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30 Years of Looking Back, Looking Forward.
The Out100 designates All That’s In.

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Young M.A
Music

Young M.A Is the First LGBTQ+ Rapper to Cover Out Magazine

The artist released her debut album, "Herstory in the Making," earlier this year.

At this point, making history -- ahem, herstory -- must come easy to Young M.A. After all, Herstory in the Making was the name of her debut album released earlier this year. With the Brooklyn native landing a spot on our 2019 Out100 as Rapper of the Year, she makes history, herstory, and theirstory as the first LGBTQ+ rapper to grace the cover of the magazine.

"I was like, 'Hello!'" she laughed when asked about the magazine's initial offer.

Founded in 1992, Out has long championed LGBTQ+ musicians across genres with artists of all stripes as cover stars. Rap and hip-hop artists however, though highlighted throughout the pages of the magazine and on Out.com, have often not landed such coveted print real estate. In fact, a cursory search of the Out archives shows only two other hip-hop artists have ever gotten the front page treatment -- Lil' Kim in 1999 and Nicki Minaj in 2010.

During her Out100 cover shoot and interview, M.A mentioned she hesitated saying yes to the feature, admitting that she hoped the focus of our story would not be her sexuality. The lyricist stopped labeling her identity "a few years ago," she said, but still gets asked for interviews most frequently when the media wants to talk about homophobia in hip-hop, or during Pride month.

"At first I believed in the whole identity thing," she said. "I just got to a point where I was like, at the end of the day, nobody can make no rules on what I decide to do. 'Yo listen, don't call me this. Don't call me that. I do what I want. I love who I love. I want who I want.' And I'm not the only one. There's a lot of people in this world who just choose not to identify."

"But then I was like, 'No. I get it. It's not [about] labels. [It's] expressing oneself. It's a magazine that shows your expression of who you are and what you represent,'" she added, which pairs well with where she is in her life and career."

M.A joins Sam Smith, Jeremy O. Harris, Ronan Farrow, Nicolas Ghesquiere as Out100 cover stars.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that Nicki Minaj was also a cover star.

RELATED | Out100 Rapper of the Year: Young M.A Is 'Herstory in the Making'

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Brendan Walter; Elizabeth Miranda
Kesha & T-Pain give recession pop, Troye Sivan & Dua Lipa get 'Physical'
Brendan Walter; Elizabeth Miranda
Music

Troye Sivan & Dua Lipa get 'Physical', Kesha & T-Pain give recession pop

The last New Music Friday of March 2025 also includes Saucy Santana, Kali Uchis, Maren Morris, and bb trickz!

It's New Music Friday!

Kesha & T-Pain give recession pop, Troye Sivan & Dua Lipa get 'Physical'

Kesha; Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa

Brendan Walter; Elizabeth Miranda

Another Friday, another batch of new tunes from our favorite LGBTQ+ (and adjacent) musicians!

The pop girls are reviving some old eras! Ariana Grande just released six new tracks on the deluxe version of Eternal Sunshine, and Dua Lipa recruited Troye Sivan for new version of "Physical." 2000s pop icons Kesha and T-Pain also joined forces for a nostalgic bit of recession pop for your earbuds.

Meanwhile, Perfume Genius, Lucy Dacus, and Chloe Moriondo just released their brand new albums, Saucy Santana hits the dancefloor once again, and bb trickz channels a Clairo classic. North West joins FKA twigs for a new music video, and Maren Morris gets sentimental on a new ballad.

Playlists at the ready? Then let's dive in!

Scroll through to listen to this week's best new bops, and follow this writer's New Music Friday playlist on Spotify.

"Physical" - Dua Lipa (feat. Troye Sivan)

Dua Lips's Future Nostalgia era is back! The pop star collaborated with Troye Sivan for this explosive remix.

"Bounce" - Saucy Santana

Ready to bounce? Saucy Santana delivers another dance floor anthem.

"YIPPEE-KI-YAY" - Kesha, T-Pain

Collab of the century? Auto-tune icons Kesha and T-Pain joined forces for this nostalgic banger.

"not a pretty girl" - bb trickz

bb trickz puts her own spin on Clario's iconic bedroom anthem.

"Carry Me Through" - Maren Morris

Maren Morris is looking for someone to carry her through the storm on her new ballad.

"Childlike Things" - FKA twigs, North West

North West and FKA twigs teamed up for "Childlike Things."

"Sunshine & Rain" - Kali Uchis

Kali Uchis gets us in the mood for "Sunshine & Rain" on her breezy new track.

"Bullseye" - Lucy Dacus

Lucy Dacus and Hozier sang their new duet live at The National Gallery of Ireland, the latest track off her new album Forever Is A Feeling.

"Clean Heart" - Perfume Genius

Perfume Genius' new album Glory has arrived!

"Bad Boys" - Jax Jones, Rebecca Black, sooyeon

Rebecca Black and sooyeon join Jax Jones on this new hyperpop banger.

"Talk" - Grant Knoche

Grant Knoche knows what the boys want on his new dance song "Talk."

"Petite Etoile" - Polo & Pan, Beth Ditto

Beth Ditto is featured on Polo & Pan's new album 22:22.

"Shark Brain" - Eartheater, Shygirl

Shygirl and Eatheater join forces for their shapeshifting new single "Shark Brain."

"Intergalactic Romance" - Antonio Liranzo

Antonio Liranzo is searching for an "Intergalactic Romance" on his new single.

"oyster" - Chloe Moriondo

A new pop girl enters the villa! chloe moriondo's album oyster is stacked with synthy dark pop songs.

"brighter days ahead" - Ariana Grande

Pop icon Ariana Grande has just released six new songs on the deluxe version of her Grammy-nominated album eternal sunshineeternal sunshine, complete with a short film titled brighter days head.

Here's the playlist!

Taylor Henderson is a music contributor to Out magazine. Be sure to follow his 'the alphabet mafia' playlist on Spotify!

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