Why do we still hold prejudices towards those who are not heterosexual? Hip Hop, Homophobia, and Frank Ocean.

With Frank Ocean recently ‘outing’ himself on his Tumblr last week and the reactions which came with it, especially from Hip Hop artists such as fellow Odd Future member Tyler, The Creator, it would seem necessary to question the juxtaposition that is homophobia in Hip Hop. In a world which women are rarely able to conquer and which homophobic attitudes are rife, hip hop music is overwhelmed with the stench of masculinity and the language of it; and for what? Power.

When Hip Hop was popularised in the Bronx of New York and in the Ghettos of Philadelphia by the African American community, it was a clash of cultures taking influences from Western Africa, Jamaica, and Blues Music. Indeed when it was heard by the first years, the music was “jazz, salsa, and music from their native lands”. Back then it would seem the lyrics were ‘innocent’, at least in terms of the language.

It has been stated that it seems difficult for it to surprise ‘anyone that a musical genre dominated by men, misogyny and hyper masculinity would also be homophobic’ which would lead us to believe that the language used in hip hop is both degrading and offensive towards not only females but also those who aren't male enough.

Most rappers these days do it, referring to a rival rapper as a ‘bitch ass’, or the new partner of the ex who broke their heart as a ‘fag’, because the only way they are able to get ahead in the industry is to become masculine, and the only way it seems they are able to do that is by using homophobic language which reinforces what they’re apparently not. Homophobic language is used as insults and in this industry it would appear ‘gayness’ is unacceptable. For example Jay Z has been known to rap lyrics such as ‘Youse the fag model for Karl Kani/Esco ads’, showing how homosexuals and the hip hop world do not mix.

This homophobic language could perhaps be linked to the fact that hip hop is taken from many genres, and therefore so is the language used. We could say that Dancehall (originating in the Caribbean) has had a large influence, especially artists such as Vybz Kartel in his song ‘Spice Ramping Shop’, in which he describes dancing with the same sex to be ‘wrong’.

In the Hip Hop world where maintaining a masculine image either through looks or through ‘street cred’ is of the upmost importance, the language used becomes distasteful and intentionally hurtful. Indeed, Odd Future’s Tyler, the Creator uses words such as ‘faggot’ because ‘it hits and hurts people’, despite him claiming to not be homophobic.

In addition to voicing homophobia, the emergence of the phrase ‘no homo’ used by rappers, and now on the streets shows an attempt to validate homophobia and males acting in a ‘feminine’ way. It is used as a way for rappers to defend themselves against sounding gay, for example Kanye West in ‘Run This Town’ states “It’s funny how you can go from being Joe Blow/ To everybody on your dick – no homo.” This fear of not appearing masculine enough to the world is one which consumes rappers and the phrase allows them to be masculine whilst also being feminine.

One rapper which contradicts this and makes it seemingly okay to be feminine is Drake. In many of his songs, Drake bares all emotions about his exes and his struggles in the past. He has, however received some heavy criticism for this, particularly as he comes from a world where ‘feminine language’ and true emotions remain hidden. Indeed, in ‘Marvin’s Room’, he is seen to be drowning his sorrows in alcohol and pining after his ex-girlfriend. For most, this would appear too much emotion, with many only having speaking about sleeping with multiple women as we can see from Young Money’s ‘Every Girl’, in which Lil Wayne says he want to ‘f**** every girl in the world’.

Despite this it would seem the language used by certain rappers is, as Tyler says, just used to provoke a reaction as Frank Ocean recently coming out as bisexual shows. With powerful couple Beyoncé and Jay Z endorsing his move, and Tyler the Creator applauding Frank in a recent tweet, is Homophobia in Hip Hop just a front? For some of the artists it might be. For the listeners however, I’m not convinced. From the reactions I was seeing around Facebook and Twitter I gained the impression that people either didn’t care that Frank was bisexual, or they did…and weren’t impressed; ready to delete his music from their iPod and give up listening a talented artist just because he admitted his first love was a man.That sounds like rational reasoning…

Although this post is mainly about homophobia in Hip Hop, it important for us to remember that it exists everywhere. Frank Ocean is not a Hip Hop artist, and the reactions he got were not just from the Hip Hop community. In a society in which not adhering to the social norms and being heterosexual is seen as somehow wrong, ‘coming out’ would perceivably be the hardest thing for a person to do. Surely we should respect their bravery rather than holding prejudices against who any one person is? We should stand together and support those who have the courage to be themselves instead of judging them. There’s too much hatred in this world already without us hating those who are confident enough to share who they are.

If you haven’t already read Frank Ocean’s letter to his fans, I would urge you to. It’s possibly the most beautiful, poetic letter I’ve ever read. In fact, if I wasn’t already an avid listener of Frank it would encourage me to put him ON my iPod. You can find his letter here: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6me6uSdO81qdrz3yo1_1280.png

Make sure you listen to ‘Channel Orange’, Frank Ocean’s new album here: http://frankocean.tumblr.com/post/26885717440/channelorange ; there will be a review coming soon!!

Rachael.

References:

Barnett, R. N. (Tuesday 16^th March 2010), ‘Meet President Drake!’, as available: http://www.thenewblackmagazine.com/view.aspx?index=2264 (20^th April 2012)

Hess, A. (19^th October 2009), ‘Washington City Paper: How Censoring “No Homo” Will Help Hip-Hop’, as available: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/10/19/how-censoring-no-homo-will-help-hip-hop/ (20^th April 2012)

Macpherson, A. (9^th May 2011), ‘The Guardian: Is Hip-Hop Homophobia at a Tipping Point?’, as available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/may/09/hip-hop-homophobia?INTCMP=SRCH (21^st April 2012)

Touré (23^rd December 2011), ‘New York Times: Challenging Hip-Hop’s Masculine Ideal’, as available: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/arts/music/white-female-rappers-challenging-hip-hops-masculine-ideal.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all (20^th April 2012)

Coleman, V. A. (Monday 19^th October 2009), ‘No Homo: Hip Hop and Homophobia’, as found: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/vanessaaishacoleman/2009/10/19/No-Homo-Homophobia--HipHop (21st April 2012)

March, C. (Thursday 12^th January 2012), ‘Redefining Masculinity in Hip-Hop (Know Your History Podcast)’, as available: http://chasemarch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/redefining-masculinity-in-hip-hop-know.html (20th April 2012)

Chideya, F. (20^th June 2007), National Public Radio, ‘Roundtable: Homophobia in Hip Hop’, as available: http://www.npr.org/2007/06/20/11223359/roundtable-homophobia-in-hip-hop (22nd April 2012)

Hess, M. (2007), ‘Icons of Hip Hop’, Greenwood Press, United States of America 

Fitzpatrick, J (2007), ‘Analyzing Hip Hop Discourse as a Locus of ‘Men’s Language’’, Duke University, Texas, available: http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/salsa/proceedings/2007/Fitzpatrick.pdf (20th April 2012)