# Homophobia in rap/hiphop music



## Metalkitsune (Jul 11, 2011)

I noticed some hip hop/rap music seems to be very homophobic, like some of it use homophobic slurs for gay men and considering the times we are living in, i wonder if some of it can be now considered hurtful nowadays or even triggering?


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Metalkitsune said:


> I noticed some hip hop/rap music seems to be very homophobic, like some of it use homophobic slurs for gay men and considering the times we are living in, i wonder if some of it can be now considered hurtful nowadays or even triggering?


A lot of Rap music also seems to be wantonly misogynistic.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

A lot of rap lyrics are unpleasant altogether - for each song denoting genuine struggles in the neighbourhood and being victimised by the police there is another celebrating gang violence, keeping 'b*tch*s' in line and showing off gaudy luxuries which have no doubt been dubiously acquired. Maybe some of these 'songs' were parodies of the shallowness of thug life but judging by the amount of rap stars who die before their time or end up in jail too many seem to want to cross over to the dark side irrespective of whatever social ills there might be right under their noses. Back in the 70s Barrett and Whitfield were among the ones who nailed it with the lyrics of _Ball of Confusion_, George Clinton and his merry funksters tried to bring people together with humour, then early 80s songs like _The Message_ highlighted inner city deprivation and lack of hope. I know rap started off as a kind of militant off-shoot of hip-hop but has it really ever done black credibility any favours?


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> A lot of rap lyrics are unpleasant altogether - for each song denoting genuine struggles in the neighbourhood and being victimised by the police there is another celebrating gang violence, keeping 'b*tch*s' in line and showing off gaudy luxuries which have no doubt been dubiously acquired. Maybe some of these 'songs' were parodies of the shallowness of thug life but judging by the amount of rap stars who die before their time or end up in jail too many seem to want to cross over to the dark side irrespective of whatever social ills there might be right under their noses. Back in the 70s Barrett and Whitfield were among the ones who nailed it with the lyrics of _Ball of Confusion_, George Clinton and his merry funksters tried to bring people together with humour, then early 80s songs like _The Message_ highlighted inner city deprivation and lack of hope. *I know rap started off as a kind of militant off-shoot of hip-hop* but has it really ever done black credibility any favours?


I always thought that rap came first.

Wikipedia, to my surprise, starts their listing for Hip Hop THIS way: *"Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is . . . "*.

I'd always considered the two to be separate genres, even though they intermingle all the time.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

This thread topic reminds me of that Ice Cube album Death Certificate. There he's homophobic, racist against Koreans, Jews, whites (in some form or other), sexist towards women, amid usual rantings about the police (which is not always justified). But the music can be damn funky.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Hip-hop is a more general term for a cultural expression that has included, graffiti, fashion, dance, DJ-ing, MC-ing, all of which defined the style of music that is called Rap. The lyrical content is an outgrowth of a much older aspect of Black society - "The Dozens" and cutting contests which were also aspects of early Jazz, as well as broadly representative of a specific community and demographic. 

The lyrical subject matter touches on every aspect of the cultural life of this community (including some which are politically incorrect among middle class white society) and features the creative use of language, meter, and rhyme. Also it is no accident that Rap artists use pseudonyms. These are characters created in order to delver messages, often exaggerated, and not necessarily identical to those of the artists. 

It is art, with all the licenses art is regularly granted for the purpose of creative expression.

I doubt any member of TC has the life experience and credibility to address these issues.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

In a general sense there is less tolerance for that kind of thing nowadays, which has been seen in all popular culture, including hip-hop. Certainly performers would have a harder time getting away with the things they did at the height of the gangsta-rap era that they do now. 

Certainly you can accuse critics of double-standards when it comes to covering "bling rap" versus the at-times deliberately decadent image of white rock artists, but I am not going to miss the period when stars would just drop homophobic slurs in tracks like it was nothing.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> In a general sense there is less tolerance for that kind of thing nowadays,


The snowflake syndrome and cancel culture hopefully will pass. I prefer freedom of expression to censorship in the name of "safe zones."


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> The snowflake syndrome and cancel culture hopefully will pass. I prefer freedom of expression to censorship in the name of "safe zones."


I "self-censor" when delving into Rap or Hip Hop. The second reference to "N*ggahs" or "keep those b!tches in line" or "pop a cap in his *ss" and I stop the track.

I won't lift a finger to stop anyone else from listening to it though.


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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

Once I went to the grocery store, and there was this guy waiting in his car while his wife was inside shopping. He was blasting gangsta rap with profanity flying left and right. I was like, dude! Children walk through this parking lot.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

I don't especially need to hear profanity, but if I were determined to avoid it entirely, I'd have missed out on a fair number of worthwhile novels, plays, and films over the years. I'm not saying that lets rap off the hook, but I can't help wondering if we sometimes apply a double standard.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> Hip-hop is a more general term for a cultural expression that has included, graffiti, fashion, dance, DJ-ing, MC-ing, all of which defined the style of music that is called Rap. The lyrical content is an outgrowth of a much older aspect of Black society - "The Dozens" and cutting contests which were also aspects of early Jazz, as well as broadly representative of a specific community and demographic.
> 
> The lyrical subject matter touches on every aspect of the cultural life of this community (including some which are politically incorrect among middle class white society) and features the creative use of language, meter, and rhyme. Also it is no accident that Rap artists use pseudonyms. These are characters created in order to delver messages, often exaggerated, and not necessarily identical to those of the artists.
> 
> ...


It's certainly art ... very bad art.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

elgars ghost said:


> A lot of rap lyrics are unpleasant altogether - for each song denoting genuine struggles in the neighbourhood and being victimised by the police there is another celebrating gang violence, keeping 'b*tch*s' in line and showing off gaudy luxuries which have no doubt been dubiously acquired. Maybe some of these 'songs' were parodies of the shallowness of thug life but judging by the amount of rap stars who die before their time or end up in jail too many seem to want to cross over to the dark side irrespective of whatever social ills there might be right under their noses. Back in the 70s Barrett and Whitfield were among the ones who nailed it with the lyrics of _Ball of Confusion_, George Clinton and his merry funksters tried to bring people together with humour, then early 80s songs like _The Message_ highlighted inner city deprivation and lack of hope. I know rap started off as a kind of militant off-shoot of hip-hop but has it really ever done black credibility any favours?


I don't find the profanity unpleasant but the complete lack of creativity is what kills me. Rappers/producers take bits of other's work and repeat it ad nauseam. The kids love it, of course, because the lyrics glorify taboos and antisocial behavior. The entire genre is terribly bland and depressing.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

A reminder to all: song lyrics are copyrighted and cannot be quoted completely. Several posts have been removed.


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