This thing I wrote about homophobia in hip-hop

[K-DoG7p7]

I didn't really bother reading it (tldr) so i'm not sure if you actually touched on it, but a lot of change has happened in the hip-hop community the the last few years

Hell just in the last few days Jay-Z and 50-Cent both came out in support of same sex marriage.

and lets not forget The Game last year talking about closeted gay rappers

I think there are several rappers that are in the closet and gay, and see those are the type of gay people--the only type of gay people that I have a problem with. I don't have a problem with gay people. Like, Beyonce should've said, 'Who run the world? Gays,' because they're everywhere.
Be gay, you can do that. Game don't have a problem with gay people. Game has a problem with people that are pretending not to be gay and are gay because the number one issue with that is that you could be fooling somebody and you could give them AIDS and they can die and so that in the closet s-- is real scary.
So, we've got to get into the real seriousness of it and it's just not fair to other people. Then that shit spreads because that girl that you might be fooling might leave you and go find another dude who ain't gay and give him the disease. And he goes and cheats on her, so it's an ongoing thing. So it's ain't cool to be in the closet. If you gay, just say you gay. Be gay and be proud.

sure it comes off a little Gay = AIDS but still.

Fat Joe also encouraged gay rappers to come out over the winter.

[Corrina]

In a way, the hip-hop/rap community strikes me as a bit like the comic community. Things are so prevalent that they become invisible until someone on the outside notices.

For example, I've tried to find my way into listening to the music but I keep encountering a lot of what I consider rants/insults against women. I don't know enough about rap to sort it out, save maybe stick with female artists. So there's a barrier to it for me.

I think the porn poses or covers like those the View blurred yesterday are similar, in that it's so prevalent it's not noticed until a mainstream outlet takes a look and say "oh, really?"

[zemo]

One of my favorite hip-hop albums ever is Bell Hooks by BBU for exactly that reason. It came out just this year and it's phenomenal, speaking out on a ton of social justice issues while being funny and having great beat production to boot. And it's free, so you have nothing to lose!

I lol'd.

[zemo]

Fat Joe also encouraged gay rappers to come out over the winter.

Because they're like migrating birds and want to spend winter somewhere warm, amirite?

Though, now, seriously: The Hip Hop community, like certain sports communities (American football, ice hockey, etc.) is so entrenched in and dependent on the image of masculinity that homophobia, as a way to deny the opponent recognition of their manliness, has become integral to it. That is also a reason for the poor treatment of women in Hip Hop, the reasoning being that if you simply can command your woman around or have several of them, you are all the manlier. I don't think change can come from within. Only after society as a whole acknowledges that homosexuality doesn't equal effimanecy we will see a change there. Those circles will still be high on testosterone, mind you...

[Tobias M]

In a way, the hip-hop/rap community strikes me as a bit like the comic community. Things are so prevalent that they become invisible until someone on the outside notices.

For example, I've tried to find my way into listening to the music but I keep encountering a lot of what I consider rants/insults against women. I don't know enough about rap to sort it out, save maybe stick with female artists. So there's a barrier to it for me.

I think the porn poses or covers like those the View blurred yesterday are similar, in that it's so prevalent it's not noticed until a mainstream outlet takes a look and say "oh, really?"

Try Common, or the Roots. Or Mos Def for that matter.

The collaboration between The Roots and Erykah Badu on a track about domestic abuse (the album is Things Fall Apart) is possibly one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever heard. It certainly doesn't endorse the mistreatment of women.

[The Funketeer]

Try Common, or the Roots. Or Mos Def for that matter.

The collaboration between The Roots and Erykah Badu on a track about domestic abuse (the album is Things Fall Apart) is possibly one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever heard. It certainly doesn't endorse the mistreatment of women.

But even Common spouts misogynistic lyrics from time to time. 2Pac was the same way. Propping up women on one track and then degrading them on the next.

Someone mentioned 50 Cent and Jay-Z earlier as having supported gay marriage recently. I think you'll find that the larger the act, the more open minded they become. The hip hop world is very small and insular when an artist is starting out but when they start travelling the world and exponentially increasing the number of people they have to deal with professionally, I think they start to see things for what they are.

[Chris Jones]

But even Common spouts misogynistic lyrics from time to time. 2Pac was the same way. Propping up women on one track and then degrading them on the next.

Someone mentioned 50 Cent and Jay-Z earlier as having supported gay marriage recently. I think you'll find that the larger the act, the more open minded they become. The hip hop world is very small and insular when an artist is starting out but when they start travelling the world and exponentially increasing the number of people they have to deal with professionally, I think they start to see things for what they are.

Me Against the World is a pretty tonally consistent album from 'Pac; most of it is more of a lament about street life than a glamorization of it (although he still displays a lot of pride about where he comes from) and it even has "Dear Momma," which is basically a thank-you song towards his mother for raising him into the man he became. I think that album might be a good starting point for a lot of people, even if some of the beats are kind of hard to swallow at times.

[K-DoG7p7]

2Pac was the same way. Propping up women on one track and then degrading them on the next.

Not really or at least not him.
Tupac rarely said anything negative about women and when he did it was directed at specific individuals with only 1 exception and even then its not that clear attack on women in general.

[Chris Jones]

I didn't really bother reading it (tldr)

Folks, if you ever want a surefire way to piss off a writer, tell them you didn't read anything they just wrote and then proceed to give your opinion on their piece anyway. It'll get 'em every time.

[Chris Jones]

Oh, and here's a quick followup piece about the recent appalling behavior of Action Bronson over his transphobia.