Lil Nas X On Hip-Hop’s Macho Culture

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES says despite the incredible success of Lil Was X, that its less a sign of the hip-hop community growing more embracing, but creating an anxiety as the genre/community finds itself at a crossroad.

“I feel like I’m opening the doors for more people,” Hill told the BBC recently. “That they feel more comfortable [being out]. Especially in the … hip-hop community. It’s still not accepted …” (Hill declined to offer further comment for this piece.)

“Hip-hop’s refusal to embrace anything queer has been a blemish on the genre for as long as its been around. Rap culture has always been powered by unbridled machismo, and one would be hard pressed to not find a gay slur embedded in the lyrics of any of the genre’s most famous architects. In fact, an entire lexicon dedicated to pointing out discomfort with gay men has permeated rap lyrics. Slang such as “sus” and “No homo” and “Pause” that use queerness as a punchline have been thrown around casually for years. But as the old guard has been replaced with a younger generation unconcerned with rigid labels and unbothered by genre, today’s rap and R&B scene isn’t as exclusively heteronormative as it once was.” Lil Nas X said.

READ THE FULL the Los Angeles Times STORY HERE.