Today, we know Pride Month as a time to celebrate who you are. It’s a commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride. Events such as parades, festivals, and concerts take place all across the globe to pay tribute to LGBTQ+ culture, history, and community.
However, the birth of Pride Month came at the cost of discrimination, oppression, and police brutality.
This article highlights Pride Month's origins and its complicated relationship with Hip Hop — for a genre that has given a voice to so many people who have been silenced, why has accepting the LGBTQ+ movement within Hip Hop been such an uphill battle?
Pride Month was born out of violence and police brutality
Up until the 1970s in New York, homosexuality was considered a criminal offence. You could have been arrested if you masqueraded as a member of the opposite sex. Police raids were common, raiding gay bars as they pleased. While small protests occurred during that time, it was drowned out by the anti-war movement the Vietnam War spurred on.
It wasn’t until the raid of the Stonewall Inn – a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village, NY – on June 28, 1969, that everything changed. Claiming the property had violated liquor laws, the routine raid did not go as planned. A huge scuffle broke out, pushing the gay liberation front and supporting bystanders to a breaking point.
Not the Actual Stonewall Rising Riots
People had enough. Their passive resistance tactics weren’t working, so they took to the streets to protest and rioted over the next 6 days. The Stonewall Uprising was the outcry that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ movement.
To mark the first anniversary of this event, gay protest parades were held in San Francisco, LA, and New York (known then as the “Christopher Street Liberation Day March”) the following year. These parades were specifically designed to continue the activism from that original uprising. The Stonewall Uprising convinced activists to be louder and more visible, coining the rally cry “loud and proud.”
This tradition would continue annually, shining a light on sexual discrimination for the rest of America and the world to see, with President Bill Clinton officially declaring it “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999.
The symbol of Pride
It wasn’t until the planning of San Francisco’s 1978 “Gay Freedom Day” that activist, Gilbert Baker, felt this movement needed a symbol. He saw flags as extremely powerful, envisioning armies marching into war with them, and the gay rights movement needed something as readily available as America’s stars and stripes.
The rainbow had always represented hope, beauty and love. Baker sought to take this beautiful symbol from nature and have it represent people who were deemed unnatural and required to live in the shadows.
The idea was a huge hit. While the original flag was hand-made with 8 colours, flag manufacturers were limited in certain colours, simplifying it to 6, each stripe representing the values of the gay rights movement: life, healing, sunlight, nature, serenity, and spirit.
Pride and Hip Hop were born in the same neighbourhood
Dealing with their own issues of oppression and discrimination, Hip Hop was born in the same New York streets 4 years later. Check out this article on the brief history of Hip Hop and its connections with Black History Month to learn more.
However, despite facing similar issues of police brutality and economic inequality, the genre has historically struggled with homophobia. Many pioneers grew up with the same sentiment of patriarchy and homophobia as the rest of society and it reflected in their music. Most Hip Hop artists are religious and echo the Bible's stance of homosexuality as immoral or sinful. On top of that, Hip Hop was initially forged a space for hyper-masculinity and the hetero-black man was always trained to be rough, tough, and hard.
This can be heard in NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.” This 1987 revolutionary album contained songs considered staples of the genre but often included anti-gay sentiments. Their efforts to popularize the gangster rap genre also unwittingly popularized an issue that has plagued rap music ever since – the frequent use of homophobic attitudes, remarks, and slurs.
While there are countless Hip Hop songs and lyrics that are too derogatory or vulgar to reference, it is safe to say that Hip Hop did not support gay representation. Even today, many are still divided, with some claiming Hip Hop and gay don’t mix.
Changing with the times
As the world grows and evolves toward inclusivity, so have many prominent Hip Hop artists and their views toward the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2004, Kanye West was one of the first rap artists to speak out against homophobia publicly. “Hip Hop was about speaking your mind, fighting for your rights, and breaking down barriers but Hip Hop discriminates against gay people,” West reflects. He recalls when it clicked for him. His lyrics once discriminated against gays but after his cousin mustered the strength to come out as gay, he realized that continuing on the same path meant discriminating against his own family.
When Frank Ocean announced he was gay in 2012, established hetero Hip Hop artists such as Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes publicly showed support for him. “You couldn’t announce being gay [back in the day]. You would receive so much negativity, scrutiny and hate because that’s what we were brainwashed and trained to know,” Snoop says, “[but] if people support Frank, then they’re gonna support the next rapper that makes the next move.” Busta Rhymes is a huge fan of Frank Ocean, supporting and respecting those who courageously choose and walk their path.
In the 2010s, Tyler the Creator bursted into the Hip Hop scene making many homophobic references that were common in rap music. As his career progressed, he eventually came out as queer himself. His song, “Garden Shed,” was a metaphor for concealing his sexuality through his homophobic lyrics in the past. And his album, “Igor,” dedicated to his boyfriend at the time, won the 2020 Grammy for Best Album of the Year.
Finally, Kendrick Lamar dedicated his song, “Auntie Diaries,” to his transgender uncle and cousin, artistically expressing acceptance of his relatives. And if one of the most established Hip Hop artists puts this song in one of the biggest album drops in the past few years, LGBTQ+ awareness will undoubtedly create a long-lasting impact on the Hip Hop community.
With time and acceptance, gay artists such as Frank Ocean, Lil Nas X, Lil Uzi Vert, Megan Thee Stallion, Saucy Santana, Big Freedia, Queen Latifah, and Da Brat are opening up about their sexuality. These artists are some of the most in-demand to work with and well-respected within the community today.
Since these artists have made their way into prominence, there has been no such wave of homophobic rap music since. In fact, there are consequences for being anti-gay in public, as one unnamed rapper was kicked off the bill at a Miami Music Festival for his homophobic comments.
Macklemore's “Same Love” music video addressing same-sex marriage, which is now an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community.
Hip Hop is a counter-cultural movement founded by Black artists who didn’t have voices, reflecting their reality through music. Queer artists have always been precisely what rap music has stood for: standing up for your rights. To say queer artists are not a part of Hip Hop is hypocritical.
You have the opportunity to be on the right side of history
Homophobia is not just a Hip Hop problem, it’s a people problem.
Pride Month reminds us that the LGBTQ+ community faces as much oppression today as the Hip Hop community did in their rise to global acceptance. But unlike the society that closed their hearts and minds to the gay community in the 70s and 80s, we can do better.
By supporting Pride Month, you:
- help highlight issues such as discrimination, violence, and legal inequities.
- promote the education and awareness about LGBTQ+ history, contributions, and challenges
- foster a sense of community and solidarity among LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, creating safe spaces for support and connection, and
- celebrate the inclusion of diverse identities and experiences within the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
The more we accept others for who they are, the more we bring visibility of pride and the LGBTQ+ community. It represents what Hip Hop is about – Standing in the face of homophobia without asking and proudly declaring who you are, and nobody is going to change that.
Each city has its own Pride website. For Calgary, please visit https://calgarypride.ca/ to learn what is happening within your area. This year, Calgary’s Pride Parade and Festival will take place from August 31st to September 1st, 2024 at Prince’s Island Park.
