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Image Credit: Tyler Borchardt
It’s Pride Month! Throughout June, HollywoodLife is celebrating with The Sound Of Pride, where celebs and stars of the LBGTQ+ community pick songs for the ultimate 2023 Pride Month playlist. It’s the perfect soundtrack to planning your Pride party, researching how to protect LGBTQ+ rights, or reading about the history of Pride Month. Helping kick off the back half of the month’s celebration is IDMAN with their picks for the playlist.
(Tyler Borchardt)
“My first ever Pride, I was a hijabi,” IDMAN tells HollywoodLife. The Somali-Canadian singer has never shied away from their Black Muslim heritage, telling HL that their first Pride celebration was “a beautiful reminder of how Black Muslims have always been a part of the Queer community – and honestly, a reminder for me that Black Muslim Queer community has existed around me whether I understood it as such at the time.”
IDMAN has imbued that sense of joy and pride into their music, combining elements of Somali music – both classic and contemporary — with the Western pop music that they used as a means of learning English while growing up in Toronto. That infusion can be heard in the two singles they’ve released so far in 2023, “Hate” and “Still,” both of which are part of IDMAN’s upcoming debut EP on Arista Records, RISK.
“‘Still’ is the song I think would hook me if I wasn’t me,” said IDMAN with the release of the new track. “I think of it as my undignified heartbreak song because with it, I decided to put down my toxic, ‘too cool to care’ facade and opted to sit in the genuine pain of what I was still very much moving through in a real and deep way…no matter who’s looking.”
Everyone is looking towards IDMAN, as they’ve been named one of Amazon’s Breakthrough Artists in 2023. While pre-ordering/pre-saving RISK, listen to what IDMAN picked for The Sound of Pride, including a track they’ve dubbed an “intergenerational Pride Anthem.”
Rina Sawayama, “Eye For An Eye”
“Listening to Rina’s music is knowing her art is going to mean something for a lot of people. The bops stay coming, and she is a POP girly!”
Tokischa, Anuel AA, & Ñengo Flow, “Delincuente”
“Is really THAT girl! The girls that get it GET IT. She’s brilliant, and her ethos is on 1000.”
Prado Monroe, “Elastic”
“The QUEEN of Van City. I don’t know a more perfect song to play on a night out… she is the coolest bitch out there. Bimbos rise!”
Michelle, “Syncopate”
“This song feels like walking to your summer’s sneaky-link an hour before sunset. It’s hot, it’s sweaty, it’s fun–it’s light! I heard it awhile back and am still bumping it–it’s great!”
Kimmortal, “I Like What I Like”
“INTERGENERATIONAL PRIDE ANTHEM! This song is warmth and should probably be included in school curriculums. That’s just what genius’ do– shout out Kimmortal (trans musical hero)!!”
(Tyler Borchardt)
HL: How does this year’s Pride celebration feel when compared to last year’s?
IDMAN: “This year feels like a rebirth. It’s my first pride where I feel like I’m fully participating – I’m playing my first show at Montreal Pride in August, so it really feels like I’m here.”
Are there any heroes you’d like to see get some more of the spotlight this Pride?
“Our Queer elders, who’ve survived through many political oscillations throughout their lifetimes. It’s just inspiring to know they’re still here, as pillars in our community.”
Do you have a memory of Pride Months past that you’d like to share?
“My first ever Pride, I was a hijabi, I went along with a community workers’ rights center. I was there with my other hijabi friends, and it was a beautiful reminder of how Black Muslims have always been a part of the Queer community – and honestly, a reminder for me that the Black Muslim Queer community has existed around me whether I understood it as such at the time.”
(Tyler Borchardt)
What do you have planned for June (and the rest of 2023?)
“Picnics, beaches, and a few life-changing twists and turns.”
Do you have a Pride 2023 message to share?
No pinkwashing Pride, no cops at Pride, and in the words of Assata Shakur:
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Party safely (we need you here), and protect each other when you see one another on the streets this Pride (and all year).
Keep reading HollywoodLife throughout June for more entries in The Sound of Pride and additional Pride Month coverage. And remember — fix your heart or die!
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Melissa McCarthy is seen attending the WeHo Pride. 04 Jun 2023 Pictured: Melissa McCarthy. Photo credit: APEX / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA990976_001.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]
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