwriter, founder of her own online entertainment content platform (KeyTV), and even a Broadway diva. For two decades, Palmer didn't just entertain the masses; she provided a sterling example for adolescent Black audiences in an era in which there were few. Her starring turn in Akeelah and the Bee (in which she plays a young girl competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee), for example, remains her most beloved and notable role in Black households for 19 years and counting. 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In July 2023, Palmer made national headlines when she attended Usher's My Way Las Vegas residency, where the Grammy-winning R&B legend serenaded her with 'There Goes My Baby' and a cheeky-yet-respectful dance. When footage hit social media, Darius Jackson — Palmer's ex-boyfriend and the father of their son Leodis — publicly lambasted her choice of dress (a sheer number with a bodysuit underneath), writing on X: 'It's the outfit tho… you a mom.' What unraveled next was a public exposé of alleged domestic violence incidents that culminated in a November 2023 hearing, in which a judge granted Palmer's requests for a temporary restraining order against Jackson, as well as temporary sole custody of their son. By May 2024, Palmer dropped the requests, and the domestic violence restraining order hearing was canceled; she and Jackson have since reached a place where they can co-parent their son together. While her Nickelodeon and Disney peers have seemingly all had at least one major scandal to their names (ranging from incessant twerking and licking unpurchased donuts to near-fatal overdoses), Palmer's celebrity was, in part, defined by her lack of verifiable scandals. In fact, on social media, her nickname was – and continues to be – Keke 'Keep a Job/Bag' Palmer, a tribute to her enviable work ethic and seemingly endless arsenal of talents. From the film roles she chose to her generally affable demeanor, Palmer played the historically difficult role of Black child star-turned-adult entertainer almost perfectly. Until one fateful night (where she wasn't even acting out of character in the slightest) blew it all up — and social media inundated her with myopic takes on her personal life that ranged from violently misogynistic to harmful respectability politics. 'For someone to weaponize your audience against you, it was very heartbreaking,' she reflects, betraying her hairstylist to look me in the eye. 'My life isn't a joke. There's a lot of s–t I joke about, but I don't joke about my life. I don't want to confuse [people and have them] think that this is what we do over here. Let's not joke about families falling apart. That's not funny to me.' While other entertainers may have taken some time out of the public eye, Palmer continued with her fifty 'leven commitments. But in between filming Boots Riley's upcoming I Love Boosters film, forming her DivaGurl girl group (with Sadé and LaShay), and raising her new baby boy, Palmer somehow found the time to link with Grammy-nominated, Hot 100-topping singer-songwriter Tayla Parx and funnel her whirlwind of emotions into her third studio album. When the two former True Jackson VP co-stars linked in Atlanta at the top of the year to begin the songwriting process, they left 'Keke' and 'Tayla' at the door, in favor of Lauren and Taylor (their birth names), respectively. 'Honestly, [sessions] looked like hanging out and talking with your best friend [who] also happens to be an extraordinarily talented and skilled songwriter,' Palmer explains as a smile creeps across her face. 'I'm doing what's normal to me, but she's doing what nobody I've ever worked with has done, which is be able to create the stage for me to say things that I didn't even know I could say and help align it with the energy the record needs.' As the pen behind era-defining smashes like fellow Nickelodeon alum Ariana Grande's '7 Rings,' Parx knows how to craft a song that will conquer the charts and/or awards season. But that wasn't the goal for the Just Keke sessions. Parx's ability to tease out Palmer's most closely guarded truths gave way to the most confessional music of the Emmy-winner's career. Album opener 'Off Script' addresses her life veering away from the blueprint she chose for herself as self-described 'Type A' person ('Even when I let you get me pregnant/ Oh shit, how else can I prove it?'); 'My Confession' flips Usher's 'Confessions, Pt. II' into a play-by-play of her relationship's demise, and 'Ripples' displays her family's collective growth in the face of emotional turmoil. When she sings, 'Got me on some viral shit, scandalous/ Call the lawyers, handle it/ The money's the last thing we was worried 'bout/ The truth is we both was fighting for our child,' her tone is equal parts desperate and resentful, a testament to the intricacy of her vocal performance throughout the album. There are also the standout cuts: 'I Wanna Know,' a Brandy-esque track that explores voyeurism and betrayal (complete with meticulously placed ad-libs), and 'Tea, Boo,' a campy, Slick Rick-meets-RuPaul track that finds Palmer giving her best Lady Whistledown impression. She says the latter is Baby Leo's favorite song on the album. Building on the smooth R&B of her 2016 fan-favorite Lauren EP, Just Keke finds its narrative anchor in spoken word interludes that emphasize the album's overarching variety show concept. Her most vocally impressive — she's always been an adept singer, but here she gets closer than ever to finding her most flattering sonic and melodic pockets — and aesthetically ambitious musical offering yet, Just Keke is an unmistakable turning point in Palmer's recording career, one part of her portfolio that has notably lagged behind the others. 'I think what is comparable [about Just Keke] is the truth that we hear when we think of artists like Brandy and Mary J. Blige and Whitney Houston. I was tapped into life experiences that bring you to a deeper truth; it's a lot of me growing up,' she says. 'Because the lyrics are so true to me, I was able to sing them like I would [speak] them. That's why I think [this album] has my best vocal performances. There's now a different level of depth that I'm carrying after I evolved as a person.' Named after her 2014 talk show (which made her the youngest talk show host in TV history at just 20), Just Keke arrived on June 20 via Palmer's own Big Bosses Entertainment label, alongside a 30-minute, self-funded short film. A visual album in the vein of Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King, the short film brings the album's variety show concept to life, featuring cameos from Issa Rae and nods to classic women's television shows, including Insecure, Lizzie McGuire, Moesha, and Sex and the City. Not only does Palmer incorporate her hosting, singing and acting prowess, she also flaunts her dance skills, tackling everything from breakdancing to praise dancing. Her mother, Sharon Palmer, also serves as an executive producer on the film, underscoring how the Just Keke project has helped strengthen and deepen her family's connection. By playing host, lead actress and spectator in her own semi-autobiographical visual album, Palmer finally lays bare her story on her own terms — and she unlocked new levels of her artistry in the process. '[The film] is about the boundaries that I'm setting and the reclamation of my narrative and my parasocial relationship with my audience,' Palmer says. 'Loving deeply is important, but loving that deep with boundaries is even more important. I needed to learn that in life, not even just on a romantic level.' On this uncharacteristically rainy Juneteenth Thursday, the theme of reclamation feels particularly apt. Throughout the 36 hours or so that I've spent with Palmer, she's aware of every last detail around her, but there's an unmistakable ease to her energy that wasn't always there from afar. She feels free, and that freedom oozes out of every note she sings and every kiss she blows. 'I feel so free to be living in my truth and to be able to speak on my story without concern,' she gushes. 'That's the thing about Akeelah and the Bee on a deeper level. I think we all loved that movie – and my mom wanted me to do it – because we loved seeing a little girl be able to articulate herself and express how she feels about the world and the people in her life and community. That's something that's been very much kept from our community. So for me to be able to express the nuances of anger, grief and sorrow — but also share my love and joy — it feels very freeing.' 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