It’s no secret that there’s been a longstanding stigma when it comes to homosexuality in hip-hop. Some artists have even had their rap careers tarnished by rumors that they were connected to someone of the same sex. As a new generation of hip-hop consumers emerge and artists are living in their truth when it comes to their sexuality, the culture is proving to be more open-minded than ever before.
One of the biggest examples of hip-hop’s growth when it comes to LGBTQ+ acceptance is Lil Nas X. The Georgia-bred artist had the biggest song on the planet when he came out on the last day of Pride Month in June of 2019. Since then, the “Old Town Road” rhymer has continued to wave the flag for rappers in the queer community, helping push the movement further into the mainstream.
Young M.A has been forthright about her sexual orientation from the jump, speaking freely about her sexual preferences often in her music. She’s even embraced it on a new level, having come out with a line of sex toys called Play NYCe in 2020.
In 2017, when being out in hip-hop still seemed taboo, iLoveMakonnen proclaimed he is a gay man on both Twitter and Instagram. “As a fashion icon, I can’t tell u about everybody else’s closet, I can only tell u about mine, and it’s time I’ve come out. And since y’all love breaking news, here’s some old news to break, I’m gay. And now I’ve told u about my life,maybe u can go [live] yours,” he tweeted.
With so many rappers, singers and producers in hip-hop coming out of the closet and being embraced rather than shunned by their peers, it seems the genre might finally be letting go of its prejudice. Here’s a look at hip-hop artists who embrace being gay, lesbian or bisexual.
