GRAMMY Nominated Billy Dean Thomas shares video for new track "Praise Latifah" off their upcoming album MX arriving on October 24.
Billy Dean Thomas
Billy Dean Thomas (They/Them), AKA “The Queer B.I.G” is a grammy nominated Hip-hop recording artist originally from Harlem NYC but residing in Boston. Billy Dean states,
"This song is probably the most important song that I have ever written and produced. It’s my version of a rap spiritual. It's a song that honors music as a form of god, It includes queer folks in the context of spirituality placing value on us as holy beings, and It pays homage to one of my queer icons Queen Latifah. I will forever praise her for showing me that it's possible to stand proudly in my identity, uplift my community and be successful at the same time."
Formerly named NPR’s Artist to Watch, Billy Dean Thomas has been described as a blend between “The Roots and Rage Against the Machine." They have work featured on HBO, ABC, Billboard magazine and have toured throughout the United States and Europe.
In a time when trans and non-binary Americans are constantly under attack, Billy Dean Thomas' genre-bending album celebrates the creativity, resilience, and joy of the nonbinary community. MX, titled after the common gender-neutral honorific, is a fusion of Hip-Hop, R&B, and electronic anthems dedicated to those who live boldly in their queerness and feel like outsiders in a world trying to exclude them. Listen to the newest single “Shake Up The Charts” Below.