Hip Hop Hopes

As a social scientist, I almost fell off of my Starbucks chair when I read on the front page of the Los Angeles Times (August 19th 2012) that a “Hip-hop artist changes tune on gay rights…”

One thing that has remained a constant in the world of hip-hop music is homophobia. Sadly, in this genre of music and lifestyle homophobia has run rapid throughout the US.

Minority men are the last ones to ‘come out’ and be accepted by their community. There is so much shame tied to being gay, especially if you are a black man. And I will share that our current research indicates that 99% of CDs are white! Other studies show 1%-3% of CDs are men of color. Do you really think that only white men crossdress? Or is crossdressing even a BIGGER secret for men of color?

Adair Lion

Back to the headline. There is a change in the air-in the music that our children are growing up with and this time the change is a good one. I applaud Adair Lion for coming out as a transgender. His friends and business people warned him he was committing career suicide but nonetheless he had the courage to speak the truth. Now that is a real man to me! It does take courage to come out and disclose.

Did you know that many rappers and others in this hip hop hating gay mentality, that rappers were rapping about shooting gay men in the crotch?, or stabbing gay men in the head? I never heard anyone complimenting another man by saying, “No Homo,” which translates into something being cool or good. OMG.

Embarrassingly, I confess I did not know it went to this gutter level. I chose not to listen or support this type of so-called “music” (please) because of the misogynists’ behavior, which was also violent, discriminatory and appalling.

50 Cent

The notorious 50 Cent once tweeted that gay men should kill themselves. How could we as a society be so inhumane? And pay money to listen to such hatred? You would hope that minorities could relate to discrimination and therefore would not discriminate against others but unfortunately, that is not the case in America.

How do we change? Lion, who is white [Ed. Note: Lion is Latino] and NOT gay, is paving the way — one song at a time, one rapper at a time. Lion as it turns out is a transgender. He claims to enjoy gender bending. Obviously gender bending was also on the list of things and people to hate in this destructive world of hip-hop.

Since Lion came out saying, “The Bible was wrong this time . . . Gay is OK”, Jay-Z for the first time supported gay rights! Also another widely know hip-hop artist, Frank Ocean disclosed his first love was a man.

Jay-Z

How is all of this impacting their record and concert sales? They are soaring . . . that’s right-they are selling tickets and records. Some are also attending gay pride parades.

So, what does all of this mean? That slowly gays and transgenders will be more accepted in the hip-hop world that thank God is shifting from sending messages of pure hatred and instead speaking the truth about themselves and others. I find it kind of ironic. It is like when the government claimed that no gays were allowed in the military! That’s a good one — gays have ALWAYS been in the military (just stayed in the closet). And obviously gays and transgenders have also been in the hip-hop world but this time, they can “come out.”

Be your true authentic selves. It is obvious that a lot of the fans of hip-hop music are gay and transgender too. It is OK to be gay or transgender . . . just please do not marry women and pretend to be somebody else. Simply stated, it breaks our hearts.

Blessings,

Dee A Levy, MA

Tags: featured, music, opinion

Category: Transgender Opinion