It's been a pretty big year for homosexuality in the hip hop community the past two years. From Frank Ocean coming out (sort of) as a bi-sexual, to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Same Love" being one of the biggest songs in the country; shooting up to top five in the Pop, Hip Hop and Rap charts.
But it's not just the music that is making a splash, let alone I song that I didn't think would get play on the radio, but the hip hop community as whole is seeing a shift in attitude toward homosexuality.
From A$AP Rocky's change of heart, "I don't discriminate against anybody for their sexual preference, for their skin color... that's immature."
To Jay-Z stance, "What people do in their own homes is their business, and you can choose to love whoever you love."
Even Eminem, someone notorious for his homophobic lyrics has come out in support for gay marriage, "If two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want."
But lets not forget that Em actually performed with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy awards, in the midst of protests from GLAAD.
But Hip Hop hasn't always been this way, as we all know. It wasn't too long ago that homophobia was at a high in hip hop with seemingly every rapper and hip hop fan uttering the words "no homo" and "pause". A few years ago there is no way we would hear a song like "Same Love" embraced by the hip hop community. And there is definitely no way we would see Jay-Z speak on gay marriage. Could you imagine a rapper in 2003 saying "I don't care if people call me gay", that would never fly.
I attribute hip hop's change in views to the "climate change" that is happening with American's attitudes about homosexuality.
A July Gallop poll found support for gay marriage at 54% among Americans. Compare that to a Pew poll from 2011, where support was at 45%.
All of this brings me to something that is in the news right now, Hot 97 DJ Mister Cee and his run ins with transvestites. Once again, Mister Cee was caught with a transvestite but this time there was audio recording of the whole thing and it was posted on YouTube.
Mister Cee decided to resign from Hot 97, somewhere he has been for 20 years already. Mister Cee is a legend. He hosts one of the best shows on the radio and he was Big Daddy Kane's DJ, he also executive produced Biggie's "Ready to Die". In other words, he is a big part of hip hop. But what happened after Mister Cee's recent ordeal and resignation even caught me off guard.
Mister Cee received nothing but love from all of his fans.
In a interview with Hot 97′s program director, Ebro, Mister Cee talked about why he has never spoke on the matter before and his fears.
"My whole dilemma has always been, am I still going to be looked at the same way", said Mister Cee.
A fear that is understandable for a man who has been in Hip Hop for years. But things have changed, people don't care. And with that, Mister Cee was right back on the air at 12pm, his regular slot.
Does all of this mean we will see a gay mainstream rapper soon? I don't think so, not yet at least. I'm sure it will happen but I'm sure it is hard for someone to still feel accepted, especially in a culture that was so unwelcoming to gays. But a path is being paved, and that's a start.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicholas_Mojica
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