#IHaveIssues: Hip Hop Homophobia- Has it Gone Neutral?

 

Homosexuality is a dominant aspect of pop culture but mainstream or underground, hip-hop has always given off somewhat of a masculine vibe to the world.  When singer/songwriter Frank Ocean came out about his sexuality in an open letter to his fans on his tumblr, many Hip Hop artist respected his boldness as well as his preference. 

As far as many were concerned, Ocean's outcome resulted in a positive light. Music lovers everywhere clearly didn't mind saying things such as "as long as his music is good I don't care what he does in his personal life". It also showed in his sales as Ocean came in number two on the Billboard charts for his first week sales beat out industry vets like Usher (128,000) and even his "enemy" Chris Brown (45,000) who came in at number four. Heavy weights in the game from hip hop pioneer Russell Simmons to even hard core rapper turned business man 50 cent showed his support to Ocean.

 In a video posted by MTV News rapper Busta Rhymes said, "I am an extremely huge fan of Frank Ocean. His music is impeccable to me, and as far as I'm concerned, I respect the dude completely." 

Since then, the spotlight has seem to widen toward openly gay and/or bisexual rappers. But has respect been given yet?

 New York City emcee Cakes Da Killa is a fresh face bringing color and excitement to hip-hop the way LGBTQs have always brought fun. His demeanor is chill and humble but his music is a complete 360 degrees. His music is something to shake (and vogue) to; his lyrics are rated R (some may even say X rated), loosely recited, flow-worthy and are not afraid of society's conservative woes.  He's out there.

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