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CBC's Jackson Weaver explains what it means for LGBTQ content in the genre.Īt the same time, homophobia is not unique to hip hop - and neither is queer artists making a name for themselves in other genres. WATCH | Lil Nas X, DaBaby kick off discussion about homophobia in hip hop:ĭuration 4:21 Just two days after Lil Nas X released a provocative and defiantly honest music video for his song Industry Baby, fellow rapper DaBaby received a firestorm of criticism for his homophobic comments. "The moment that we decide that some space is not safe for people, we also make invisible all of the people who are trying to make that space safe."Īsking whether hip hop as a genre does or doesn't include queer performers ignores the fact that queer artists helped build it, said Eastmond. The question reduces queer artists, managers and producers to a subset of hip hop trying to get in, she said, rather than being as much an integral part of hip hop as any other person.
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"That question in and of itself, really, makes invisible all the queer hip-hop artists," she said. Toronto rapper turned music exec Kiana (Rookz) Eastmond says that's where the question of whether hip hop is inclusive of LGBT artists misses the breadth of the issue. "There's always a queer version of that - not necessarily because we want to be separate, but because we have to be."įor that reason, Milano said, queer creators - especially Black queer creators - have gone through the same challenges and criticisms as Lil Nas X to help build hip hop. "No matter what, queer people create spaces for themselves in any art discipline," Milano said.
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Trigger Warning: This episode mentions sexual assault. With special guests Laura Snapes, deputy music editor at the Guardian and Craig Jenkins, music critic for New York Magazine. What the controversy over his devil lap dance says about us right now. Is it working? And Lil Nas X had 'em shook with his new video.
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That argument, Kornhaber explained, demonstrates the double standard that queer artists have to grapple with - especially gay male artists in hip hop.ģ6:17 Lil Nas X And The Satanic Panic He Inspired From Demi Lovato to Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift, pop stars are turning to the documentary format to take control of their narrative. "You see people really explaining all the different reasons they have to, honestly, fear someone like him."įor those who support Lil Nas X, Kornhaber explained, they point to DaBaby's comments as evidence that music like Industry Baby is sorely needed to increase representation and inclusion.īut others, including rappers Boosie and T.I., brought up Lil Nas X in their defence of DaBaby, arguing that if he's allowed to act in ways that provoke them, then rappers like DaBaby should be able to do the same. "In the last few weeks, you've seen all the different ways that someone like Nas is disruptive to a bunch of old ideas and assumptions and hierarchies," Kornhaber said. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/The Associated Press) The 22-year-old has continually challenged what a hip-hop pop star looks like. Lil Nas X, centre, kisses a dancer at the conclusion of his performance at the BET Awards on June 27 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Performing openly and proudly gay music as a male pop star is a rarity in the industry, and Lil Nas X is leading it through a reckoning with open displays of queer sexuality, kicking up controversy not unlike what female pop stars - from Britney Spears to Nicki Minaj - have faced in the past for their videos.Īt the same time, some LGBT musicians argue that solely focusing on Lil Nas X as making hip hop more inclusive is both unfair to him and ignores the work that a litany of other queer artists have done in the genre for years - in the face of serious adversity. Now Lil Nas X is grappling with even more challenging - and insidious - issues. His early 2019 smash-hit Old Town Road broke down barriers on what constitutes country music, its intersection with rap, and what kind of voices are heard.Īnd as the song steadily rose up the Billboard country charts (before being disqualified for not fitting the genre), it prompted a re-evaluation of the industry. That's because the 22-year-old rapper's music perpetually challenges the genres it inhabits. Love him or hate him, the one thing you can't say about Lil Nas X - or his music - is that he's boring.