Social:Homosexuality and hip hop culture

Attitudes towards homosexuality in hip hop culture have historically been negative. Gay slurs like "sus", "no homo", and "pause" can be heard in some hip hop lyrics. According to the LA Times, these slurs were used to put "queerness as a punchline".

History

In 1979, the Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper’s Delight", the first hip hop record to become a top 40 hit. "Rapper's Delight" referred to fictional character Superman as a "fairy" for wearing a skin-tight garment.

In 1986, the hip hop trio Beastie Boys originally wanted to name their debut album Don't Be A Faggot, but their record label Columbia Records refused to release it under that title, so it changed the title to Licensed to Ill. Years later, the Beastie Boys formally apologized to the LGBT community for the "shitty and ignorant" things they said on their first record.

Kanye West denounced homophobia in hip-hop in an August, 2005 interview with MTV News' Sway Calloway. He discussed how his environment led him to be homophobic, and how finding out his cousin was gay changed his perspective. This statement was radical at the time - the first major statement against homophobia in hip-hop by a popular artist.

In Byron Hurt's 2006 documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Hurt explores the nuanced relationships between hip-hop, masculinity, misogyny, and homophobia. Recognizing the presence of these issues in hip-hop, a genre he loves, Hurt felt a sense of hypocrisy and began working on the film. In the documentary Hurt travels around the country and interviews rap and hip hop artists, academics, and fans about their perceptions on these issues in the culture. After conducting dozens of interviews, Hurt sees a continued pattern of homophobia linked to the need to prove one's masculinity.

Through the objectification of women and emasculation of other men to assert another person’s masculinity, a pattern of homophobia occurs in the hip hop and rap community. Rapper Busta Rhymes walks out of his interview when he is asked a question about homophobia in the rap community. Rhymes says, "I can't partake in that conversation," followed by, "With all due respect, I ain't trying to offend nobody. . . What I represent culturally doesn't condone [homosexuality] whatsoever." This reaction from Rhymes exemplifies part of the negative perception of homosexuality in the hip-hop community.

In June 2019 Lil Nas X, who performed the hit song "Old Town Road", took the opportunity to publicly come out during Pride Month, making him one of the most visible Black queer male singers to do so, especially in country or hip hop genres, which emphasize machismo and "historically snubbed queer artists". Black queer male artists in hip hop gaining mainstream acceptance is relatively new—preceding Nas X by less than a decade—including: Frank Ocean’s 2012 Channel Orange, Tyler, the Creator, ILoveMakonnen, Brockhampton frontman Kevin Abstract and Steve Lacy. Black queer female artists have been accepted more readily; while the underground queer hip hop movement goes back to the 1990s.

Song lyrics

Ice-T stated on his autobiography that record-label executive Seymour Stein took exception to a line in his song "409": "Guys grab a girl, girls grab a guy / If a guy wants a guy, please take it outside". Ice-T later became one of the first rappers to condemn homophobia on raps such as Straight Up Nigga and The Tower in his album O.G. Original Gangster (1991).

Many songs by rapper Eminem have been considered homophobic for his frequent use of anti-gay slurs, especially the song "Criminal" from his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), which containing lines like: "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge, That'll stab you in the head, whether you're a fag or les', Or a homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest, Pants or dress, hate fags? The answer's 'yes'". In an interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, Eminem denied being homophobic and explained the frequent use of the term "faggot" in his lyrics, that this word was "thrown around constantly" in battle rap, and that he does not use it to refer to gay people. The album The Marshall Mathers LP was nominated for Album of the Year by the Grammy Awards 2001, which led to protests due to the album's controversial content. At the show, Eminem performed "Stan" with openly gay musician Elton John in response. He also did a song with Young M.A in 2020.

In the lyrics of one song on rapper Trick-Trick's 2008 album The Villain, he refers to Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell as "dyke bitches" and says that he will send a "scud missile right through their fucking cruise ship". Trick-Trick expressed his dislike towards homosexuals in an interview with music site AllHipHop: “Faggots hate me and I don’t give a fuck. I don’t want your faggot money any goddam way.”

The phrase "No Homo" is often used in today's hip hop lyrics and Black culture. It means "no gay things" or "nothing gay". One example of the term's usage is in the Jay-Z song, "Run This Town". Kanye West, one of the featured artists on the song, stated, "It's crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow / to everybody on your dick...no homo."

See also

• Homophobia in ethnic minority communities
• Misogyny in rap music