So I was on the train the other day bumping my iPod, making sure I didn’t get robbed for all my fly gear and all when I hear these two dudes in the train talking about Lupe Fiasco. So I turn down my earphones because I figure this is going to be an interesting conversation and it actually ended up being pretty ridiculous! Now this may not be the most direct quote but it went something like “Lupe is a faggot b. He don’t be up in the clubs, he don’t be rappin’ ‘bout bitches, none of these dumb bitches b. He don’t rap ‘bout nuthin that I’m interested in so what am I listening for? He just sounds like fag. Weezy, Jeezy, Jigga! Those are my niggaz, real niggaz…they ain’t about that gay shit that Lupe is on, they talk about that real shit.” Now I don’t know what the dude meant when he said “real” but I’m assuming we had very different definitions of the word.
Then I got to thinking, don’t these rappers do some gay ass, questionable shit themselves? Rappers are constantly participating in activities that can be easily perceived as gay and not even realize it. I’m just saying, when everyone was walking around with their pants hanging off their asses and grabbing their crotch all the time, it was considered a pretty “hood” or “thugged out” thing to do. Having your pants so far below the waist level is just giving people a lot to look at and if Hip-Hop is so homophobic, it may need to take a look in the mirror and look at how homoerotic it can be.
You would think with some of the shit that goes down in Hip-Hop, rappers would be moving away from such a homophobic culture and be embracing the culture of homosexuals. In fact, maybe it already is making that move! Maybe hip-hop artists don’t have any room in their lyrics for it, but their behavior is a different case.
Then I got to thinking, don’t these rappers do some gay ass, questionable shit themselves? Rappers are constantly participating in activities that can be easily perceived as gay and not even realize it. I’m just saying, when everyone was walking around with their pants hanging off their asses and grabbing their crotch all the time, it was considered a pretty “hood” or “thugged out” thing to do. Having your pants so far below the waist level is just giving people a lot to look at and if Hip-Hop is so homophobic, it may need to take a look in the mirror and look at how homoerotic it can be.
You would think with some of the shit that goes down in Hip-Hop, rappers would be moving away from such a homophobic culture and be embracing the culture of homosexuals. In fact, maybe it already is making that move! Maybe hip-hop artists don’t have any room in their lyrics for it, but their behavior is a different case.
Let’s take one of the most revolutionary artists of our time as an example…T-PAIN! In an online interview with School of Hip Hop (SOHH), T-Pain gives SOHH a rundown of the 5 women he would and would not have sex with. In his list of the 5 women that he would not sleep with, Kim Kardashian was on the list because “not too many people can go after Ray J” of course referring to the infamous sex tape of Kim Kardashian and Ray-J. T-Pain continued to profess his admiration for Ray-J by saying things like “he has a huge meat man…the man is packing…he has length on him…he’s got a foot on him.” You would think that T-Pain would show more discretion than that when being recorded and knowing full well that millions of people are going to see the video but maybe he knew full well what he was doing. Now this statement can obviously be perceived as a “homo” thing to say but T-Pain, being the genius that we all know, has managed to band aid the situation by saying “much respect Ray…man to man, no homo.” Apparently everyone who commented on the video missed the no homo part and called him gay repeatedly. Maybe the Hip-Hop world isn’t ready to hear one man compliment another man on their manhood.
As some of you may be aware of and it seems to be the consensus of the Hip-Hop world at this current point and time that Lil’ Wayne aka Weezy is the greatest rapper alive. Yes, I know, I was shocked too to hear this too. In fact, I am still in disbelief! Lil’ Wayne seems to have taken on his maverick persona and taken on the challenge of defeating homophobia as well. When pictures were released of Wayne kissing his “daddy” aka Birdman on the lips many, people were appalled and quite disturbed for the Hip-Hop world. Now
some of you might be thinking “Ruben, I think I know where you’re heading with this, don’t you think you’re going too far? That was just some thug love they showed each other right?” Well first we would have to define “thug love.” If you mean closeted homosexual behavior of men who think they’re hard or actually are the hard and “gangsta,” then sure, it was thug love! I think Lil’ Wayne and Birdman were the perfect couple to go against the grain, considering their reputation. I mean, the fact is that Lil’ Wayne calls Birdman, a man who is not related to Wayne by blood, his “daddy.” Birdman even has a tattoo of Wayne on his chest, now that can be perceived as gay but Wayne ignored the haters and recorded a song called “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy.” This is why he is the greatest rapper alive people! Wayne just seems to prove over and over how original he is in music, persona, and sexuality.
