LA Times: Get Hip; This is Life, Y’All
Yes, I know, another “link-to post.” All apologies. Credit a mild case of post-New Year’s indolence and the cold reality that you don’t need Jay Jenkins to inform you that it’s the recession and everybody’s broke. So if blog resources are diverted to earn Grants and Jackson’s, and thus avoid complete indigence–well, I hope you’ll understand. And while I’m being contrite, let me apologize for the headline. I didn’t do it*, nobody saw me do it, you can’t prove anything.
Rather than let the story molder in the Times’ backpages, the topic is worth discussing here–specifically, homophobia in hip-hop. In the article, I profile the gay hip-hop community that’s cropped up in recent years, a group of rappers who have saddled themselves with the unfortunate moniker, “homo-hop.” It also considers whether or not the genre is ready to handle an openly gay rapper. Granted, I’ve half-jokingly speculated in the past about the myriad potentially closeted rappers, but there’s a yawning gulf between Wayne kissing Baby in filial embrace and a rapper actually coming out.
Even Queen Latifah, who’s widely alleged to be gay, has never officially confirmed the rumors. By contrast, openly gay artists like Michael Stipe, Bob Mould, Stephen Merritt, and Hercules & Love Affair have flourished in rock. While self-righteous “no no homo” tirades aren’t necessary (does anyone even say that anymore?), it’d be nice to see a decline in the virulence of hip-hop homophobia. Understandably, the gay rappers profiled might not be up your alley, but if you’re open-minded, Captain Magik’s, “Dilemma” is worth checking out. Easy snickers aside, its a poignant and unstintingly honest song that could go a long way towards mending misconceptions that people might have about homosexuality. Though I confess that every time I hear the name Captain Magik, I will always think of this.
* I really didn’t do it, but cut the editors some slack; writing good headlines is harder than it looks.
LA Times: Get Hip; This is Life, Y’All
Stream:
Captain Magik Myspace
Last Offence Myspace
Deadlee Myspace
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January 12th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Thanks for doing the article, it was great to see this scene/movement get some decent press from such a mainstream media outlet at The Times.
There are over 100+ LGBT hip hop artists, if you could believe that, and links to all of them at OutHipHop.com for anyone interested in this.
Thanks again.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Seems to me this would be a perfect example of when an editor would use the ‘keepin it real’ cliche and then pound their chest about their own down-wit-it-ness…
also, REPORTERS NEVER WRITE HEADLIINES - this should be known to all by now. Kinda like the separation of church and state, just more important.
January 12th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I don’t think I’ve heard a Weezy mixtape that DIDN’T include a “no homo” somewhere.
But yes, this article (and sexual freedom/openness in hip-hop) get a high thumbs up from me. Calling “homo-hop” an “unfortunate moniker” also gets a thumbs up. I read this article from work and kept thinking there must be a better name out there. One that doesn’t sound like it was coined by someone deriding them.
Anyway, the homophobia in hip hop has always been a sticking point that makes me wince when it comes up in lyrics or interviews (::cough:: Busta ::cough::cough::). It’s a mentality that, frankly, creates the opposite effect. Is there anything more homoerotic than the cover art for the first 2 Fiddy albums? Or LL Cool J’s music videos? The hyper-macho mentality winds up making some - certainly not most, but some - rappers look like neanderthals.
Props to Yeezy, though he manages to make himself look stupid in other ways (sometimes… ok, nearly once a month).
January 12th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
@ Me: I wish this was true, but it’s frightening how little even ostensibly knowledgeable people know about the inner-workings of journalism.
@ Camilo and Jere: Thanks for the kind words. As Camilo alluded to in his comment (and something I wasn’t aware of at the time of the article’s publication), I believe the preferred nomenclature is “out hip-hop.” Which sounds much much better.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
This may sound shockingly ignorant but to me, hip-hop’s hyper-macho by definition. Just as Westerns are, or Mafia movies. While it would be nice, great even, if homophobia in rap were less virulent, I don’t really look forward to the day when we have popular gay rappers, anymore than I look forward to the day when they start playing rap in Saks, corporate office elevators, and old age homes. The two fall into the same “that’s not what rap’s supposed to look like” category for me.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:11 am
The funniest thing about “no homo” is how often that phrase precedes something that’s very obviously gay (or at least indicative of a much looser kind of sexuality than the hypermasculinity that those same guys like to display). I know I laugh a little whenever Weezy throws a “no homo” in…right after his afternoon chest-waxing.
I think Nelson George actually hit the nail on the head regarding hip-hop homophobia — more than the black church influence, it’s simply the fact that such a ridiculous percentage of urban black men are incarcerated at some point, and we all know that homosexuality in prison is an expression of violent power rather than affection or love. So being gay means your someone’s bitch, and there’s nothing cool or acceptable about that. It’s kind of an unpleasant thing to think about, but when you imagine that most MCs from the hood either know someone who was violently abused or were violently abused themselves in prison, the gay bashing in hip-hop starts to look very different sort of thing.
Not that this excuses a lot of the shit talking (in general, I like to give Ghost and Cube a pass for the occasional f-bomb, whereas Busta and 50 are just assholes), but it’s worth thinking about.
As for the article — I’d really like to support a lot of these guys for political reasons, but frankly a lot of them just aren’t any good. Like, I respect Deadlee for being so outspoken and everything, which takes a lot of balls, but he’s just not a good rapper.
And as for the hyper-macho thing — dude, those badass Old West cowboys lived in an environment where men outnumbered women like 10 to 1…and most of them would ride out into the prairie together and not see a woman for months. Think about it.