When it comes to homophobia, hip-hop doesn't have the best track
record. ****** and other anti-gay slurs have been used as generic
insults on wax throughout the genre's history. In the mid-1990s, Wendy
Williams sent a shiver through the industry by threatening, daily, to
out the then-unimaginable "gay rapper" on her radio show on New York's
Hot 97. Strong female rappers have been automatically branded lesbians
out of a need to marginalize their voices. Girl-on-girl action began
showing up in videos at a certain point, but only as an objectifying
peep show. (What exactly about M.O.P.'s "Ante Up" wouldinspire two
women to make out?)
However, recent events suggest a more complicated picture. In fact,
while violence, misogyny and materialism may be with hip-hop for a
long time, there are signs that the culture's attitude toward gays may
be changing.
It started, one could argue, in the late 1990s, when Puffy and Jay-Z
immersed themselves in the world of fashion. It's hard to run in those
circles with any deep-seated prejudice against gays, even if the
stereotype of the nattily dressed gay man is itself a harmful one.
(It's worth noting, though, that even as Jay was running Rocawear and
rubbing shoulders with the fabulous at fashion shows, in 2001's
"Takeover," he hit both targets hard, calling out Nas as "the fag
model for Karl Kani/Esco ads.") In 2001, Eminem, so famous for his
homophobic lyrical content, took the stage with the famously gay Elton
John at the Grammy Awards--the two held hands at the end of their
performance of "Stan." By 2009, when Lil Wayne and Baby were
photographed kissing on the mouth, after a collective Internet giggle,
fans forgot about it and moved on. Wayne later rhymed about it,
taunting anyone so uptight to think this made him gay, but he was
also, apparently, not particularly worried about blurring those
boundaries.
In June 2010, Em told the New York Times that he supported gay
marriage. "I think if two people love each other, then what the hell?
I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable,
if they want." When Hot 97's Mr. Cee was arrested this past April for
engaging in **** *** in a parked car with self-proclaimed "drag queen"
Lawrence Campbell, a.k.a. Brooke-Lynn Pink Lady, hardcore vets like
Prodigy and 50 Cent spoke out in his defense. "I'll make him my DJ any
day," Fif told Hot 97's Miss Info. Cee's reputation, and the role he
has played in the careers of icons like Big Daddy Kane and The
Notorious B.I.G., seemingly outweighs any concerns about his sexual
preferences. Cee pleaded guilty on June 1; five days later he was
spinning for 50,000 rap fans at the 18th annual Summer Jam, and made
light of the incident by dropping both Shawnna's "Gettin' Some" and
Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out"--the sample for Biggie's "Mo Money, Mo
Problems," but also a statement in itself. The crowd either didn't
notice, didn't care or appreciated the honesty and humor.
Tyler, the Creator, the underground's latest critical darling, has
been taken to task for his over-the-top use of ****** in his lyrics.
But he delivers those lyrics over beats spun by an openly ******* DJ,
Syd Tha Kid. Lil B, another rising Internet-age star (and a favorite
of Tyler and his OFWGKTA crew), who was chosen as one of the cover
subjects for XXL's 2011 Freshman Class issue, has announced that his
new album will be titled I'm Gay.
I'm Gay is the flash point for hip-hop's new attitude toward the gay
community. Since the April announcement, Lil B has received death
threats and had some stereotypical thug rappers go at him--at least
once on wax. But he has stuck by the title, even if no one knows
exactly what it means. The Oakland, California, MC, noted for his
bizarre, lo-fi style and cryptic sensibility, wants it known that he's
straight. He also wants you to know that the title is no mere
publicity stunt. Lil B's motivations, at least the ones he will admit
to, get at the paradox of hip-hop's homophobia. The language is used
without thinking, but the underlying prejudice won't go away just
because the words do. "If I want to say that I'm gay, I can say
whatever I want to," Lil B insists. "Really, the word doesn't mean
anything to me but 'happy.'" At the same time, he hopes that "some
people that might have been homophobic and respect my music might
widen their horizons and ease up, relax and say, 'People are human.'
"You see how serious life is, and, you know, it's time to grow up and
quit being inside your head so much," he says. "I think a lot of
people are inside their head. [They've] just gotta really live life.
And once they get away from some stuff they've been taught the last
100 years--what their parents taught them or whatever--they'll be
mentally free. That's what it's all about. You won't have any
shackles."
FOR MORE OF "BREAK IT DOWN," GO TO PAGE 2
The lyrics stay the lyrics, but they mask the reality: Hip-hop is
adjusting, and adapting, to the LGBT community. At some point, it just
doesn't make sense to bask in intolerance anymore. As the genre has
gotten bigger and bigger, it has become harder to ignore gay fans, and
amiable contact with the many openly gay people in the entertainment
industry is part of a top rap artist's professional life.
The country's most prominent gay-rights organization, the Gay &
******* Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), acknowledges the shift
under way. "Hip-hop, like any culture, reflects the broader social
climate. Attitudes are changing, with more and more people accepting
their loved ones, neighbors, coworkers and friends who happen to be
gay, ******* bisexual or transgender," said a GLAAD spokesperson.
"Being anti-gay has become less acceptable in many places. Getting to
know gay people has grown acceptance, and, moreover, successful
artists are likely learning that alienating fans is also not good for
sales."
Rappers are around gay folks; gay folks like rappers. It may not be
idealism, but at the same time, it shatters a lot of the myths about
hip-hop's attitude toward the LGBT community. Unless an artist is
truly provincial, with limited aspirations, he or she will likely
realize that it's not in one's best interest, or consistent with the
reality of one's personal life, to take a hard-line stance against
gays.
Def Jam Recordings mogul Russell Simmons, a longtime advocate for gay
rights, believes that hip-hop is actually ahead of the curve. "I'm not
suggesting there's no homo-phobia. I'm suggesting that homophobia
exists everywhere, and it's horrible. I'm saying that hip-hop artists
and the hip-hop community, the poetic community, are less homophobic
than the rest of society. Whoever you can think of, hip-hop is less."
When it comes to the lyrics, Simmons offers up an explanation similar
to the "Black CNN" argument first used to explain gangsta rap to
mainstream audiences. "I think that's just how honest they are. If
they use harsh language or say things that exemplify a truth in our
sadness, our sickness in our community, that
is shocking. That's just reality. They're just dealing with what we're
just trying to brush under the rug. They're mirrors of our own
sickness."
As with other forms of prejudice, though, this hardly means full
acceptance has been achieved. Much of the contact with gays takes the
form of the old "I have gay friends" excuse--being cool with
individual acquaintances while harboring homophobic attitudes--or, in
the case of grizzled Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel, a variation on
the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"You gay, go ahead, do you. I just don't particularly prefer what your
preference is," Sigel says. "Just stay far away from me, cuz. Keep
that **** all the way in the closet around me. I couldn't have a gay
stylist and all that... I just got that phobia. I don't like to be
around that. For any people who look into it any other way, go into
the Bible and look up the story."--Bethlehem Shoals
2 Peter 2:6-And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes
condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample unto
those that after should live ungodly;
Lev 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them
have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death;
their blood [shall be] upon them.
Isa 3:9
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they
declare their sin as Sodom, they hide [it] not. Woe unto their soul!
for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
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