Rapper Noriega Says Gay Rappers Are All Over Hip-Hop

Bash'd

In an interview with hip-hop site VLADTV, Rapper Noriega confirms the big, gay secret of hip hop: that homos are all up in it. This is not really surprising to us. Hip Hop culture has always been about male swagger, from the days of Kangol hats and Run DMC to Crovisier and ‘Lil Wayne, and, at times, it all seems a little…gay. Noriega agrees, “The gay culture is already here.”

In the below audio file, Noriega, who is not gay but rather describes his own sexuality as “messing with bitches,” says he has worked with gay rappers who are not openly gay. It is something that is known, but not discussed, like some 1950’s caricature of closet gay culture. Noriega goes on to say that perhaps someday after a rapper goes multi-platinum and cannot be touched, he will come out as openly gay, but when he is coming up, if he says he is gay he will be ostracized and won’t make it in the mainstream. Ironically, for a medium that praises male sexuality, where women play only a secondary role and where men’s fashion is highly emphasized, there is still a taboo against openly gay rap.

There are openly gay rappers, of course, but they are part of a homosexual hip hop underground scene called “Homo Hop.” Bash’d (a gay rap opera pictured above), Man Parrish, Deep Dickollective, and Rainbow Flava are just a few openly gay rap acts that have gained moderate success within this scene. There are probably many famous rappers that are in the closet from fear of destroying their careers by coming out. Hip Hop as a culture is highly homophobic, being aggressively heterosexual and calling anyone considered weak a fag. Though the color of rap has changed to include many whites, Latinos, and Asians, there are no openly gay superstars.

This dovetails with the phenomenon of “Downlow” culture in the black and Latino community. This is when people who have sex with people of their own gender do not self identify as gay or lesbian. Naturally, hip hop would mimic what happens in the urban cultures from which it springs. Until the culture at large changes it will continue to be hard for a gay rapper to be openly gay. Which rappers do you think might be secretly gay?

Exclusive: N.O.R.E. confirms gay rappers exist in Hip-Hop [VLADTV, via]

We have some ideas but aren’t going to say.

(cough) Kanye (cough) (cough).