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Hip Hop & Homophobia: A Bad Rap

A discussion of hip hop must first begin with a definition of what hip hop is and what it is not. Hip hop is not simply a genre of music, it is a lifestyle made up of breaking, graffiti, rapping, b-boying, and DJ-ing. Hip-hop is a culture, a way of life that originated in the Bronx as a “fuck you” to the dominant society. It began as a means for black urban youth to express themselves outside the constraints of the mainstream. The essence of hip-hop is deeply intertwined with attitude and style. However, hip-hop has another side, where hypermasculinity rules, where gaining respect is done by taking it from the other person. It is this part of hip-hop that contributes to the homophobia which runs thick in the community. This is evident in many of the lyrics of songs and behavior of the performers on and off stage. Yet this too finds a contradiction in the way lesbianism and female with female sex acts are glorified and eroticized within the community. What is it in the hip-hop culture that allows this contradiction to exist, and how do we fix it?

One of the most blatant signs of homophobia in hip hop is the common usage of the phrase “no homo”. It goes like this, a guy says something that might imply same sex sexuality and he follows it with “no homo” to ensure that no one mistakes his masculine heterosexual identity for homosexuality. However, the deeper meaning is that there is something wrong with homosexuality and that gay men cannot embody the mainstream idea of masculinity. The term has become widely used in rap music and thus has transferred into the minds of consumers of hip hop music. There is also a different outward portrayal that openly gay black men put forth. As rapper Joe Budden put it, “And I'm a grown man, I ain't gotta say no homo/cos in the real world most thugs is Karamo”. His statement is in reference to a black male who appeared on the reality TV show The Real World. Karomo didn’t “appear gay” according to the stereotypes of what a gay man should be. He (pictured above) is muscular, has a deep voice, wears urban fashions and is openly gay. Unfortunately, the problems with mainstream hip-hop don't stop there. It has also become a realm where it is acceptable to sexualize and degrade women.

In her essay Hip Hop Feminism, Denise Cooper discusses her struggle with the music that both represents and degrades her, stating, “Our relationship hasn’t always been fun and games. I have turned my back on it countless times, but every time there was something that kept pulling me back” (Cooper 54). This very much speaks to the idea that although many within the hip-hop community have become disenchanted with portrayal of sexual minorities and women they stick with it because they feel it’s part of them. Unfortunately, mainstream hip hop has become a male-dominated, male-centered, male identified place and this has left little or no space for women or sexual minorities to express themselves.

So what options are we left with? Do we abandon the music that was designed to represent us? Do we take on the personas that are designed for us? Do we stay & tough it out?

For the message of hip hop to be diversified the senders of the message must be more diverse. Mainstream hip hop needs to make way for artists who defy the cultural standards of masculinity and femininity within the community. The message of hip hop has changed since it first began in the Bronx; it has become less inclusive and increasingly demeaning to certain populations.

In order to return to its real origins the hip hop community must expand both the type of people who are sending the message and the message itself.