BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE
W H E R E W O R D S F A I L , M U S I C S P E A K S
W H E R E W O R D S F A I L , M U S I C S P E A K S
Your guide to the top fifty artists featured on KAOS in 2018.
1
Ryan Beatty - Haircut / Powerslide / God In Jeans
Beatty dropped videos for a number of tracks on his accomplished (and highly recommended) debut Boy In Jeans. He also coined my favourite lyrics of the year:
"God is real
He was sleeping in my bed last night
We were naked with the radio on
Playing my favourite song..."
2
MNEK - Tongue / Colour / Correct
Not only did MNEK treat us to three electrifying videos, and his brilliant debut album, but he also delivered a future Christmas classic. More than that, he provided a role model and hero for young gay men everywhere.
3
Nakhane - Interloper
Multi-talented South African Nakhane stuns with the electrifying Interloper, from his album You Will Not Die. Takes your breath away.
4
Moses Sumney - Quarrel
“Quoting this a quarrel so immorally implies/We’re equal opponents and we both antagonize,” Sumney sings on Quarrel. The video is, like last year's Doomed, breathtaking.
5
Karnage Kills - Timberlands / Level Up
"Pull my hair fuck me like you hate me
Choke me out daddy I need your babies."
Now that's what you call lyrics.
6
Matt Palmer - Get Lost / Comfortable
“Sometime mainstream outlets don’t want to post about your work because they’re like, ‘Oh, this is a gay thing’," says Matt. "Well, it’s music and I am gay. But I feel we’re getting so much better with that, with artists like Troye Sivan, MNEK and Hayley Kiyoko. Non-straight artists are doing amazing things in 2018.” With his epic visual EP, Get Lost, he most certainly did. Comfortable, in particular, is a standout.
7
Kwaye - Lost In My Boots / I Go / What Have You Done / Paralyzed
Easily one of 2018's most exciting talents, Zimbabwean Kwaye gave us this stunning quartet of videos.
8
Troye Sivan - Bloom / My My My!
An insanely catchy bottom-anthem from a cute twink? Thank you. “I’m just trying to show people that you can be queer, live your life, and be happy,” says Troye. Done.
9
THRILLERS - Slow Motion Replay
Brothers Greg and Jeremy Pearson are THRILLERS; the insanely catchy Slow Motion Replay is thrilling.
10
Steve Grand - Don’t Let the Light In
The out gay artist shares his battle with alcoholism. Powerful.
11
Aaron Porter - BOY
Aaron Porter takes on femme-shaming and toxic masculinity with the sizzling video for BOY.
12
TIN - Don't Say His Name
Out, gay Australian TIN's Don’t Say His Name was inspired by a Grindr date gone wrong. He describes the clip as a "softcore porn music video".
13
Michael Medrano - Love Somebody Else
“Love Somebody Else is reflective," says Medrano. "I was seeing this version of myself and my relationship that was not honest. I had to face that head on.”
14
Rosehardt - Songs in the Key of Solitude
Rosehardt delivers quality and quantity with his album-length film for his ambitious and epic Songs in the Key of Solitude. “I wanted to find a way to be myself and happy. [I wanted to] feel as though I didn’t need something else to make me feel complete even if I ever found something like that [love] again, I had to know that I could also be cool by myself,” he says.
15
VINCINT - Marrow
Philadelphia's VINCINT takes us to church in his video for the soaring Marrow.
16
Jussie Smollett - Freedom
"This video is about love. I wanted to show two people doing the everyday things that every single couple does,” says Jussie. “I see nothing but beauty through the eyes of these characters we've created. I hope everyone else does as well. Love is freedom. Freedom is love.”
17
WIINSTON - Rosa
“The visual element is 50 percent of this whole project," says singer Daniel Richards. "Today it seems like video is kind of a lost art, so we want to bring that back and create videos that are full-on short films.”
18
Jeff Is He - Mistress
Criminally overlooked (just over 2000 views? Really?), here's another chance to acquaint yourself with Jeff Is He's powerful Mistress.
19
Fischerspooner - Butterscotch Goddam / TopBrazil
Fischerspooner's Casey Spooner describes the album Sir, from which Butterscotch Goddam and the sizzling TopBrazil hail, as "a queer treatise against political conservatism and oppression." Fuck yeah.
20
Jeff Darko - Dynamite
“My vision with this song is to empower humanity,” says Jeff Darko. “Growing up, I was surrounded with so much negativity which still exists today. It took me time and experience to be able to shift environments… I simply want to use this song as a weapon to equip anyone going through any kind of struggle and soar above any challenges.” It's Dynamite.
21
Fiorious - I'm Not Defeated
“My intent with I'm Not Defeated was to create an empowering uptempo house track for anyone feeling oppressed or attacked," says Fiorious, "something to transform their pain into something defiant and confident - and visually, I knew I wanted a celebration of queer resistance."
22
Peppermint and Cazwell - Blend
"I’m so done trying. My heart will transcend, and I’m never going to blend." Inspirational, empowering, and a call to arms. Brilliant.
