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Hip-hop has stereotypically been known for its racy lyrics, luxury cars, scantily clad women, drugs, and being a male dominated world; nowhere in that brief synopsis does the word homosexual fit in.

In fact, it seems like the words hip-hop and homosexual can’t even collide together to form a sentence. Unless of course, you’re using a derogatory term to describe it. But what happens when someone from the hip-hop community comes out of the closet?

Frank Ocean is what happens.

On July 4th, 2012, Frank Ocean posted a diary entry type letter on Tumblr, expressing a heartfelt story about his first time being in love with a man. 

Frank’s announcement stunned the world, but in some respects, made hip-hop realize homophobia was no longer cool or acceptable.

In honor of 2013 Pride Week, here are some artists that have taken a stance on acceptance. 

A$AP Rocky 

Here’s what the rap game’s self-proclaimed pretty muthafucker told fashion designer Alexander Wang regarding his views on gay rights for Interview magazine:

“WANG: I know that you’ve talked before about wanting to “revolutionize” your generation. What do you mean by that—and what does it mean to you?

ROCKY: If I have an opportunity to say something positive, then I’m gonna take advantage of it, but there are two sides to that. It’d be politically correct for me to say something good for the kids when I have a chance—say something that’s positive—just because it’ll help my image. But I came up in a world that was just crazy—and it was hectic and kind of radical at the same time…So I got the best of both worlds. It was like being on the streets and then being in school at the same time, and I tried to keep my hands in everything just so I wasn’t missing out on any fun. I just always wanted to be knowledgeable of my whereabouts, my surroundings, and what was going on with our generation. So now that I’m here and I’ve got a microphone in my hand and about 6,000 people watching me, I need to tell them how I feel. For instance, one big issue in hip-hop is the gay thing. It’s 2013, and it’s a shame that, to this day, that topic still gets people all excited. It’s crazy. And it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid—and that’s not the case. We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that. I treat everybody equal, and so I want to be sure that my listeners and my followers do the same if they’re gonna represent me. And if I’m gonna represent them, then I also want to do it in a good way.” 

Jay-Z

Hov spoke to CNN about gay rights: 

“Denouncing gay rights “is no different than discriminating against blacks”…”What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business.”

Kanye West

In a previous interview with MTV News, Kanye speaks volumes on gay rights and hip-hop in just a mere two sentences: 

“But everybody in hip-hop discriminates against gay people…And I wanna just come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, “Yo, stop it fam.” 

Nicki Minaj 

The Barbie expressed how compassionate she is regarding the gay rights movement. She told MTV News:

“I would encourage my gay fans to be fighters and to be brave…People face difficulties, no matter who you are. I faced difficulties with a lot of things. I face opposition every day, but I didn’t kill myself and now, thank God, I’m here. So I want my life to be a testimony to my fans and my gay fans…suicide is never the answer and I know that things always get better. So I’m supporting you guys. I love you very, very much and for the people who don’t love you, they need help.”

She later said..

“I don’t agree that everyone should agree with everyone’s lifestyle. I think that some people aren’t going to agree, but I think that when you’re mean and when you ridicule people it’s a sign of your own insecurities…So shout out to all my Ken and Barbies out there and my girls too; just believe that things will get better and they will they always do.”

T.I.

Here’s what TIP told MTV News: 

“I don’t care…if it’s not something that directly affects you…what difference does it make to you what other people are doing with their lives?”

50 Cent

The Queens native told VIBE magazine he just wants everyone to be happy:

“I think everyone should be happy…I don’t have strong personal feelings towards it because I’m not involved in that lifestyle, but I want people to be happy.” 

Kendrick Lamar


The Compton MC told DJDrama back in 2012 that people need to simply get over it:

“I don’t give a fuck about people doing what they do. That’s your lifestyle…Do what you got to do to be happy. Fuck it man, it’s fuckin’ 2012, people need to stop crying over some bullshit.”

Macklemore


Back in 2012, Macklemore told Studio 360’s Kurt Andersen that he feels hip-hop should be progressive towards homosexuality. The “Same Love” singer said: 

“I watched so many records receiving critical acclaim that were very derogatory to homosexuals. That and misogyny are still kind of the two very acceptable means of oppression in terms of hip-hop culture. And it’s 2012. There needs to be some accountability. As a society, we are evolving and I think that hip-hop has always been a reflection of what’s going on in the world.” 

Fat Joe


In 2011, Fat Joe told Vlad TV:

“In 2011 you gotta hide that you gay?” he asked. “Be real! ‘Yo, I’m gay. What the fuck!’ If you gay, you gay. That’s your preference. Fuck it if the people don’t like it.”

The Game

The gangster rapper from Compton added:

“I don’t have a problem with gay people,” …. Beyoncé shoulda said, ‘Who should run the world?’ Gays. Because they’re everywhere and rightly so.”

Nas 

The rap veteran has yet to release a new track called “No Such Thing As White Jesus,” which was a lost track from his 2012 LP Life Is Good, on which he collaborates with none other than Frank Ocean. 

“I would love to reconnect with Frank Ocean,” he says. 

CREDITS: MTV NEWS, INTERVIEW