Hip-Hop’s Closet e h t t u ’ n i t s ’ u B
ded itself Historically hip-hop has bran ly a few hyper-masculine- allowing on mainstream female emcees to enter the r longevity game and allowing even fewe that image and success. Consistent with militant of hyper-masculinity, hip-hop’s ity has been relationship with homosexual st three recorded throughout the la decades and if you were gay, then ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was the path many chose.
F
rom the early 90s, in an attempt to assert dominance, rappers would refer to each other as faggot. Ice Cube’s 1991 N.W.A. diss track “No Vaseline” featured lyrics such as “…you little maggot; Eazy E turned faggot…Eric Wright, punk, always into somethin’, gettin’ fucked at night by Mista Shitpacker, bend over for the gotdamn cracker, no Vaseline…”
The trend continued in the early 2000s with superstar
artist
Eminem spitting lyrics the media and gay rights activist construed as homophobic. On his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem rapped “…New Kids on the Block sucked a bunch of dick…I’ll knock you fuckin’ faggots the fuck out…” dropping the word faggot no less than 6 times on one track alone. The album also showcased interlude skits such as “Ken Kaniff” which simulated oral sex between three guys. Homophobic or derogatory lyrics aren’t self-contained in mainstream hip-hop. Jamaican reggae/ dancehall artist, Beenie Man, has