Tolliver_AB Midterm
Brandon Tolliver
Gender and Sexuality in Hip-Hop Culture
Professor Pabon
March 12, 2018
Annotated Bibliography for Hip Hop Feminism Wikipedia Page
Source #1
Taylor, Benjamin. “Homophobia in Hip Hop.” St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture,
edited by Thomas Riggs, St. James Press, 2018, pp. 211-215. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3679700106/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&xid=8d0e32aa.
This section of the encyclopedia talks about how long homophobia has been a part of hip hop, and how hip hop artists are denounced because of their participation in homophobic lyrics. It claims that rap music is not responsible for how artists use homophobia in the culture but they do get the most criticism for doing so. The section talks about how hip hop becomes defensive when homophobia is mentioned and also talks about what the responsibilities of the industries are when it comes to artists using homophobic lyrics. It also gives somewhat of a solution to how it could be easier to allow a homosexual presence within hip hop culture
Source #2
Owaie, Matthew. “Queer Hip Hop.” St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture, edited by
Thomas Riggs, St. James Press, 2018, pp. 379-381. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3679700175/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&xid=459f63ba.
Gives the definition of what queer hip hop is and it refers to the culture within the LGBTQ community. Gets into how homophobic slurs are used during rap battles in order to belittle and degrade their opponent. Talks about the subgenre of rap called Homo Hop where LGBTQ artists in the hip hop community make music to challenge homophobia in the culture. Talks about homo thugs and queer female MCs within the hip hop community. Gives an idea to what a queer hip hop culture could be like in the future.
Source #3
Brown, Joshua R. “No Homo.” Journal of Homosexuality, vol. 58, no. 3, Mar. 2011, pp. 299-314. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.546721
This journal article explains the beginning of the “no homo” term within the African American community and how it has developed throughout time. The term began in the 1990s being used in hip hop lyrics and has expanded into a term to be used to negate a homosexual reference towards something or someone in everyday life. This article goes on to try and explain why the “no homo” term is only used within a certain community and to try and understand why the term has different effects when it comes to gender. Also gives examples of the uses of this term within music, film, and people in general.
Summary
The different readings that I have selected all have to do with the development of homosexuality in Hip Hop culture. From using homophobic slurs in hip hop lyrics to trying to negate a person’s sexuality with the simple term of “no homo”, homosexuality has been a part of the hip hop culture since hip hop has been alive in the first place. As the culture has developed, so has an artist’s use of homophobic lyrics in music or even in the African American community itself.
It is not unusual to hear someone try to negate the use of homophobic terms within hip hop. The reason for this is because of the fact that homosexuality is still not normalized within the culture. With homophobia in hip hop culture, there are many instances and many artists that have used homophobic lyrics within their music. Artists including, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Tyler the Creator, Eminem, Offset from Migos, and so on have all used homophobic lyrics in their music. Music industries do not try to make the effort to check for homophobic lyrics before the music is produced and sent to mainstream. Also that LGBTQ members are hardly recognized within hip hop culture so it is as if members of the LGBT community do not belong in hip hop culture.
However, the creation of the subgenre queer hip hop, known as Homo Hop is a step in the positive direction for those in the LGBT community who love hip hop. This genre was created as a response to the gay bashing that was taken as artists would use homophobic lyrics to degrade other artists in their music. The goal of Homo Hop is to challenge homophobia within the hip hop culture and bring a queer voice to mainstream rap. Also with the upcoming of homo thugs and queer female MCs in hip hop culture, there is bound to be significant change within hip hop as long as industries are willing to let LGBT members show who they really are to the world
Lastly, the development of the term “No Homo”. This term was created to negate the original meaning of a message that could question specifically a heterosexual black man’s sexuality in any way. “No homo” has been used in songs, in film, and in everyday life throughout the African American community. Trying to understand why the term affects men more than women is the reason behind the article I am explaining. It seems that women are seen as more accepting of what they say even if it may affect how they are viewed as a person. Men are looked at as being more vulnerable to using the term because they are afraid of their sexuality being exposed or thought of in a different manner.
How we can try to fix all of these problems is by being more accepting of LGBT members within all communities, specifically the hip hop community and the African American community. The time that we as a society are able to accept that there is nothing wrong with being gay or queer in hip hop culture, and that there are queer people in all parts of society, is a time that hip-hop will flourish more and African American communities will be more united.