Are you a queer man of color who enjoys listening to podcasts? Check out this blog post of black gay podcasts.
Growing up I hardly seen any openly black gay influencers in the media. The only one I could think of from the top of my head is Rupaul. Sad but true. As I got older and explored my sexuality I found more about influential black gay men. In this blog post, I’ll discuss a few black gay podcasts.
Black gay podcasts
If you’re looking for a black queer comedy podcast check out The Read. The hosts are Kid Fury and Chrissle.
This podcast is a light-hearted queer podcast about gay dating and relationships. Queer in Love is hosted by Latino brother Diego Amado. The first episode just premiered last year in October so there are only a few episodes. However, the podcast is worth listening to. In the episode “Cordett” Diego interviews Cordett who talks about the struggle to find love in the gay community. He mentions the sad reality of a lot of gay and straight persons, especially persons of color, coming from single-parent homes. By not being shown good examples of a healthy relationship they end up themselves being in toxic relationships.
The last episode was in February of this year.
Brothaspeak had its last episode in February 2019.
The Brown Boys is a black gay duo who resides in New York. The duo consists of Victor and Courtney who are both from down South. If you’re in the black gay social scene you probably know about Victor and Courtney for their parties and brunches. I’ve been to a couple of their events and enjoyed myself. The Brown Boys also used to host a podcast. On their podcast, they talk about various topics including being Southern and living in New York, discrimination, hooking up, and dating.
What I like about the Brown Boys podcast is Victor and Courtney’s raw humor. Victory is very animated and Courtney is witty and also humorous. Not only do they have a good sense of humor but they also have great chemistry. You can tell within minutes of listening to any episode that Victor and Courtney are tight with each other. This chemistry makes it fun to listen to.
HIM is a weekly podcast hosted by 4 black gay men in New York City. The coronavirus caused setbacks for many businesses, including podcasts. Despite the pandemic, HIM survived and the hosts have consistently put out episodes. Each of the hosts has different personalities from calm to flamboyant.
What I like about the HIM podcast is that the hosts are unapologetically themselves. It baffles me when I hear people try to sound smarter than they actually are. On the HIM podcast, you won’t sense anyone being pretentious. Another nice aspect of the podcast is that the content is not too serious. If you’ve been around a group of black gay men you know that we can be very comedic and witty. And that’s exactly what you get on the HIM podcast. Some of the stories can get a little ratchet but it’s entertaining.
Kevin Dwayne is a talented individual from California who is now based in New York. He does photography which is absolutely amazing. His photos will make you feel like a celebrity. Aside from his photography, Kevin has a podcast where he talks about different life topics including mental health, setting boundaries, and growing up gay.
One of the things I enjoy about Kevin’s podcast is his storytelling. I’ve collaborated with Kevin and during the times we spoke it was almost like I was hypnotized. His soft voice, imagery, and tone drew me in. And if you know Kevin, you know that he loves to talk!!! One of my favorite episodes was “E for Empathy”. In this episode, he talks about visiting California for his cousin’s marriage. As he does in his stories he fleshes out the characters and makes you feel as if you’re actually there. Kevin mentions that he was spoiled by his adoptive mother but his cousin he grew up with didn’t have that same life. Kevin’s adoptive mother is his cousin’ mother’s biological mother. Unfortunately, Kevin’s mother had Kevin’s cousin at a young age so she couldn’t provide the same life for her. At the end of the episode, Kevin gives a lesson on understanding other people’s traumatic pasts and situations.
Kevin’s last episode was in February this year. Hopefully, he’ll return with episodes soon.
This podcast is one that all black gay men should listen to at least once. The host speaks on all types of LGBT topics issues including the HIV stigma within the transgender community, married men coming out, and depression.
What I like best about Brothaspeak is his interviews with all sorts of professionals including dating coaches, bloggers, party promoters, and even porn stars.
Of all podcasts on this list, I believe Brothaspeak is the second most informative. The host of Brothaspeak is a mature and wise person. He doesn’t talk out his ass and if he needs clarification on a topic or matter he invites an expert on a show. Even though Brothaspeak is geared towards the black LGBT community anyone would enjoy listening to his podcast. One of his best episodes was “The unspoken truth of Africa”. In that episode, her interviewed Marc Epprecht, a famous historian, who discussed sexuality in Africa. There is was so much information spawn during this episode that I can’t give a full summary. T
here are not many podcasts, gay and straight, that discuss serious and important topics like Brothaspeak. If you’re black and gay you definitely check out the podcast.
If you want to hear serious content you should listen to Pod Save the People. The podcast is hosted by black gay activist DeRay Mckesson, Kaya Henderson, De’Ara Balenger, and Sam Sinyangwe. Deray is very much involved in the black community, including the Black Lives Matter Movement. This podcast is truly in a class of its own. If you’re looking to be entertained check out another podcast. Pod Save the People is for the educated person of color who’s looking to be informed on politics and current events. Topics include child exploitation, imprisonment, and job losses. The episodes are about an hour-long so you literally have to take a seat to soak in the information.
One episode I really liked was “Tell Them You Love Them”. In this episode, he talks about the white protestors storming the White House and giving a hypothetical situation if it was black protestors storming the building.
Pod Save the People has been running consistently and just aired an episode today! I would definitely recommend anyone to listen to the podcast to learn and retain relevant information about current events going on in the world.
The Strange Fruit podcast is another black queer podcast that discusses important and unique topics that are not often talked about in mainstream media and even in gay media. There are episodes such as the death of Breonna Taylor, transracial adoption, and body positivity. The hosts Jasion Gardner and Dr. Kaily Story do have a sense of humor but their content is informative. One of the hosts is a teacher so it makes sense of what you’ll hear on Strange Fruit. You won’t find any episode on celebrity gossip. In the most recent episode “Jim Crow Mentality” Jasion and Kaily interviews educator Ron Dawson who discusses homophobia and racism on social media. Ron states since he’s been posting online content about racial justice for African Americans he’s been trolled by white supremacists.
The last episode was in November 2020.
Wrap up
The podcasts listed above are some of my favorite and popular black gay podcasts. There are so many more to check out and listen to. It’s important that black gay podcasters have their platform so that they have a voice to speak about what’s going in the black gay community. A lot of issues that are sensitive to use are not highlighted in public. Through podcasts and other forms of media, those issues can be discussed.
