Niecy Nash & Jessica Betts become the first lesbian couple to grace the cover of Essence and they sexy too. Apple releases a fifth Siri option for you to choose from and this one is less gendered. We salute the mother of the blues Ma Rainey during our Black History Month spotlight & Anna recommends you add the audio drama Kiss to your library.

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

00:33 – Rate & Review Queer News Ad

01:00 – Intro Music

01:41 – Niecy Nash & Jessica Betts become the first lesbian couple to grace the cover of Essence and they sexy too.

02:38 – Apple releases a fifth Siri option for you to choose from and this one is less gendered

03:06 – Anna recommends you add the audio drama Kiss to your library 

04:19 – We salute Ma Rainey during our Black History month spotlight

06:25 – Anna’s Got A Word

Things for you to check out 

Niecy Nash And Wife Jessica Are Sure Betts

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/niecy-nash-jessica-betts-march-april-cover-story/

Listen & Support Kiss: 

https://anchor.fm/kissofdeath/support

Queer Portraits – MA RAINEY 1886 TO –1939

https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/rainey

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Transcript

Family, this is your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn here with our queer news from today. 

Niecy Nash & Jessica Betts become the first lesbian couple to grace the cover of Essence and they sexy too. Apple releases a fifth Siri option for you to choose from and this one is less gendered. We salute the mother of the blues Ma Rainey during our Black History Month spotlight & I recommend you add the audio drama Kiss to your library. 

Our leading story today is the Betts. Niecy & Jessica Betts have graced the cover of Essence magazine looking as sexy as ever. They are the first lesbian couple to ever dawn the cover and of course Demetria Lucas is the writer bringing their story to life. You can feel the love okay. This is Niecy Nash’s first relationship with a woman and when asked what most attracted her to Jessica she said, “What I was and am still attracted to is Jessica’s soul. She was the most beautiful soul I had ever met in my life. Now that I’ve experienced it, I can’t imagine going through life without it.” Yes! The podcast has been filled with black lesbian love all week and I am here for it. I’ve put a link to the Essence article in the show notes.

Did you know that Apple has launched a new Siri voice. This time the goal is for the voice to be less gendered and they confirmed the voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ commuity. It’s part of the latest beta version and you can choose option five from your Siri UI menu. Apple said, “We’re excited to introduce a new Siri voice for English speakers, giving users more options to choose a voice that speaks to them.” I’m going to have to check it out. 

Now, it is Friday which means I’m coming through with another audio drama recommendation. For I am your audio drama evangelist. Today, I want to put y’all on to Kiss. Kiss is sexy and erotic at times and keeps you wanting more. The audio drama description says some believe that a kiss is one of the most intimate connections that two people can share, but when it comes to Washington, D.C.’s Lipstick Serial Killer; a mere kiss could easily equate to death. The “Kiss of Death,” as she is known to the public; preys on attractive, unsuspecting men with only one objective in mind: TO KILL! Sealing each murder with a sinful kiss to the frontal lobe, The “Kiss of Death” plots to destroy every man in her path for as long as she can. Ohhhh and that is exactly how every episode plays out. The writer Xperience Jay is known for her audio dramas and for being a leader in the space being the founder of Black Audio Dramas Exist. This is definitely worth checking out. I tell you no lies. 

It’s Black History Month and it is quickly coming to a close. I have truly enjoyed bringing you some of my favorite people and organizations living and working at the intersections of being Black & Queer. We have two more spotlights remaining this month & today we salute Ma Rainey. 

As the story was told by Queer Portraits, Ma Rainey was an one of the earliest professional blues singers, often called The Mother of the Blues. Rainey had her first exposure to the blues while traveling through the minstrel circuit in the south. She adopted the style as her own, singing it with her rough and powerful voice, but polished enough to appeal to a broader audience. The accompanying stage performance often began with her stepping out of a giant prop gramophone in a flashy sequin dress. It was immensely popular, and when Paramount approached her with a record deal, she became one of the earliest recorded blues performers—she made over 100 records within a span of five years. The blues were meant to be a little risqué, which might explain how she got away with the openly lesbian song “Prove It On Me,” which includes the line “Went out last night with a crowd of my friends. They must’ve been women, cause I don’t like no men.” The song could have been inspired by an incident in which the police raided an all-female party-turned-orgy that Rainey had been hosting. Bessie Smith, a fellow bisexual blues singer whom Rainey mentored, bailed her out of jail the following morning. Rainey was always in control of her own finances, and when the blues began to lose popularity, she returned to her hometown in Georgia. There she owned and ran two successful theaters until her death. Did you all see Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom? If you haven’t it is absolutely worth seeing Viola Davis fully embody her presence at a very specific moment in time. It’s not a bio pic, it’s a glimpse into her life and a really well done one too. Ma Rainey, we see you & we salute you. 

Now family, let’s go into the weekend with this word. “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.” That’s it, that’s all. Till Monday family, peace.

Sources

Niecy Nash And Wife Jessica Are Sure Betts

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/niecy-nash-jessica-betts-march-april-cover-story/

Queer Portraits – MA RAINEY 1886 TO –1939

https://www.queerportraits.com/bio/rainey

Listen & Support Kiss:

https://anchor.fm/kissofdeath/support

Niecy Nash & Jessica Betts become the first lesbian couple to grace the cover of Essence, Apple releases a gender neutral Siri voice, We salute Ma Rainey during our Black History Month spotlight & Anna drops another audio drama recommendation – Friday, February 25, 2022