Lil B, who the New York Times has called the "folk hero of the rap counterculture," announced during his set at Coachella yesterday that he intends to name his next album "I'm Gay." The heterosexual Rapper told the audience the following:"I'm going to do the most controversial thing in hip hop...i'm gonna show you that words don't mean s**t. I'm gonna make an album called "I'm gay."
He is kinda late..there are a bunch of LGBT rappers out there. Tim'm West Foxx Jazelle, Imani The Misfit, etc. Interesting marketing ploy. not fully fleshed out on paper me thinks.
I think you missed the point. In naming his album, "I'm Gay," he's showing that these labels are meaningless. This isn't a marketing ploy. He hardly needs the minor market that LGBT rappers have. This is an artistic statement. Good for him.
The hiphop community has come a long way in just the last two or three years. The support we're seeing from Russel Simmons, Kanye West, and Diddy is very different from the hatred of DMX, Public Enemy, and Busta Rhymes.
But I DO think it will challenge the consumer to confront her or his homophobia. Words have meaning yes, but it borders on the ridiculous that perceived homosexuality is such an issue that things like "no homo" have to be created to further distance the user from anything even perceived as being potential homoerotic, no matter how minuscule.
Fr those individuals where saying "I love you" to another man, or who refrain from saying anything out of the fear that it could be considered "gay", words have a ton of meaning. But being forced to say that they like an album that;s called "I'm Gay" ESPECIALLY when it has no real reflection on the content of the album itself is an interesting way to highlight that issue. They're so afraid to do or say anything that they perceive as gay even when it isn't, and will they see how ridiculous it is when they won't even talk about something because it's called "gay" even when it isn't?
It's not the most unique thought, but it's interesting to see what happens and if it will force any consumers to challenge their heteronormative restrictions.
You may name the album "I'm Gay"... but is there going to be a song on it, that you also sing live, by the same title and lyric content? Probably not! "I'm Chicken"!
Well, Alex Paterson (a notorious caucasian) of The Orb named his Trojan Records compilation 'I'll Be Black', and I didn't notice the sky falling down.
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