QBoy: Bullies, HIV & Victoria Wood

Gay Music: In the Key of Q

In the Key of Q is a weekly podcast featuring Queer musicians from around the world as they share stories, inspirations and of course their music.

This week's guest is QBoy. Born Marcos Brito he is a DJ, music artist, producer, rapper, and dancer. He was raised in Basildon, Essex and La Gomera, Canary Islands, being of half-British, half-Gomeran descent.

He has five independent releases under his belt, he has helped lead the way for diversity and inclusion within the LGBTQ community and hip-hop. At present, he is co-promoter and DJ at popular club night 'R & She: The Queens Of Hip-Hop' which now in its 8th year has featured sets by DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa and Mel Blatt of All Saints.

QBoy also has a weekly residency at London's megaclub Heaven and also plays regularly for The Ned and Ace Hotel London.

In the episode, QBoy chats about his love of rapping, how he loves that it carries the visceral energy of youth. We touch on Section 28 and the negative impact it had on his schooling as he experienced the dark cloud of classroom homophobic bullying.

Passions for music and dancing carried him through those tough times, as did indeed a love of Five Star and the wonderful Victoria Wood.

Launching himself into the hip hop scene of the early 2000s, QBoy chats about joining gayhiphop.com and finding himself at the centre of a Queer hip hop collective with the likes of DJ Mister Maker. He was part of that first generation of MySpace musicians, able to use the then-new technology of the internet to connect to audiences. QBoy was self-producing and self-releasing content at a time when it was an unusual thing to do.

Because he's a sexy-looking pup, QBoy managed to get hip hop onto the world's pride stages. They were happy to hire a cute white boy, but not his Queer black counterparts. QBoy talks about his frustration on this and his attempts to redress the balance pushing artists like the Deep Dick Collective and Tori Fixx.

As with so many of the Queer generation, QBoy's life was touched by HIV and for years he battled with the stigma and shame around his status. He speaks passionately about positive shaming on Grindr and Scruff, and his irritation behind people crowing on apps about their negative status.

Additional Material

• Basildon - BBC rebranding, New Town Utopia (Trailer)
• Assistance for people with HIV: Positively UK (standing up for the dignity and rights for people with HIV); National AIDS Trust (securing rights and stopping HIV); NHS Advice on Living with HIV (UK health service); Terrence Higgins Trust (landmark UK-based HIV charity).
• Gateway Song: Q.B.O.Y. (Is Just So Fly)

If you enjoyed this episode, I suggest taking a listen to The IZM.

In the Key of Q is a weekly podcast featuring inspiring Queer musicians from around the world as they share stories, inspirations and of course their music.

Theme tune is by Paul Leonidou and many thanks to Moray for his continued support.

The podcast can be reached on email with the main website here. Would you like to appear on the show? Or have an artist you'd like to recommend, please tell them to get in touch via email.

Presenter and Producer Dan Hall is a documentary producer / director, and his showreel can be found here.