Is Homophobia and Hip Hop One In The Same?

In a 2005 interview with MTV for the promotion of his “Late Registration", Kanye West talks about hip hop and homophobia. West says hip hop is about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He goes on to add that in the culture itself, “gay” is "the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop."

Attacking a rapper’s masculinity has been considered just as bad as spiting in the face of their mother. “Faggot”or “Homo”is the last thing that any [straight] rapper wants to be called. It completely and swiftly removes “the veil of rough and ruggedness” that was been worn just as tight as their pride and skin color.

Homophobia is said to be linked to a sense of insecurity about one’s own masculinity. Michael Dyson says, “to assume that he's less than a man and to assign him the very derogatory terms that one usually associates with women” perhaps is the greatest insult that one man could give to another in American culture; degrading his manhoood. In hip-hop images of thugged out, hyper- masculine black men posing shirtless, greased up and muscular decorate magazine and album covers.

Although the homophobia has been a passive issue in hip hop for some time now, the recent arrest of NY DJ Mister Cee has awoken the sleeping beast. The legendary DJ was arrested for public lewdness for alleged sexual acts with Lawrence Campbell (also known in drag as Brook-Lynne Lady). People in the industry began to draw a line in the sand and take sides. On one hand, whether or not they were aware of Mister Cee’s actions they were good friends who supported him. While on the other hand, no artist wanted to get too close to the situation in fear of saying something that might tie them into homosexuality.

Hip Hop is a culture and environment that does not provide a safe place for an artist to come forward or to come out so most artists pretend to live a certain lifestyle in the light, while living another in the dark and in shame.

The Huffington Posts has reported that Lil B has been receiving threats after releasing a statement saying his next album will be entitled “I’m gay”. This is one inside joke that his die hard fans are not getting. Despite not being a homosexual, Lil B insists that for him, “it's a re-appropriation of the word, as well as a statement in support of the gay community”. GLAAD (gay/ lesbian alliance against defamation) approves Lil B’s decision, hoping it brings more compassion for the gay community through hip hop.

Why is masculinity confined to the amount of money or females acquired? Is that what makes a man? Is that what hip hop has taught us?

“Artists boast of a hyper-masculine bravado, with their crotch-grabbing, degradation of women, and their braggadocios lyrical slaying about the number of women they've slept with and children they’ve produced." -Lil B in MTV interview.

“I would always defend hip hop. But the more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me, and I began to become more conflicted about the music I loved”- filmmaker Byron Hurt

-Ricki Ryan