Now for one of my favorite rappers, DMX was one of those who decided to let their pants sag their pants and always wore either a wifebeater or no shirt at all! He would invest more into underwear than he would actual clothing. Now if you don’t really remember, DMX’s
public persona was this thugged out, rough, rugged, and intimidating individual in the rap game but no one thought, “Man! DMX sure does like showing off his ass and his body a lot, that’s gay as hell!” In DMX’s song “What’s My Name,” he raps “SUCK MY DICK! And while you niggas that’s been to jail before know it’s about to get thick!” Now is it me or does that seem like aside from the blatant “SUCK MY DICK!” and then follow by talking about inmates and saying “it’s about to get thick” sound like a gay thing to say? Talk about going against the grain! But DMX’s image comes from a place much deeper – prison culture. In prison, it is damn near necessary for a man to maintain their reputation and position and that means being tough, threatening, and physical with people. Prison deprives an individual of their sexual needs and in order to satisfy those needs, inmates turn to what is closest to them to fulfill those needs – other inmates. So it really isn’t all that surprising to hear something like this from DMX, especially after that video he did with Sisqo, it was a wrap after that!
It’s pretty obvious that it is hypocritical of Hip-Hop to be homophobic because of the homoerotic behavior that can be seen in Hip-Hop culture. Homoerotic images of Hip-Hop artist can be seen in your Hip-Hop magazines, album covers, pretty much anything that has a rapper posing for a camera with his shirt off flexing his muscles. Artists strive to maintain the most masculine image possible which charges their homophobia, but their actions parallel what they fear.
some of you might be thinking “Ruben, I think I know where you’re heading with this, don’t you think you’re going too far? That was just some thug love they showed each other right?” Well first we would have to define “thug love.” If you mean closeted homosexual behavior of men who think they’re hard or actually are the hard and “gangsta,” then sure, it was thug love! I think Lil’ Wayne and Birdman were the perfect couple to go against the grain, considering their reputation. I mean, the fact is that Lil’ Wayne calls Birdman, a man who is not related to Wayne by blood, his “daddy.” Birdman even has a tattoo of Wayne on his chest, now that can be perceived as gay but Wayne ignored the haters and recorded a song called “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy.” This is why he is the greatest rapper alive people! Wayne just seems to prove over and over how original he is in music, persona, and sexuality.Now for one of my favorite rappers, DMX was one of those who decided to let their pants sag their pants and always wore either a wifebeater or no shirt at all! He would invest more into underwear than he would actual clothing. Now if you don’t really remember, DMX’s
public persona was this thugged out, rough, rugged, and intimidating individual in the rap game but no one thought, “Man! DMX sure does like showing off his ass and his body a lot, that’s gay as hell!” In DMX’s song “What’s My Name,” he raps “SUCK MY DICK! And while you niggas that’s been to jail before know it’s about to get thick!” Now is it me or does that seem like aside from the blatant “SUCK MY DICK!” and then follow by talking about inmates and saying “it’s about to get thick” sound like a gay thing to say? Talk about going against the grain! But DMX’s image comes from a place much deeper – prison culture. In prison, it is damn near necessary for a man to maintain their reputation and position and that means being tough, threatening, and physical with people. Prison deprives an individual of their sexual needs and in order to satisfy those needs, inmates turn to what is closest to them to fulfill those needs – other inmates. So it really isn’t all that surprising to hear something like this from DMX, especially after that video he did with Sisqo, it was a wrap after that!It’s pretty obvious that it is hypocritical of Hip-Hop to be homophobic because of the homoerotic behavior that can be seen in Hip-Hop culture. Homoerotic images of Hip-Hop artist can be seen in your Hip-Hop magazines, album covers, pretty much anything that has a rapper posing for a camera with his shirt off flexing his muscles. Artists strive to maintain the most masculine image possible which charges their homophobia, but their actions parallel what they fear.
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