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