2011
will be remembered as a strange year from a Hip-Hop perspective. Some
considered it a terrible year, where there was very little redeeming
music from the young (or old emcees). Others will claim that it was a
wholly transformative year, and that those aforementioned cronies are
merely dinosaurs on the verge of extinction. But, perhaps it is time to
call 2011 what it truly was: THE GAYEST YEAR IN HIP-HOP HISTORY.
No, no rapper publicly came out of the closet, so GLAAD and other
groups will not have a lyrical champion just yet. There won’t be a
great hope – on the levels of an Eminem-esque great, White hope – to
get on the mic and shred your favorite rapper to smithereens as
millions of gays quietly, joyously cheer…not yet.
Still, what happened in 2011 was overt. It was so close to gay, I am
almost sure the gay community could taste it! It really took shape as
the spring broke, in what seemed to be a late April Fool’s Joke. Mister
Cee – the legendary DJ for Big Daddy Kane and The Notorious B.I.G. –
was arrested for receiving oral sex from a man and purported
cross-dresser. But, Cee never admitted to being gay. In fact, he
tweeted that it was a “mistake.” (He would later plead guilty to
loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense.) If
Cee were gay, or maybe openly gay, surely he would have fessed up after this incident, but he didn’t.
While that was the doozie of the year, there were other not-so-overt
ways that Hip-Hop showed more openness to homosexuality. Lil B, a
rapper from the Cali, did the previously unthinkable, naming his album
“I’m Gay.” Now, with a title such as I’m gay, coupled with the fact
that the Bay-area rapper calls himself a “princess” and a “pretty
b***h,” a voyeur would conclude that “this guy is gay for sure.” No.
Lil B said that the title was a mere statement for how damn happy he
was. His fellow rappers Pac Div even defended the move, citing The
Flintstones who were known to “have a gay ol’ time.”
There were other hints that Hip-Hop was quickly backing away from
the anti-gay, blatantly hateful stance of old. After being chided for
using the F-word as slang, Tyler from Odd Future softened his stance
saying, “I don’t f*cking hate gay people. I’m probably one of the least
homophobic rappers in the world.” In the same Spin magazine, Tyler appeared to have his hand on his homie’s “hind parts.” (That’s Southern for booty.)
Hip-Hop – through the years – has been like many other
testosterone-fueled movements – very homophobic. But, the mentality of
the younger artists in particular is changing and, as any artsy mirror
to reality, Hip-Hop reflects that shift in sexuality. Obviously, most
of the artists like Cee or the “lipstick rapper,” were looked upon and
rebuked for their actions through social media. But other more trivial
matters made it through the filter. Like Kanye West’s leather kilt. Or
Lil Wayne’s jeggings. Cee-Lo dressed like Patti LaBelle in 2011. In his
hardcore way, Ray-J threatened to have Fabolous gang raped by a crew of
gay thugs. The comments are no longer unanimous on social networks and
message boards, and people now spar over philosophy as it pertains to
these statements that look and feel gay.
But this trend isn’t really new.
It’s a slow, creeping shift, like the tectonic plates of the Earth.
When Lil Wayne and Baby kissed on BET, and it didn’t end their careers,
the wheels were clearly in motion at that point. One of my favorites,
Andre 3000, used to don a blonde wig, and it simply didn’t matter nor
was it even an afterthought. Nicki Minaj has flirted – literally – with
her “Barbs” for quite some time. In the aftermath of the Mister Cee
debacle, author/scribe dream hampton even revealed that one of The
Notorious B.I.G.’s best friends was gay. Biggie was not, she said, but
his ride-or-die was. Change gonna come, like it or not.
Clearly, there is a distinction between receiving sex from a man in
a car, and the bold fashion statements of an eccentric artist. So, the
lines are drawn…but are still unclear. For now, some of us who aren’t
gay have gotten used to laughing our uncertainty away with a simple
“pause” or “no homo.”
In 2012 and beyond, well-represented will be those who vehemently
denounce homosexuality, those who accept it as a sign of the times, and
those that who waffle amid tolerance.
So, how will Hip-Hop handle it? How will you handle it?
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This editorial caused a furious discussion
within the AllHipHop offices. What truly constitutes homosexuality?
Have attitudes within Hip-Hop really changed? Are artists just creating
“shock” moments and fashion statements? And more!) Chanzo ni allhiphop.com
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