Black Peppa is a stellar performer and drag artist from Birmingham, they are renowned for their energetic lipsyncs and bendy limbs, in their own words "When you watch me perform you will be tired, not me, you will.".
Black Peppa has performed across the UK and is also recognised for their 3D, boundary pushing imagery online, much of which is created digitally by 3D designer Jordan Windows. Black Peppa also talks very openly about how their Caribbean heritage informs their work and how being an immigrant to the UK has made their drive to fight for what they deserve stronger, taking up space in an industry that does not cater for people of colour.
Black Peppa is a contestant on the current season of Drag Race UK, and recently performed on the Manchester Pride Alan Turing Stage with an iconic Beyonce medley.
Mix-Stress is a multi-genre DJ and producer, and is founder, lead curator and resident DJ of RebeccaNeverBecky (RNB), a Manchester-based events collective comprising all resident freelance creatives. RNB events have a special focus and spotlight on creatives, artists and DJs from LGBTQ+, QTIBPOC and BAME communities, showcasing and platforming their talents. RebeccaNeverBecky has taken Manchester’s nightlife scene by storm in the last couple of years, recently DJing at Black Angel’s 25th Birthday at Contact.
Superbia, Manchester Pride’s arts & culture programme, was proud to be on board with the early development of the RNB project - awarding a Superbia Grant to support the diverse family of performing artists that accompany these eclectic party nights.
Mix-Stress and RNB featured in a fantastic Superbia Spotlights piece in Manchester’s Finest, 2020. Read the article here and support Mix-Stress’ work here.
Jsky is a singer, songwriter and fashionista from Manchester, bringing life to many stages with his performances. He has hosted events by Vogue Magazine, The Economist, Mercedes Benz and Manchester United Football Club, and has performed for BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio Manchester, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, Rugby Super League... you get it, they're everywhere! He has been supported by BBC Introducing and has shared a stage with a host of international musicians.
Reality by Jsky is an EP that was 5 years in the making, featuring the rapturous single Liv and the iridescent era-defining Real, Reality is a unification of eulogies through love, longing and reprise. Xchange delves into processes of elevation, learning and replacing one thought for another whilst Going In heals by talking candidly about outgrowing your environment and the opinions of others on you. Lyrically speaking, Reality packs a punch!
We were thrilled to have Jsky on the Alan Turing Stage in 2022 as part of the Queer Music Takeover, where they performed a fantastic set and looked fantastic doing it.
Follow Jsky and support his work here.
DJ Stacy Bee is a prolific character on the Manchester scene and is the creator of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ R&B and Dancehall night Swagga. Swagga has been up and running for a few years, originating in Tribeca, the only venue in the Gay Village that were happy to run the event due to the racial prejudice in the management teams of the club who didnt want to cater for a PoC audience.
They have worked in Manchester’s Gay Village for 19 years. Initially in security before venturing into the world of DJ’ing and Promotion. Their main priority as a Gay Woman of Colour is to consistently strive to ensure that black culture is embedded in Manchester’s LGBTQ+ Community. Swagga is more than just music….it’s a celebration, it’s dancing, it’s style, it’s a promotion of identity and belonging. Most importantly, it’s authentic and this is what the community loves about Swagga.
We were elated to have DJ Stacy Bee at both the Manchester Pride Conference 2022 and the Manchester Pride Festival 2022
To!u A¡ayi is a Manchester UK based performance artist and activist, and works as Operational Lead for Rainbow Noir, a peer support, community action and social group for LGBTQIA+ people of colour. He is also QTIPOC Programme Coordinator at LGBT Foundation.
As a musician, To!u A¡ayi is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for several projects. He is a solo song and spoken word writer for Pieces of a Man, a six piece soul collective signed to Tru Thoughts.
Celebrated Vogue performer and the leader of Ghetto Fabulous in Manchester, Darren Pritchard is a performer, choreographer, teacher, producer and director. We’re grateful to have experienced Darren’s expertise first hand at Vogue workshops for the Superbia Weekend and Youth Pride MCR over the years, and Darren also took part in our Racism in the LGBTQ+ community panel at the Manchester Pride Conference 2022.
Black Pride MCR is an initiative run by Pritchard and Ghetto Fabulous, building on the all-year-round work of inspirational organisations run by young QTBIPOC revolutionaries. Read more about this year's Black Pride MCR takeover on the Mancunity Stage at the Gay Village Party here.
“Black Pride stems from people just needing a safe space they could feel was theirs. You’ve got incidents that happen where people weren’t safe in some spaces, as people of colour. Then if you put that at the intersectionality of queer, you become a minority within the minority.
When we’re hyper-visible more people will see and be aware. Like House of Ghetto has a very big presence in Manchester, so if there’s an issue politically that we want to stand for, we’ve got a lot of allies that will help advocate.” - Darren Pritchard for Manchester's Finest
Founded by Manchester-based performer and choreographer, Darren Pritchard, Ghetto Fabulous (Formerly known at House of Ghetto) is a dance and visual arts company that grew from the UK Vogue Ball scene. Its aims are to excite, entertain and have fun with the projects it embarks on, inspired by fashion, music, film, photography and the ever-changing world. Not afraid to explore the political and the personal, Ghetto Fabulous is a unique voice in the UK arts landscape.
Ghetto Fabulous have been involved with Manchester Pride for years, and in 2022 they were part of the Black Pride Takeover of the MancUnity Stage
Reece Daniels is part of Ghetto Fabulous and has gone on to incredible levels of success, and is signed to Nemesis Models. They’re a renowned performer and are known for their outfits, hair and mug all being on point.
They recently went on tour as a performer on Tayce’s Assassination Tour, they’re making a name for themselves in the Fashion Industry, they modelled for Tatti Lashes, Beauty Bay, and have performed with their sisters at ghetto Fabulous and Black Pride MCR on the Manchester Pride stages multiple times, most recently at the Black Pride MCR Takeover at the MancUnity stage.
House of Noir are a Manchester based, fashion centred house, platforming QTIPOC excellence & inspiring creativity, self love & expression. Follow them on instagram @houseofnoirmcr to stay up to date on upcoming shows!
Created by Performer, Speaker and Event Creator, Sadie Sinner, The Cocoa Butter Club gives a voice to The Other.
“We exist to promote the fact that performers of colour are creating in a multitude of mediums, though in our experience artists of colour and their incredible talent are often ignored, erased and untold.”
Wrapped in your favourite Neo-Soul, RnB, Motown, Blues and Jazz songs, discover Burlesque, Sideshow, Spoken Word, Live Music, Voguing, performance art and more; as The Cocoa Butter Club proudly provides a platform for performers of colour to exhibit culturally expressive work for us to revel in!
Pride is something everyone feels proud of and can see a little bit of themselves in.
Our communities are at the heart of everything we do, and we'd love to share your Pride experiences with others.
Tag your photos with #ShowYourPride and you could appear here on our site.
10 minute read
