Homosexuality and Hip-Hop : The Gay Rapper Thread

xp I think what people are (not incorrectly) taking issue with is the fact that a casual (or non-)fan could easily be misled into thinking that Lil B is, y'know, an openly gay rapper

fauxmarc: I say yes; even if in this case "I am gay" is really code for "I am against homophobia and identify with gay people rather than their oppressors", that is an unusually strong and explicit position for a rapper to take

XP

i think he knows that and doesnt give a fuck

dude has a song called "i'm miley cyrus"

I say yes; even if in this case "I am gay" is really code for "I am against homophobia and identify with gay people rather than their oppressors", that is an unusually strong and explicit position for a rapper to take

i know zero about this guy other than "commercially sustainable young independent rapper in 2011", correct me if i'm wrong - if that is the case i don't really see his speaking against homophobia as any sort of career-breaking move vs generating press like it is. also while he's cool with the gays under the broader scope of being anti-violence i don't really feel that's exactly the same as indentifying with them, especially when he goes out of his way to point out his status as our hetero hetero i like women hetero messiah or what the fuck ever that is all about. would like to see if there really is anything explicit in the lyrics.

I think what people are (not incorrectly) taking issue with is the fact that a casual (or non-)fan could easily be misled into thinking that Lil B is, y'know, an openly gay rapper

wasn't under the impression anyone was thinking any of this, like the the second i saw a thread about it it screams "jokey press campaign about words" if anything, which hey he sort of made it out to be anyway.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/921/capture81.jpg

yeah this is someone we need speaking for oppressed people.

Dude's been visibly speaking against homophobia and playing with hiphop's taboos about sexuality for a good couple years now tho. It's not like some random rapper who's never addressed this kind of stuff in the past just suddenly said "I'm naming my next album 'I'm Gay'" just for controversy's sake (although sure, Lil B does like to stir the pot, no questions there). Like Gr80 said, this is kind of a surprising move, but completely in character.

yeah and obviously its inevitable that its going to be met with skepticism and misunderstanding but that's totally his style

Yep.

if only he could focus that energy on improving his hit/miss ratio, but it's an imperfect world

lil b comes off like he's motivated more by a) being a massive hippie (~only positive vibes~) b) attention-whoring/shit-stirring than being particularly invested in gay rights, but he also seems genuine, and willing to be an ally who says smart things alongside all of that, so it's ok.

his stating that he's str8 is ok too, assuming he actually is - one of the most pernicious ideas i've noticed is that gay rights is something only for gays to concern themselves with (and, connected, the amount of comments i've seen stating that they're ok with gay people as long as they don't come near me!!!1111). str8 people should also be concerned with gay rights, dudes should be concerned with feminism, all of this should go without saying.

countdown to compare-and-contrast with odd future starting now!

^my man

(no homo)

countdown to compare-and-contrast with odd future starting now!

they performed lil b's "i'm a pretty bitch" together at coachella

a) being a massive hippie (~only positive vibes~) b) attention-whoring/shit-stirring than being particularly invested in gay rights, but he also seems genuine, and willing to be an ally who says smart things alongside all of that, so it's ok.

very well-said

(whoops I cut off the first part of that sentence but you get the picture)

fucking awesome post lex.

his stating that he's str8 is ok too, assuming he actually is - one of the most pernicious ideas i've noticed is that gay rights is something only for gays to concern themselves with

two different things. the latter, his concerning himself, that's fine. the former, his stating his str8ness (specifically: needlessly over-stating) sets up subcontext placing the gays as this alien other thing he is definitely not a part of and does not identify with (but he's cool with them). it's the original no homo.

hey guys, naming my new album "I'm Gay" NO HOMO

Drake's new album: I'm Goy

I'm 'Ye

not usually into Funny or Die stuff, but this is hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4VZcQU55CM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPcZz0skcTw

also, i hung out with Lil B a few months ago when he played in my neighborhood (literally— he played at this old theatre a few blocks from me in the Lower Bottoms area of Oakland), and he really is a sweetheart. he's paranoid as fuck, but definitely a standup motherfucker.

that was such a weird show!!!

Been thinking about a poll based on which rapper comes out first. Based God v. 'Ye v. Lil Fame v. Freddie Foxx v. Chamillionaire v. Sauce Money v. Other

this was one of the first ILM threads i remember, i think i first read it when it got bumped in 2006 for the NYT story on Caushun

just checked his wiki and woah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caushun

hey tabes if you're still peepin this thread i sent u a webmail

hey hoos, got it, i'll email ya when i'm not too stoned to furbish a propz response

rad

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/05/15/051511-arts-music-rap-homophobia-1-4/

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ur computer is broken

ipad

ipad

lol

thedaily.com just punishing me for not dling their app

No mention of Nicki Minaj? She seems pretty important to that narrative.

haven't seen her mentioned in many of these pieces, i'm getting the vague impression that hip-hop writers would rather put her into the pop box and not acknowledge that she might be important to rap

i think it's because despite what she says she portrays herself as 100% straight therefore ppl forget that she claims to be bi

i think her importance isn't whatever her sexuality is, it's about the audience she actively courts and welcomes into hip-hop

young girls?

that too actually

i think her importance isn't whatever her sexuality is, it's about the audience she actively courts and welcomes into hip-hop

― that's my hair no horses up there (lex pretend), Sunday, May 15, 2011 12:53 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah

you still see dinosaurs out there who try to argue that hip-hop is innately a masculine, male space, and to defend it as such, so to have a rapper specifically pull gay men and girly girls (ie not just eye candy or "one of the boys") into it seems pretty important

otm

it's pretty much the opposite of odd future's rejection of anyone who isn't a (specific type of) teenage boy

i think it's because despite what she says she portrays herself as 100% straight therefore ppl forget that she claims to be bi

― J0rdan S., Sunday, May 15, 2011 3:52 PM (1 hour ago)

she has multiple verses on hit songs about taking girls home or having a ménage with a male collaborator plus a chick etc. though

also she's pretty openly a kink fest.

she has multiple verses on hit songs about taking girls home or having a ménage with a male collaborator plus a chick etc. though

― suggest ban the subbest man (some dude), Sunday, May 15, 2011 5:00 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah but all this does is cement the (straight male) notion that (hot) girls want to mess around w/ each other when she has tons of songs & videos centered around 100% hetero relationships

thought the same thing initially, but the kind of outreach lex was praising isn't necessarily a contest to be the most straight-male-unfriendly. "it's about the audience she actively courts and welcomes into hip-hop."