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Outing in Hip Hop Outing is a tactic fueled by homophobia. The practice itself is a social breach of privacy and can have damaging psychological effects Sexual Deceit: The Ethics of Passing . When done by a participant of the hip hop community it is usually done to reinforce the normalcy of overt black male dominance. The controlling damaging image of what black men in hip-hop are supposed to acquiesce holds every person in hip-hop accountable to a standard that limits potential for diversity. Non normative bodies that occupy a space carved out for a masculine hard performance are under harsh scrutiny to maintain the performance of the craft. Outing in hip hop usually happens in rap battles, songs, and in the media.

Homophobic Terminology

No Homo

The phrase No Homo(wikipedia page) is used to protect oneself against any conceivable homosexuality said or done before the phase was said.

As Joshua R. Brown shows in his piece, No Homo(link to joshua R Brown in references, posted in annotated bibilography), No Homo is a common phrase in hip hop, and is not only an obvious display of homophobia(wiki page)  but also used as a survival method to not face social harm by being seen as someone in this marginalized group of homosexuals. Using the phrase No Homo defends its user from being seen as homosexual and therefore protected them from this loss of power and marginalization. No homo as a common phrase in hip hop has a large correlation in outing in hip hop as it can protect one from being outed by exclaiming “No Homo” in a potential perceived homosexual situation. This phrase is an extension of the homophobia seen in outing others in hip hop and provides as shield for any skepticism. 

An example of the use of the term No homo in a hip hop song can be seen in Jay-Z’s song Run This town (link) ft. Rihanna and Kanye west when Kanye states, “It’s crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow To everybody on your dick, no homo.” This lyric shows the deeply embedded fear of being seen as a homosexual in the hip hop world where an innocent lyric about getting a lot of action now that you are famous has to be protected by the term no homo.

“That’s gay”- Christina

According to Psychology Today, “that’s gay” can be homophobic, if it’s said with negative intent or within a homophobic environment. However when it’s said in setting where sexual minorities are open, out and proud, and heterosexual men are friends with their openly gay peers, it takes on different meanings. The issue of this phrase lies within America’s history of homophobic oppression. For years, homosexuals have been suppressed and belittled because of their sexual orientation.

Doctors Jeffrey Hall and Betty LaFrance state, “Men, especially young men in all-male settings, use the term “gay” as a substitute for something that is stupid, worthless, weak, for feminine. Terms like gay, faggot, fag, queer, and others are frequently used by young men, especially in the presence of their peers” (Hall, LaFrance).

“Homophobic communication is commonly used by heterosexual males to mock or condemn the behavior of other heterosexual males, sometimes to the point of harassment. This behavior is cultivated in all-male environments, including sports teams and fraternities, which institutionalize the derision of homosexuals and homosexuality, as well as mom-prototypical masculinity” (Hall, LaFrance). As discussed in the “male masculinity” section, being gay affects how an artist is perceived within the hip hop community. Once a rapper or artist comes out as gay, they are seen as lesser value than straight artists and are no longer respected for their artistic contributions.

List of LGBT slang terms: (wiki page) / “Homophobic slurs” (wiki page) pause

Homophobic Hip Hop Lyrics:

“You couldn’t hang if you was a poster/Posin like a b—h for exposure/It’s rumors of gay MC’s, just don’t come around me wit it/You still rockin’ hickies — don’t let me find out he did it …”- Nag Champa (Afrodisiac For the World) by Common from Like Water For Chocolate

“Look, the other day/I seen a girl acting like a boy/Then I seen a little boy acting like a girl / People try to tell me it’s just a way of the world!/It’s a crazy world!” - Our Babies (Part II) by Saigon from The Greatest Story Never Told Pt. 2 (Bread and Circuses). Rolling Out “Ain’t no due process/For boys that become girls or verse vica/Field n—as control this/Pin the hollow point tip on this gay rights activist…” -- Fly Away by Goodie MOB from Still Standing. “Where oh where, are all the real men?/The feminine look seems to be the trend/You got eyeliner on — chillin and maxin’/See you’re a man with a spine extraction/So what I’m askin’ is plain to see/Are there any straight singers in R&B?” -- Ya Strugglin’ by Boogie Down Productions from EduTainment. “Oh yes, I’m the bad man, and the bad men wear black/And if it comes to droppin’ bombs, yo—I’m with that/Though I can freak, fly, flow, f–k up a f—-t/Don’t understand their ways/I ain’t down with gays …” -- Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down by Brand Nubian from In God We Trust.

