Check out this interview I did with The Grio about Gays and Hip Hop:
Is being gay in hip-hop trapped in the closet?
By Ronda Racha Penrice
9:02 AM on 06/17/2010
It shouldn't come as a surprise that female rapper Nicki Minaj, the "first lady" of incarcerated rapper Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, hip-hop's latest mainstream success, has been hit with lesbian/bisexual rumors. After all, appearing on song and in video with Usher arranging a ménage á trois for him in "Lil Freak" provides plenty of fuel to the fire. The pressure she's received from some factions to come out of the closet as evidenced by Natalie Stein's December 9, 2009 "Sapphic Salon" blog post for Bitch, a magazine that's prided itself on being the "feminist response to pop culture" for more than a decade now, is a bit more unusual, however.
Twenty years ago, it would have been almost unfathomable for any group to insist publicly that a female celebrity, let alone a rapper, come out of the closet. Yet, Minaj has received quite a bit of criticism for not publicly announcing her sexual preference. Despite also appearing in a previous ménage á trois song, "Girls Kissing Girls" from her own 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scott featuring recently released Atlanta-area rapper Gucci Mane, Minaj has generally refused to address her sexuality, even when baited by well-known hip-hop figures like DJ Whoo Kid. Times have certainly changed but does the curiosity surrounding Nicki Minaj's sexuality mean that hip-hop, often singled out for its homophobia, is also changing with them?
Now, let's be clear. Hip-hop has been a fan of girls-on-girls action for some time now. T.I. bragged about "chillin' with women who like women," among other things, on his 2004 hit "Let's Get Away". For most, "My girl got a girlfriend" is the most memorable line from Grand Hustle rapper Dro's 2006 chart-topping, debut single "Shoulder Lean". Even when there are no lyrics specifically pointing to bisexuality among women, it's still depicted in many videos.
When it comes to women sexually exploring other women, hip-hop has generally accepted such behavior, encouraged it even, on the condition that those women still engage in sex with men. Lesbians often present another problem. Women who love women only are considered "gay" while women who sometimes dabble in sex with women are considered freaks. Same-sex loving men or, even worse, bisexual men, are not even in the conversation.
Over the years, hip-hop's homophobia has spilled over into the mainstream. Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP drew protests from GLAAD for such songs as "Criminal" and "Kill You" where words like "fags" don't go unnoticed. In the midst of the controversy, Eminem performed with Elton John at the 2001 Grammys as GLAAD members protested outside.
But Eminem's actions aren't as contradictory as they appear. If there's any industry that thrives on a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, it's the music industry, especially hip-hop. Two years ago, Terrance Dean had the industry on edge when his memoir, Hiding in Hip-Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry - from Music to Hollywood was released. Although rumored to resemble Karrine Steffans's explosive 2005 book Confessions of a Video Vixen, Dean's book didn't name names. Instead Dean, who once worked for BET and MTV, used fictional names that led to a guessing game, especially among urban bloggers.
Still Dean's book exposed a side of the industry that few had envisioned. He did erase all doubts about whether there were indeed gay rappers. Knowing that gay or bisexual rappers with mainstream appeal exist and waiting for them to come out is another thing. Dean does not believe that the industry will allow this to happen any time soon.
"You have to realize there's a lot of pressure from the inside, from the label, because the label knows as well. When I say everyone knows in the industry, everybody knows in the industry," he told theGrio.
You can read the rest of the article, HERE:
http://www.thegrio.com/specials/hip-hop-politics-from-the-beat-to-the-ballot/is-homosexuality-in-hip-hop-trapped-in-the-closet.php