23
Carson - Good Love
Travel back in time to the '80s with Carson. A fresh burst of joy.
24
Starchild & The New Romantic - Ophelia's Room
Another overlooked gem. "The telephone is a heavily symbolic piece both on this album and in New Romantic world," says singer Bryndon Cook. "It's our worldly possession of communication. This video is a companion piece for one of my favorite B-Sides on the record too. Like a dream about giving 'that person' a call after a long time has passed. A day dream or a nightmare all at once." Let Starchild & The New Romantic's dreamy Ophelia's Room wash over you.
25
Ruba - ZzZ
Ruba sizzles on the XXX ZzZ. Tops everywhere stood, erect, to attention.
26
Cub Sport - Good Guys Go
"Good Guys Go is about an imbalanced relationship where one person is doing everything they can to keep the other up but it isn’t being reciprocated," says Cub Sport singer Tim Nelson. "It’s more-or-less about carrying the burden of emotional labour for yourself and your partner."
27
Big Dipper - Lookin
Something for the big boys - and the cubs who love 'em. A ton (literally) of fun.
28
The Younger Lovers - TightFade
"I’m thicc basically. I used to be a skinny good looking gay man but I got depressed when my dad died 3 years ago and gained hella weight. I was 290 pounds in high school and shrank to 168 in my San Francisco gay boy daze in my late 20s / early 30s. Now I am 230 and not feeling particularly bad about it. I still pull cute trade. To quote Morgan Parker 'I know my pussy is good because they told me so.'" My God, I f**king love Brontez Purnell.
29
Ryan O’Shaughnessy - Together
Ireland's official Eurovision song contest entry. Just lovely.
30
Bipolar Sunshine - Pressure
Bipolar Sunshine never disappoints. The UK artist - now relocated to LA - delivers again with the cinematic Pressure.
31
Yuno - No Going Back
Fall in love all over again with Yuno's bittersweet No Going Back.
32
Saro - Vapor / Boy Afraid
“This wasn’t my first rodeo,” says Saro. “I default to nudity because, while fashion trends go out of style, skin is timeless.” Indeed.
33
Keiynan Lonsdale - Preach
A promising debut from Lonsdale, with an entrancing video.
34
Merlot - Bad for You
A moving meeting of song and performance which celebrates queerness and human emotion.
35
Holland - I'm Not Afraid
The openly gay K-pop star Holland dropped your new favourite anthem, I’m Not Afraid, just in time for Pride.
36
Fusilier - The Shot
"You're black and gay. How does it feel to have two things wrong with you?"
37
Kiddy Smile - Dickmatized
Well, we've all been there, right?
38
Moses Sumney - Rank & File / Power?
No one could accuse Sumney of a lack of ambition. His EP, Black in Deep Red, 2014 EP upended expectations.
39
AB Soto - Nothing More 2 Say
"Music and dance have always made me feel safe," says AB Soto. "Growing up I would sing and dance in the privacy of my own bedroom to process difficult emotions. I’m sure other dancers can relate. Music will always be my true love. I wanted to capture the essence of that intimacy with this video. I wanted this video to be as raw and honest as possible. My one rule for this was that it needed to be filmed in one-take."
40
Brandon Stansell - For You
Out country singer Brandon Stansell enlists Drag Race runner-up Eureka O'Hara to liven up the video for the sweet Only You.
41
Dior Jordan - Porno Dreams
Jordan name-checks the crème de la crème of black gay porn in the deliciously filthy Porno Dreams.
42
Kvng David - He Bad
Thrills and spills with web series star Kvng David. Hot.
43
KC Ortiz - Let's Talk About PrEP
Let’s Talk About PrEP continues the HIV-advocacy legacy of Salt-N-Pepa’s original 1991 song, Let's Talk About Sex.
44
ODIE - Story
ODIE's debut Analogue was one of my favourite albums of the year. Story was the first music video off it.
45
Muzi - Questions
South Africa's Muzi's dazzling video for Questions.
46
Christopher Sorensen - Afterglow
Christopher Sorensen breaks everyone's hearts with the moving video for Afterglow.
47
alextbh - Walls
The out Malaysian invites us to explore his Walls.
48
Pelicandy - Animals
Toronto dancer Roney Lewis effortlessly steals Pelicandy's Animals video.
49
Jerome Thomas - Bruises
Slick soul from London's Jerome Thomas.
50
François Sagat / Igor Dewe - Trust Me
French artist Igor Dewe and François Sagat teamed up for the mad, surreal Trust Me.
Unless otherwise stated, KAOS does not claim credit for any of images featured on our site.
The copyright of all images remains with their respectful owners.
If you own rights to any of the featured images, and object to their appearance here, please get in touch.
The copyright of all images remains with their respectful owners.
If you own rights to any of the featured images, and object to their appearance here, please get in touch.
"Where words fail, music speaks."
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author, 1805-1875.
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author, 1805-1875.
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