Male-masculinity -- Christina

Male masculinity has different attributes and can be identified in many ways. One can be masculine through their dress, performance, lyrics, and everyday lifestyle.

“The historical politicization of the Black male body in the South throughout history has backed present day media representatives like Dem Franchize Boyz and Soulja Boy into a corner. They are coerced into portraying one particular form of masculinity. According to Alexander, ‘even a heterosexual man who engages in a sensitive awareness of feminist issues, and in humanistic caring alternatives performances of Black masculinity, is demonized for not being a strong, take charge kind of guy.’”(Nichols)

This sentiment dates back to the era of enslavement when white stereotypes and rhetoric deemed Black male bodies to be “prime stock or chattel” that translated into the African slave’s being a good worker or a good fighter -- but not human.

“...terms such as b-tch and f----t signal a reworking of historical language of racism, sexism, and heterosexism, all played out in the spectacles offered up by contemporary mass media” (Craig). “Young black men have adopted and adapted the term “thug”, as Hill and Ramsaran (2009) observe, ‘Thuggin’ has become an important dimension of projecting masculinity.’” The ideology associated with “thuggin” through “Lyrics promoting gang violence, glorifying drugs, and bragging about these actions…” (Craig).

A prime example of hip hop male masculinity is Jay- Z who embodies the characteristics of a “rapper”: heterosexual, aggressive, strong male. In Jay-Z’s “Decoder,” he writes for the first time how his training as a crack dealer and hustler helped him understand business and turned him into an artist. He hustled crack at 13 and eventually made his living (NY Post).

“Homo Hop” - Catherine Homo Hop (link to “LGBT hip hop” wiki page), sometimes known as LGBT hip hop or queer hip hop, is a label applied to members of the hip hop community who identify as LGBTQ+. Homo hop has been described as “a global movement of gay hip-hop MCs and fans determined to stake their claim in a genre too often associated with homophobia and anti-gay lyrics” (link to #12 on the source list). The term “homo hop” is not supposed to define a genre of music; it is instead supposed to provide a sense of community. The term was created by MC and cofounder of Deep Dickollective, Tim’m T. West (#11 on source list). “It’s not a different kind of hip hop, but places identity at the center of production, which is a blessing and curse. I’m a hip hop artists, ultimately, who happens to be queer. Homo Hop, as a mobilizing medium for queer artists, did, in fact, serve a purpose, initially.” (#11 on source list).

Outed Gay Rappers-Zoe

The Deep Dickollective(wiki page) are a notable black, and queer rap group, who are openly out as gay. The Deep Dickollective are discussed in Total Chaos The Art of Aesthetics of Hip Hop by in the chapter “It’s All One”(link to source posted in annotated bibliography) by Juba Kalamka and Tim’m West as being in and around Hip Hop from the beginning. This chapter explains how queer people have been in hip hop from the beginning and how the homo hop movement is not a new movement because queer people have always been there. Out rappers such as the Deep Dickollective show that queer people are, and have been in hip hop, they take away the stigma against queers in hip hop and take away challenge the stereotype that all rappers and people in hip hop are gay.

Tim'm T. West (link to wiki page) is an openly gay rapper, performer, poet and activist. He has worked with Deep Dickollective and has many achievements as an out person in hip hop.

Fly Young Red-Franklin Freeman Randall (link to wiki page) is another openly gay rapper who decided to come out to the public because of the lack of outed gay people in hip hop and to break the male masculine stereotype. Solomon Ray (wiki) is a openly gay DJ and singer/songwriter, he is notably “the first gay rapper to ever be featured on the uncensored radio station.” (wiki) (link to outed people in hip hop wiki page)

Outed women

Nicki Minaj (wiki) has been questioned and attempted to be outed in the media, followed the sexual scripts of Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim in matters of same-sex desire (#8 on source list). (need to find more sources..._

Queen Latifah (wiki) is a female rapper and performer who has been victim to many speculations regarding her sexuality but has yet to make a clear statement.

Queen Pen(WIKI) has been speculated gay or bisexual due to the nature of her song “girlfriend” she refuses to give a clear defined statement of her sexuality for fear of being judged as attention seeking as gay famous women are often accused.

