Black Gay Adult Film • Who's Working Now vs. Who Built It
Black Gay Pornstars Worth Following in 2026
A working map of the niche, not a popularity contest: GayVN headliners like DeAngelo Jackson and Max Konnor, the self-producers and directors who shaped it, and earlier names whose status is harder to pin — each profile flagged active, retired, or unknown.
TL;DR — Key takeaways
- The GayVN headliners sit at the top — DeAngelo Jackson and Max Konnor aren't just performing, they're running documentaries and management agencies of their own.
- Cutler X shows the self-producer route (CutlersDen, scenes on his own terms); Rock Rockafella shows the niche's debt to its directors.
- Each name is flagged active, retired, or unknown — 8 active, 2 retired, 3 we couldn't confirm, as of July 2026
- Where a performer's current work couldn't be verified, the flag says so — we'd rather mark a name unknown than invent a comeback.
Until about 2020, Black performers in gay adult film were rarely the headline — they were the "specialty" cast, slotted into interracial scenes and largely shut out of the major awards. DeAngelo Jackson winning GayVN Best Actor as the first Black man to do so wasn't just a milestone for him; it marked the moment the niche stopped being a sidebar. The thirteen names below sit on either side of that shift, and a few of them helped cause it. For the straight side of the niche, our black male pornstars guide covers mainstream-studio names, our broader gay porn actors guide widens the lens beyond Black performers, and the female side lives in our ebony pornstars guide.
What actually defines this corner of the industry now is how much of it the performers own. The standout careers here aren't studio-contract careers — Cutler X runs his own site, Max Konnor runs a management agency built for performers of color, Jackson produced and narrated a documentary about racism inside porn, and Rock Rockafella directs the people the rest of the list looks up to. So we ordered these by documented standing and how much each one is shaping the niche rather than by scene count, leading with the GayVN-era winners and closing with earlier names whose current activity is genuinely hard to confirm. We judge what's on screen and in the public record, nothing private — and where the trade press goes quiet, we flag a performer unknown instead of guessing. Readers after the wider field will find it in our top male pornstars guide.
Who's working now, who built the niche — tap a name to jump to the profile
| # | Performer | Status | Era / Peak | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeAngelo Jackson | Active | 2010s–2020s | Cam |
| 2 | Max Konnor | Active | 2010s–2020s | Cam |
| 3 | Cutler X | Active | 2000s–2020s | Cam |
| 4 | Trent King | Active | 2010s–2020s | Cam |
| 5 | Dillon Diaz | Active | 2020s | Cam |
| 6 | Rhyheim Shabazz | Active | 2019–present | Cam |
| 7 | Adrian Hart | Active | 2017–present | Cam |
| 8 | Devin Trez | Active | 2010s–2020s | Cam |
| 9 | Rock Rockafella | Retired | 2000s–2010s | Archive |
| 10 | Micah Brandt | Retired | 2010s | Archive |
| 11 | Marc Williams | Unknown | 2000s–2010s | Cam |
| 12 | Scott Alexander | Unknown | 2010s | Cam |
| 13 | Hole Hunter | Unknown | 2010s–2020s | Cam |
DeAngelo Jackson
Era: 2010s–2020s
DeAngelo Jackson is the most decorated contemporary Black performer in gay adult film. In 2020 he became the first Black man to win GAYVN Best Actor, followed by Performer of the Year in 2021. A longtime Noir Male exclusive, he executive-produced and narrated the documentary "Being Black in Porn," which examines racism and inequality within the industry. Born in Germany and raised in Georgia, he holds a Criminal Justice degree from Florida State University. He remains actively producing and is widely cited as the face of the contemporary niche.
Max Konnor
Era: 2010s–2020s
Max Konnor is among the most awarded contemporary Black gay performers, with five GayVN Awards including Performer of the Year 2022, an XBIZ Gay Performer of the Year, and two Fleshbot Awards. He founded Haus of Konnor in 2019 — a management agency focused on adult performers of color. He's been part of the main cast of the OUTtv reality series "X-Rated: NYC" since 2023, and his profile is documented on Wikipedia, a rarity in the niche. He balances active production with advocacy on industry representation.
Cutler X
Era: 2000s–2020s
Cutler X is one of the most recognizable Black performers in gay adult film, working in the niche since the mid-2000s and known for a commanding, dominant on-screen presence. Rather than relying on studio contracts, he built and runs his own production platform, CutlersDen.com, where he has released well over a hundred scenes since 2018 and continues producing into the mid-2020s. He remains an active fixture of the independent bareback space, picking up fan-voted honors and award nominations in recent years. For readers tracking a veteran still working on his own terms, he's among the niche's most enduring names.
Trent King
Era: 2010s–2020s
Trent King is a Canadian performer, born in Toronto in 1987 and active in gay adult film since 2016. He won a Grabby Award for Hottest Rimming in 2019 and has picked up multiple GayVN nominations. Frequently cast in interracial and Black-focused productions, he's worked with NextDoorStudios, Raw Fuck Club, and other major studios. Known for a muscular build and versatile on-screen range, he maintains active social channels and steady recent output. He represents the contemporary, actively-working side of the niche alongside Jackson, Konnor, and Diaz.
