Black LGBTQ Music History Makers: Kaytranada, the Producer Who Made the World Dance
Watch the episode above, then read on for the full story.
Today, we spotlight Kaytranada, the Grammy-winning producer, DJ, and sonic innovator whose blend of house, hip hop, R&B, funk, and electronic music has changed the sound of modern music.
If you've moved your body to a song in the last ten years, there's a good chance Kaytranada had something to do with it. His grooves sound effortless. They are anything but.
From Port-au-Prince to Montreal
Louis Kevin Celestin was born on August 25, 1992, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised near Montreal, Quebec. He started making beats as a teenager, first as Kaytradamus in 2010, then as Kaytranada in 2012. He also makes music with his brother, Lou Phelps, as the duo the Celestics.
His big break came in 2013, when his SoundCloud rework of Janet Jackson's “If” spread across the internet. Suddenly a kid from Montreal had DJs and artists around the world asking who he was.
The albums
His debut album, 99.9% (2016), won the Polaris Music Prize, Canada's top album award. He followed it with Bubba (2019), the joint album Kaytraminé with Aminé (2023), Timeless (2024), and Ain't No Damn Way! (2025). Along the way he has worked with Anderson .Paak, H.E.R., Alicia Keys, and Victoria Monét.
Living his truth
In 2016, around the release of his debut, Kaytranada talked openly with The Fader about being gay and about how long he had struggled to say it. In dance and hip hop spaces that haven't always made room for queer Black men, that honesty mattered.
★ Key Moments
2013: His remix of Janet Jackson's “If” goes viral
2016: 99.9% wins the Polaris Music Prize
2016: Comes out publicly in an interview with The Fader
2021: Wins two Grammys, for Bubba and “10%” with Kali Uchis
2024: Releases Timeless
Grammy history
At the 2021 Grammy Awards, Bubba won Best Dance/Electronic Album, and “10%” featuring Kali Uchis won Best Dance Recording. He became the first Black producer, and the first openly gay artist, to win Best Dance/Electronic Album.
Why Kaytranada matters to us
House music was born in Black and queer spaces. Kaytranada carries that history forward and takes it to the biggest stages in the world, without sanding down who he is. Every time one of his tracks fills a dance floor, that lineage keeps going.
More History Makers
Kehlani: from Oakland to Grammy gold
Frank Ocean: the open letter that reshaped R&B
Lil Nas X: the record-breaker who changed the game
Janelle Monáe: reimagining music and identity
Sources: Wikipedia
AmpliPhy | LGBTQ Voices, Black and Out Loud.
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