S. Samuel
Maybach Music Group's Rick Ross shares his insight on hip-hop's never-ending debate on the phrase "No Homo", and why he refrains from using it in the new issue of Complex Magazine.
Within the feature, Ricky Rozay revealed how the popular expression is often thrown at him via social platforms like Twitter.
“I’ve been on Twitter before, and somebody will say something to me with “no homo” at the end. And I’m like, Why the f*ck would you even need to say that? … I don’t use it. There’s no reason. I mean you Tweet me, I hope you’re no homo. They’ll be like, ‘Yo man, let me get your blunt, no homo.’ That’s why I don’t smoke with nobody.” (Complex)
Over the past few years, the expression has been used by rappers like Kanye West and Cam’ron.
West amended his position somewhat on “Run This Town,” a new Jay-Z single on which the Chicago rapper is a featured guest. “It’s crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow,” West begins his rap, “to everybody on your d*ck–no homo.” No homo, to those unfamiliar with the term, is a phrase added to statements in order to rid them of possible homosexual double-entendre. (“You’ve got beautiful balls,” you tell your friend at the bocce game–“no homo.”) No homo began life as East Harlem slang in the early ’90s, and in the early aughts it entered the hip-hop lexicon via the Harlem rapper Cam’ron and his Diplomats crew. Lil Wayne brought the term into the mainstream, sprinkling “no homo” caveats across cameos, mix tapes, and his Tha Carter III LP, which was 2008’s best-selling album. (Slate)
A few years ago, Cam’ron addressed the hype over the “No Homo” verbiage.
“With me, like, ‘No homo’ is just basically installed in my vocabulary,” Cam said in a 2007 interview. “Even if I’m in a meeting, I’ll be with my lawyer and might say something and be like, ‘No homo.’ And my lawyer will look up and I’ll be like, I know you have no idea what I’m talking about but I need to say that because I said something real homo, no homo.” (Hot 97)
Odd Future’s Tyler the Creator recently shared his thoughts on using the term “gay” as a playful insult rather than an epithet.
“I’m not homophobic. I just think f*ggot hits and hurts people. It hits. And gay just means you’re stupid. I don’t know, we don’t think about it, we’re just kids. We don’t think about that sh*t. But I don’t hate gay people. I don’t want anyone to think I’m homophobic. ([His friend] Jasper walks into the room) But he’s a f*cking f*ggot!” (NME Magazine)
Check out some recent Rick Ross footage below:
