mos def- quasi homosexual?

Why is it so hard to accept that Mos Def is homophobic? Like most rappers are.

he. doesn't. like. dogs.

I mean, just because he's an "intelligent" rapper doesn't mean his worldview is exactly white liberal.

Well, I believed that Mos def was above such immaturity and basic ignorance that come with homophobia. I guess I was mistaken. My belief was that he was an intelligent man, it wasn't because don't bracket MCs into that backpacker/'intelligent' type thing.

I'm pretty sure other social/racial groups apart from white liberals (a group i do not belong to) have the worldview that homophobia is the last refuge of the fucknut.

are you sure it's "quasi" and not "closet?"

This is the same Mos Def who on "Black On Both Sides" referred to Asian people as "Charlie Chans". It's not as if he's Ben Elton.

well, i don't think that being "oiled-up" is an integral aspect of homosexuality, but i would say that the 'oily look' is a currently a popular 'sexy' look for both males & females- i'd base that assumption on video's by monica, beyonce, xtina, britney, usher, d'angelo, madonna and various other media images, like some of the david beckham photo shoots, or even the amstel light beer ad about men's fashion.

as far as who the 'oily nude man' is supposed to appeal to, i did state that the homo-erotic appeal was "in addition to the obvious target demographics". yes, the all-important 15 yr. old squealing teen is the bullseye, but there are definitely guys who dug brad pitt in "fight club" for his physical beauty & sex appeal as much as for his acting.

gotta confess though- my narrow excuse/explanation for mos def's comments has been influenced by conversations i've had with brothers here in dc, as well as some inside info i got from a friend who used to work with billy woodruffe

so- even if i haven't accurately decoded mr. def's intent, i always did wanna kick these concepts around with others who spend an inordinate amount of time examining the imagery in pop culture.

ps. homophobe or not, there's a definite sense of mos def back-pedaling from the "conscious/positive rapper" tag.

Please tell me that those taking offense at a "quasi-homosexual" lyric are either 16 years of age or hyper-sensitive members of their campus' Politically Correct to a Fault club.

How many degrees separate "quasi" from "pseudo"? One? Two, maybe? So Mos Def made a comment that fake homosexuals (partly) run the rap game. That is, not actual homosexuals, just folks that feign homosexuality to appear legitimate?

Does that make Kevin Kline (see: In & Out homophobic, too? And what about Daniel Auteuil (see: The Closet?

Unbunch your pants and relax kids, I'm sure you won't find Mos Def gunning down gays with his Tek-9.

(Oops. Does that comment make me racist?)

well 'the closet' makes me uncomfortable in some way, which i thinbk is related to me finding it somewhat...not homophobic but, poor taste?

cheap shots about some guy acting as though hes gay = almost institutionalised homophobia???/

i mean, i guess not, but in answer to yr question, i take issue with the idea of homophobia = this sort of formula (you say this, do that etc - your homophobic), and its reverse (hey just put in these qualifiers and make sure you dont say XY or Z, and its not homophobic). what i really mean is, basically the same thing that nabisco said on this 'in the ghetto' thread thread - maybe its not homophobia, but it betrays a sort of implicit 'gay = supafunny' sort of thing. hence my use of 'institionalised' even though i know its wrong. whats the term for when its seemingly buried deep in the er...sort of societal consciousness?

anyway this makes me sound like a raving "16 years of age or hyper-sensitive members of their campus' Politically Correct to a Fault club." type.

but thats mainly because even if Mos Def is convinced that a sort of cartel of camp-acting shadowy figues were running hip hop, like why the fuck would he think that?

I'm neither 16 years of age or a hyper-sensitive member of a campus Politically Correct to a Fault club. I wanted to know if anyone knew what he meant or if was straight up 'gays run hip-hop'.

Gays are normally not seen in a positve light in hip-hop and I was curious as to what Mos Def was getting at. It's pretty obvious to me that camp guys are not running hip-hop, so it looks like its a comment that homosexuals (ie not gays but those who are not real men, suckers, bitches...fill in any derogatory statements used by ignorants) are running hip-hop.

If you truly believe Mos Def has stumbled upon the gay illuminati...then i give up.

Homophobia and music...clearly one of my favourite topics of conversation. Has anyone heard this BBC doc: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/stevelamacq/documentaries/gayznthehood_20021111.shtml

"dblcheeksneek"??

I dont think mos def is a homophobe. have you seen the way he dresses? pink pants people, pink pants!*&

the better question may be how is cocaine "running this rap shit"?

also,

"Gays are normally not seen in a positve light in hip-hop and I was curious as to what Mos Def was getting at. It's pretty obvious to me that camp guys are not running hip-hop, so it looks like its a comment that homosexuals (ie not gays but those who are not real men, suckers, bitches...fill in any derogatory statements used by ignorants) are running hip-hop.

If you truly believe Mos Def has stumbled upon the gay illuminati...then i give up."

good point- if you think that all homosexuals are campy men

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0005/trebay.php

ultimately, somebody needs to ask mos def what he meant in order to get to the bottom of your question- if i see him before you do, i'll try to get an answer

Maybe it's a Cam'ron dis! "Oh Boy" was getting some pretty serious play in gay clubs. And over a Roc-A-Fella instrumental no less! Maybe he's admonishing Just Blaze for keeping an eye on the gay club market when he chooses his samples! Maybe Puffy was doing the same thing circa 97 ("Mo Money Mo Problems," "Been Around the World")! Maybe Mos Def is really a fucking asshold after all!

Asshold = asshole!

this is the only thread just for mos def?

anyway. "side b freestyle," "re:definition," and "next universe" randomly came up near each other this morning. has there ever been an mc who tracked such a steep, early upward curve and then seemingly walked away? sure, there's still guest shots and he keeps threatening blackstar 2 and a follow-up to black on both sides, but will any of that ever really surface? mos seems to have moved comfortably into movie star/hip hop statesman role very early. not a problem with that, honestly, hello ford prefect but!

i kind of overlooked "next universe" at first but mos is in fire. he can barely restrain himself, hitting the end of each line so hard he's almost shouting, switching up and doing funny things like the choke ("like 'oh!'") and just running straight into a perfect semi-old school chorus. his verse on "re:definition" is fantastic too, though pertinent to this thread he throws in that "cats who claimin they hard be mad fags" line that, while not totally objectionable, just doesn't sound great coming out of a guy who's so quick. then he drops blue gelatin, duke ellington and barrington levy in succession and why doesn't this guy make records anymore?

was mos supposed to be the proto-kanye link between (self-determined) underground and (self-determined) overground? who didn't want him on their record in '99?

3 years later...

anybody see this documentary: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/

there is a portion of this film that deals with some musings kicked about in this post

strangely, mos def was in one of the scenes

maybe mos had beef w/sam coomes

What exactly is a "straight-acting" homosexual? Is it like a "white-acting" black?

It looks like I might be pinned between being campy effeminate or "straight-acting". I'm considerably lacking in camp, but I'm quite sure I'm not "straight-acting", because that presupposes I sleep with women (or act like I sleep with women?), but I clearly sleep with men!

This is blowin' my mind.