Black.Queer.Rising.: Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis

The name “Moore Kismet” means “more than fate.”

Moore Kismet also known as Omar Davis has accomplished quite a bit for a 17 year old. In both 2021 and 2020, they were featured in Billboard's 21 Under 21 and in 2020 Dancing Astronaut named them the Breakout Artist of the Year. 

Photo of Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis
(Courtesy of Moore Kismet)

Last year, at the age of 16, Moore Kismet became one of the youngest artist to ever play a set at Lollapalooza.

The festival in Chicago's Grant Park hosts an estimated 400,000 people each July and sells out annually, and it is considered one of the longest-running in the United States and one of the most iconic music festivals in the world. Last year, Lolla dropped rapper DaBaby from its lineup after he made homophobic remarks on July 25, 2021 at Miami's Rolling Loud Festival. A month later, he apologized at Hot 97 Summer Jam. Instead, Young Thug, creator of the 2016 original album "JEFFERY" performed.

"JEFFERY"
(Album Cover of Young Thug's JEFFERY (2016)/Wikiart)

At the time of its release, the album caused some buzz online because some fans found it quite subversive that a rapper with the monicker Young Thug chose to cover an album with a photo of himself in a designer dress (which to be fair was designed by a man and originally modeled by a male model), but this was a little overblown. It's not just the Alessandro Trincone designed dress Young Thug wears, it's his view that matters. In a Calvin Klein’s Fall 2016 campaign Young Thug said, “In my world, you can be a gangsta with a dress or you can be a gangsta with baggy pants. I feel like there’s no such thing as gender.” 

Black artist defying gender norms and heteronormative ideas of what it means to be Black is nothing new in music, but it is becoming more prevalent in genres like hip hop where topics like homosexuality have long been taboo. This is evidenced by the rise of openly Queer artist like Lil Nas X and TikTok rapper Dellie Boe. Their prominence in a genre that has often shunned openly queer voices reveals the push and pull of progress within hip hop, a music industry that has always depended on Black creativity.

It also shows the push and pull of culture as generational and demographic shifts occur. More and more people are openly identifying as LGBTQ+ nationally and globally. According to Gallup, 7.1 percent of the U.S. is now openly queer. Data suggest that nearly 15.9 % of Generation Z, already noted for its immense racial diversity, also identifies as LGBTQ+, making it the most openly queer generation yet.

But there's always an attempt to roll back what's been pushed forward.

As we see a record number of people openly identifying as queer, state legislatures across the country have filed nearly 240 anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in the first three months of 2022. Most of these laws target trans and nonconforming people, who are often the most vulnerable to discrimination and hate, especially Black and Brown trans youth.

Proponents of these bills say they’re about parental rights, protecting children, religious freedom or a combination of all three. However, opponents contend that it is discriminatory and about scoring political points with conservative voters rather than protecting constituents.

Today, a new generation of unapologetically Black, openly Queer and nonconforming musicians and creatives like Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis have emerged.

They are pushing the boundaries of R&B, hip hop and dance music while re-centering the Black queer legacy in house and techno music. We got the chance to speak to them about telling the stories of young, Black, queer love and how they're taking the dance and electronic music industry by storm in this special edition of Black.Queer.Rising. 

Want to hear more of Kismet and artist like them?

If so, check out our first Black.Queer.Rising. playlist which features mostly Black queer artist whose music is redefining the sound and feel of hip hop and dance music.