We’re celebrating Pride month this June by featuring some of our favorite international LGBTQI artists! From Hawaii to Argentina, these artists represent the invaluable creativity the LGBTQI community has contributed to the global music sphere.

Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole

(photo by Aaron K. Yoshino by MANA Magazine)

Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole (globalFEST ’11) from Hawaii is only 30 years old with five Nā Hōkū Hanohano (Hawaiian Grammy) awards to her name. Kanaka’ole draws from ancestral memory and hula practice in her work, which is rooted in chant.

Watch Kekuhi and Kaumakiawa Kanaka’ole’s moving KEXP performance:

Kumbia Queers

Kumbia Queers from Argentina are playing politically-charged cumbia-punk and leading the nu-cumbia wave of artists in South America. They’re currently touring in Europe, check out their dates here.

Watch the video for “Mientes”:

Abdu Ali

(photo by Keem Griffey)

Abdu Ali is a rapper from Baltimore cosmically subverting and simultaneously championing the underground rap scene. His music is deeply rooted in afro-futurity, and his latest mixtape, MONGO, tears up the dance floor.

Watch the video for “I’m Alive (Humanized)” off MONGO:

Elysia Crampton

Elysia Crampton is a Bolivian-American producer meshing cumbia and huayño music with electronic music. Her work is conceptually entrenched in the trans experience and layered in personal histories of migration.

Listen to “Axacan” from her last album, American Drift:

Nakhane Touré

Nakhane Touré is a South African singer-songwriter influenced by Mali’s Ali Farka Touré. His critically acclaimed debut album, Brave Confusion, chronicled his personal journey through songs about sexuality, politics, and religion.

Watch the video for “The Plague” from his latest EP, The Laughing Son: