As we gain more ground, reforming and forming new laws, the gay community seems to be looking for a more diverse, non-stereotypical representation of us in the media. The African-American community in particular, has seen an increase of public figures either proclaiming their sexuality or showing their support for the LGBT community.
Raven Symone, Jason Collins, Wanda Sykes, Don Lemon, Frank Ocean, 50 Cent, A$AP Rocky, Ciara, Beyonce, Jay Z, Talib Kweli, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Kwame Harris, Wade Davis, Magic Johnson, Senator Kelvin Atkinson, President Obama and countless other celebrities have either "come out" or shown their support for gay rights.
"They're like, 'If you have an opinion against us, we're gonna shut you down,'" T.I. told Vibe. "That's not American. If you're gay you should have the right to be gay in peace." He went on to say, "If you're against it, you should also have the right to be against it in peace."
After receiving negative publicity for those comments and feeling that his statements were taken out of context T.I. delved further into his thoughts, "I believe you have the right to do whatever you want to do as long as you're not hurting anyone. I was quoted correctly, but I was taken out of context."
T.I. went on to say that, "[The U.S.] is an institution built around allowing us to speak peacefully and respectfully in opposition of any point or any topic that comes up." He also stated that he isn't against gay marriage.
Another rapper/reality television star The-Game shared his thoughts on LGBT and Hip-Hop in an interview with VLAD. "I think that there are several rappers that are in the closet and that are gay, and see those are the type of gay people, the only type of gay people that I have a problem with."
Game went on to reveal why he doesn't like closeted homosexuals, "The number one issue with that is that you can be fooling with somebody and you can give them AIDS...That "in the closet" shit is real scary, and it's not fair because that shit spreads because that girl that you might be fooling might leave you and go find another dude who ain't gay, give him the disease, and go cheats on her, so it's an ongoing thing."
"It ain't cool to be in the closet, so if you gay just say you gay, be gay and be proud." While I totally agree with his statements, it is clear that those words come from someone who has never had to face the truth of what coming out entails. Possibly being abandoned by your family, homelessness, ridicule, discrimination and so many other issues that many heterosexual people don't understand when it comes to disclosing your sexual orientation.
Now two rappers Ghonstface Killah and U-God are weighing in on homosexuals being in Hip-Hop, as well as Obama being a puppet for the "gay agenda."
“Obama’s just a puppet—he’s a puppet in a chair [...] People just voted him in because he’s black. They don’t even know why they were voting for him—whether he was right or wrong.” Speaking on specific policies, Ghostface says, “The gay marriage law—you think it’s fucked up? When he’s gone, they’ll blame it on him: the black president.
Meanwhile, when asked about the “gay rap scene,” Ghostface says, “I can’t knock gay rap, or retarded rap… whatever. Do what you do; I don’t really listen to it. I don’t really pay that no attention. Like I said, it’s not my cup of tea—to each his own. At the end of the day, we all people.”
U-God offers a similar response: “Personally, I don’t give a f–k if you’re gay. That’s your business. That’s your sexual preference. But don’t come over here and make me gay—you ain’t gonna force something on me, see? But if you cool, you talented, and you gay? We can rock, ni–a! We can drink, we can smoke, we can laugh. But don’t try and bring that shit over here. I like titties. I like titties. I like titties. I like two pair, I like four pair of titties at one time.”
[The Boom Box]
I'll take Bry'nt and Rob.b over a Cheif Keef, Souljah Boy, Juicy J, any day.