Effects of outting can be seen tearing down artists whether it is a male being demasculinized or a female being accused as attention seeking, it is a tactic used to harm those in hip hop. People who outed others An outing attempt can be seen by Vivica A hinting that 50 cent and Soulja Boy were gay. (http://perezhilton.com/2015-11-09-vivica-a-fox-50-cent-soulja-boy-gay-rumors-andy-cohen-wwhl#.VyeBNqMrK-U) attempting to tear down the competition. 50 cent responded saying that Vivica A was doing this in attempt to seek attention (http://www.hngn.com/articles/150488/20151114/50-cent-slams-vivica-fox-desperate-interview-shes-searching-attention.htm) which is often the response in regards to outing.

“Queer desire in hip hop culture” -- TA (change to “Heteronormativity in Hip Hop”)

Within rap hip hop music heteronormative comes with cultural acceptance and privilege because it is essential to the overtly masculine, male dominated genre. Current hip hop culture displays a shared apprehensiveness for gay and lesbian bodies which further perpetuates homophobia in hip hop. The intense homophobic climate in hip hop helps to maintain the normalcy of hyper masculine performance which encourages sexism, patriarchy, and overt male dominance. Lyrical outing during a rap battle or in a song calls the opponents sexual identity into question. When a rapper's sexual identity is up for questioning simultaneously so is his masculinity and his manhood Hip-Hop, Outing, and the Pedagogy of Queerness. Without the masculine hard performance the rapper loses social capital in the culture thus becoming irrelevant. Outing can have damaging effects on a rapper's career for example Big daddy Kane and JA rule both experienced lyrical and their careers never recuperated.

Lesbi-honest - make this section more about Nicki Usher and Nicki “Lil Freak” and “She Came to Give it to You” Part about Lil Kim from our book Hip hop is often seen by society as hypermasculine and heteronormative. While straight men in the hip hop community take every chance they get to remind listeners of their heterosexuality, female rappers often end up queer baiting their audiences. They do this as an opportunity for empowerment, self-objectification, and fantasy (#8 on source list). Nicki Minaj “On her breakthrough mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty, Nicki Minaj rapped about her penchant for “bad bitches,” piquing the interest of queer hip hop heads when she bragged: “I only stop for pedestrians/ or a real, real bad lesbian” (Maraj 2009). In the three years since her debut, Minaj has shot to stardom as the reigning hip hop and now pop diva. Her sexuality has remained at the center of her public persona, propelled by both the spectacularization of her body as a target of sexual desire and her piecemeal lyrical expressions of queerness” (a king named nicki) At the heart of this inquiry is what we might call strategic queerness and its encounters with a homonormative impulse that distinguishes the legitimate from the illegitimate queer (a king named nicki)

______________________________________________________________________________ Create a section called “Homophobic Terminology in Hip Hop”, have “no homo”, “pause”, and “that’s so gay” as sub-categories “Lesbi-honest” …. Nicki Minaj (TA) “Heteronormativity in Hip Hop” instead of “Queer Desire in Hip Hop”

Someone's suggestion: -I would also be interested to see if this sensation happened in female circles. I feel like the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality would be interesting to explore. For when you are talking about strategic queerness, don't forget about the article we read for class! Hip Hop Fem/me/ninity Shange, Savannah “A King Named Nicki: Strategic Queerness and the Black FemmeCee” Under Lesbi-honest, you can maybe use the source from our book about Lil Kim, it is in the pages 166-247 in “Home Girls Make Some Noise”.

Hall, Jeffrey, and Betty LaFrance. "“That's Gay”: Sexual Prejudice, Gender Identity, Norms, And Homophobic Communication." Communication Quarterly60.1 (2012): 35-58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=55be522b-a6bd-44fd-9661-ecb7f6e5622f%40sessionmgr4004&vid=13&hid=4203

Williams, Stereo. "Hip-hop's 10 Most Anti-gay Lyrics." Rolling Out. N.p., 05 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://rollingout.com/2013/02/05/lord-jamar-calls-kanye-west-queer-conscious-hip-hops-10-most-homophobic-lyrics/>.

Craig, Richard T. "“I Know What Them Girls Like”." Journal Of Communication Inquiry 40.1 (2016): 25-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

http://jci.sagepub.com.libdatabase.newpaltz.edu/content/40/1/25.full.pdf+html 

Cohen, Stefanie. "Jay-Z: How I Went from Rags to Riches." New York Post JayZ How I Went from Rags Toriches Comments. N.p., 04 Nov. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://nypost.com/2010/11/04/jay-z-how-i-went-from-rags-to-riches/>.