Mykki Blanco, alias of performance poet Michael Quattlebaum Jr., creates some of the most avant-garde and twisted sounds of any artist on this list. He (Quattlebaum has recently confirmed that he prefers the male pronoun when referring to Blanco) is one of the most experimental rappers currently making music, and he works with such forward-thinking producers as Gobby, Brenmar and Le1f. He may have been largely ignored by the mainstream because of his experimental nature and queer identity, but he is utterly deserving of further exposure. Blanco self-consciously and provocatively embraces queer ideas, as highlighted on mixtapes like Gay Dog Food, Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss and Betty Rubble: The Initiation. He's defined by his multiplicity, playing with the concept of gender and embracing queer identity in the face of hip-hop's homophobia. Quattlebaum describes Blanco as being androgynous, pansexual and ambiguous, insisting that
"Mykki Blanco isnt just female Mykki. Mykki Blanco is Mykki Blanco female, Mykki Blanco male, Mykki Blanco with blue eyes, Mykki Blanco with three eyes. Im probably eventually going to do a video where its not Mykki, where its completely genderless, where it wont be Mykki boy or girl."
Blanco is, essentially, gender fluidity in action. He can appear in any costume, representing any gender, and still be Mykki Blanco. By embracing this form of identification, while continuing to promote fluid and malleable gender politics, Blanco renders himself truly androgynous. He also rejects and problematises the inherent segregation of non-heterosexual artists in the genre. Look forward to forthcoming releases on his recently launched label Dogfood Music Group, which also features likeminded artists Yves Tumor, Psychoegyptian and VIOLENCE.