Dillon Diaz
Era: 2020s
Dillon Diaz is among the contemporary Black gay performers featured in the 2021 documentary "Being Black in Porn," alongside DeAngelo Jackson and Max Konnor. A Noir Male exclusive who has also worked with Falcon, Men, and other major studios through the early 2020s, he's part of the current generation carrying the niche forward. Trade coverage of his career is steadily building rather than legacy-deep, which is typical for a performer at his stage. For readers after a currently-working name beyond the most-decorated headliners, Diaz is a documented active presence.
Rhyheim Shabazz
Era: 2019–present
Rhyheim Shabazz is the most decorated Black gay performer working today: he won GayVN Performer of the Year in 2024 and again in 2025, becoming only the second performer ever to take the award in consecutive years and the first man of color to do so. From Bridgeton, New Jersey, he came to adult film relatively late — in 2019 — and quickly signed an exclusive deal with TimTales before building the self-produced, collaboration-heavy catalogue he's now known for, much of it shot internationally with a rotating cast of other performers. He was the first gay performer to pass a million followers on X, and his profile has since crossed into mainstream media. He is unambiguously active and, on the awards record, the face of the niche's current era.
Adrian Hart
Era: 2017–present
Adrian Hart, born in Jefferson, Georgia in 1989, entered gay adult film in 2017 and has become one of the niche's most consistently nominated performers — a versatile lead across Falcon Studios, MEN.com, CockyBoys, Raging Stallion, and Noir Male. He picked up GayVN Performer of the Year nominations in three straight years (2021, 2022, 2023), alongside nods at the XBIZ, Grabby, and CyberSocket Awards, and took part in Falcon and NakedSword's "Pride: Pornstar Coming Out Stories" documentary. His steady output through the mid-2020s keeps him firmly in the actively-working column.
Devin Trez
Era: 2010s–2020s
Devin Trez, from Decatur, Georgia, has worked steadily in gay adult film since the mid-2010s, building a reputation on a muscular build and dominant on-screen roles across Raging Stallion, Noir Male, Bareback Network, and Cutler's Den. He earned a GayVN Best Newcomer nomination in 2021 and a Performer of the Year nomination in 2022, along with several scene-level nods. Frequently cast in Black-focused productions such as Black Godz, he belongs to the same contemporary cohort as Jackson, Konnor, and Diaz, and remains a documented active presence into the mid-2020s.
Rock Rockafella
Era: 2000s–2010s
Rock Rockafella is an industry figure whose contributions to Black gay adult film extend well beyond performing. He founded Rockfellaz Entertainment in Atlanta in 2008, directed DeAngelo Jackson's first scene, and later worked as a guest director for Noir Male. He also appears in the documentary "Being Black in Porn" as one of its central voices. While no longer a regular on-screen presence, his influence on the contemporary roster — through his direction and mentorship of younger performers — keeps him a foundational name in any honest overview of the niche.
Micah Brandt
Era: 2010s
Micah Brandt built a substantial career in gay adult film through the 2010s, becoming one of the recognized Black performers of that era. Known for versatile on-screen work across both mainstream gay studios and Black-focused productions, he developed a steady following. Industry records suggest he stepped back from regular production by the late 2010s, and new releases haven't appeared in several years. His catalog remains in studio archives. We mark him retired rather than guess at current activity.
Marc Williams
Era: 2000s–2010s
Marc Williams is a veteran performer with documented studio credits stretching back into the 2000s, working primarily across mainstream gay productions. His current activity status isn't clearly documented in recent industry coverage, so we flag him as uncertain rather than overstate it. He remains a recognized name from the genre's earlier era and turns up in catalog retrospectives. For readers exploring the niche's history, his body of work is part of the documented record even if current channels are sparse.
Scott Alexander
Era: 2010s
Scott Alexander appears in industry databases as a Black gay performer with documented studio credits, though a detailed career timeline is sparse in mainstream trade coverage. Like several mid-tier names in the niche, his presence sits in the gap between mainstream gay studios and independent platforms, where industry press offers limited verification. Current activity couldn't be confirmed through available sources. He's included for completeness of the niche's documented roster rather than as a confirmed active recommendation.
Hole Hunter
Era: 2010s–2020s
Hole Hunter is documented in the niche through profile listings and a social-media presence, with content distributed primarily through independent and Black-focused platforms. Mainstream studio coverage is limited — typical of cam-first or independent creators who bypass traditional production. Current activity status isn't clearly documented in trade press. He's listed here for niche completeness; readers seeking confirmed active performers should weight the verified active entries above.
Who to follow, depending on what you want
Where you start depends on what you're after. If you want the polished, award-winning end of the niche, follow DeAngelo Jackson, Max Konnor, and Rhyheim Shabazz — the reigning two-time Performer of the Year — the most decorated, most visible names, and the easiest to find producing new work. If you'd rather follow a veteran who answers to no studio, Cutler X is the one: self-producing on his own platform, still releasing, still picking up nominations. Want to understand how the niche got here at all? Rock Rockafella is the name behind the camera, the director who shot Jackson's first scene and mentored much of the current roster. And the unknown-status names at the bottom — Marc Williams, Scott Alexander, Hole Hunter — are for the archive-divers and completists, not the place to look for someone working tonight.
The one thing worth repeating: activity in this niche turns over fast, which is exactly why every profile above carries a flag instead of a blanket "still active." Trust the flag over the calendar. For the straight side of the same niche, our companion black male pornstars guide is the place to start.
We revisit this list as performers come back, step away, or new names earn a spot — and we move the status flags before we move the rankings. Following someone we left off? Send the name and we'll weigh it for the next pass.