S. Samuel
Brookyn rap veteran Talib Kweli recently shared his thoughts on the gay hip-hop debate, specifically, what it will take for homosexual emcees to be embraced in the culture.
In Kweli’s perspective, an openly gay emcee is not unimaginable when people consider how one of rap’s biggest stars is a white rapper by the name of Eminem.
“But as far as hip-hop, it’s real simple. There just needs to be a gay rapper–he doesn’t have to be flamboyant, just a rapper who identifies as gay–who’s better than everybody. Unfortunately hip-hop is so competitive that in order for fringe groups to get in, you gotta be better than whoever’s the best. So before Eminem, the idea that there would be a white rapper that anybody would really check for was fantastic or amazing or impossible. You had people like 3rd Bass and other people came through, and people respected them for their dedication to hip-hop. But people didn’t really take white rappers seriously until Eminem, because he was better than everybody. Like female emcees, you need to be like Lauryn Hill or Nicki Minaj or killing everything before somebody takes you seriously.” (Mother Jones)
Back in April, West Coast rap veteran Snoop Dogg said he could not envision acceptance happening in rap despite R&B singer Frank Ocean coming out as bisexual last summer.
“I don’t have a problem with it. It’s the mentality of the rap generation. The mentality of the rap generation is masculine. Macho,” Snoop explained in an interview. “That’s like having a football player playing in games, and all of a sudden at the end of the season he tells you, ‘Hey, you know I’m gay, guys. I like you, too.’ It’s a different feeling as opposed to saying it up front and early and you dealing with it.” (“Big Morning Buzz Live”)
Fellow California rapper Too $hort recently said he believed no one should be treated unfairly, especially potential rappers who have sex-same preferences.
And what does Too $hort think of the hip hop community still not accepting gay rappers? “I just feel like at this point in time we should allow gay people to get married, we should not ridicule anyone who comes out, just go with it, it’s just a lifestyle,” Too $hort said. “Plus I feel like if somebody- all these upstanding people who are like ‘no its bad’ -if we went in their closets oh my god….” he exclaimed. (Pop Stop TV)
Earlier this year, Grammy-winning singer T-Pain also spoke out in defense of same-sex relations.
After his assistant was bullied online, rapper T-Pain dissed the haters with a tweet reminding everyone that gay men don’t lust after every single guy in the world. “Attention homophobic idiots: if you’re not attractive to straight women, you’re probably not attractive to gay men. You can unclench now,” T-Pain posted on Twitter. “Just see a lot of ppl lookin at my assistant like ‘oh no better not go that way. That guy wants my butt.’ Don’t be an idiot. Ur still fugly.” (New Now Next)
