BY: Alexis Eichelberger

There’s no escaping the obvious — straight white men dominate electronic music. From Calvin Harris to Kygo, the DJs who score Vegas residencies and headlining spots at significant music festivals generally look and love the same way. It’s a criticism the genre has gotten for years and while some progress has been made, particularly for female DJs, there’s still a long way to go.

In honor of Pride Month and in the spirit of celebrating diversity, PROVOKR compiled a list of outstanding EDM artists who break the mold. Here are five popular and upcoming POC, female and queer performers to know:

Krewella

Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf are half-Pakistani sisters who took the EDM world by storm in the early 2010s. Their success is no secret — Krewella is one of few female acts to headline festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. Both are outspoken about valuing diversity in the electronic music scene and supporting women’s causes, especially in the arts.

KAYTRANADA

Louis Kevin Celestin, or KAYTRANADA on stage, is a gay Haitian-Canadian DJ whose fusion of electronic and hip-hop has earned him many accolades. His debut album, 99.9%, was widely praised and won him the Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year. His sophomore record, Bubba, was released last year and reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

The Black Madonna

The Black Madonna was Mixmag‘s DJ of the Year in 2016. She specializes in remixes and has played EDM festivals and clubs since her career began in the late ’90s. The gender non-conforming artist has been outspoken about the judgment she’s faced for her gender presentation and is a fierce advocate for issues affecting LGBTQ-identifying people and people of color.

TOKiMONSTA

Jennifer Lee is one of the most famous female faces of EDM today. The Korean-American DJ was the first woman to sign with Brainfeeder, and in 2019, TOKiMONSTA earned a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album for her third record Lune Rouge.

Pabllo Vittar

Pabllo Vittar is a Brazilian drag queen known for her performances of pop, house music and rasteirinha, a Brazilian electronic genre that fuses reggae and samba into the mix. Although Pabllo Vittar is primarily a vocal performer rather than a DJ like the others on our list, she is an outstanding member of the EDM community. Pabllo Vittar is also an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights and is the most followed, streamed drag queen in the world.