HIP HOP'S QUEER PIONEERS
Yes, they’re all gay, but the seven MCs in this portfolio are as different from one another as Kanye and Lil Wayne, with influences that range from Nas to Björk to Jean Cocteau. Yet they do have one other big thing in common: They’re indelibly changing the face—and sound—of rap.
Two sides of Mykki Blanco
“‘Oh, this fag can rap?’ Yeah, they saying that, they listening.”
The lyrics are from the Harlem-based MC Mykki Blanco. But the sentiment expressed in her after-hours party anthem “Wavvy” is shared by other pioneering rappers who bristle at being defined by their sexual orientation—even as it helps bring attention to their work.
The seven artists in this portfolio are wildly diverse, but they’re all about as far from the down-low as possible. In the “Wavvy” video, Blanco evolves from a male street tough in a backwards Raiders cap to a vamping glamazon in stilettos. When the rap duo House of Ladosha played New York City in July, Dosha Devastation accentuated her beard with a leopard-print sarong, gold hoop earrings, and a waist-length wig; Cunty Crawford Ladosha, all six feet eleven of him, rocked In Living Color Fly Girl-style biker shorts; and the group closed with their calling card, “B.M.F.,” short for “black model famous,” a paean to being as fabulous as Naomi Campbell. Artists such as these—once confined to gay clubs and art-world openings—are inching toward the mainstream.
Of course, they stand to benefit from the actions of Frank Ocean, a member of the Odd Future collective (which also includes Syd tha Kid, who’s openly lesbian) who came out in July through an offhand missive on his Tumblr. Ocean’s revelation made waves, but the backlash was more subdued than many had expected. “The fans are more tolerant,” says the rap impresario Russell Simmons. “A catalyst with courage like Frank Ocean making public statements like that can flourish.”
But a sea change was under way even before Ocean’s disclosure. In March, the Grammy-nominated producer Diplo featured the New Orleans bounce rapper Nicky Da B on the dance-floor burner “Express Yourself.” Earlier this year, House of Ladosha opened for Azealia Banks (who came out as bisexual in February). In April, the New York native Le1f released his debut mixtape, Dark York, to critical praise from music authorities like The Fader. “We’ve gotten attention not just for being gay rappers,” Le1f says, “but for being particularly progressive rappers.”
At Paris Fashion Week in March, Zebra Katz’s minimalist, menacing “Ima Read” became a sensation. The song is a sly reference to Paris Is Burning, the 1990 documentary of vogue culture, which defined reading as “the real artform of insult.” But whereas the Harlem queens in Paris Is Burning carved out a separatist society by necessity, only to see their culture co-opted by Madonna, Inc., the new wave of queer rappers are bringing their art, undiluted, straight to the masses. Take Cakes Da Killa’s description of the cover for his debut EP, Easy Bake Oven: “I have nut all over my face. It looks like a porno shot. I was kind of going for that.”
These boundary-breaking artists are hardly the first gay MCs. “There’s always been a 'queer’ presence in hip-hop,” says Andreana Clay, the author of The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back, citing out-and-proud acts like Deep Dickollective and Yo Majesty. Then, Clay adds, “there are artists like André 3000 and Lil Wayne, who vacillate between challenging and upholding a hypermasculine identity—these performers have helped create a space for 'out’ identities in the mainstream.”
But acceptance has been hard-won. While strains of resistant homophobia still run through reggae, country, and metal, rap is responsible for the most explicitly antigay rants to ever go platinum, from Eazy E (“This is one faggot that I had to hurt”) to Eminem (“Hate fags? The answer’s 'yes’”) to Cam'ron’s popularization of the phrase “No Homo"—which Chris Brown directed at Ocean. Yet some surprising members of the hip-hop community rushed to Ocean’s defense, like 50 Cent, who told reporters, "Anyone who has an issue with Frank Ocean is an idiot.”
Ultimately, the artists in this portfolio are linked by their sexuality, but queerness is not a genre of music. It’s just one facet of who they are—and just one way in which they’re pushing hip-hop forward.
Mykki Blanco Age: 26 Hometown: Harlem, New York Résumé: Released the debut EP Mykki Blanco & the Mutant Angels in May; a new mixtape, Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss, is due out this fall. Signature Rhyme: "Nas gave me a perm/ He said, 'You got the hidden gift kid/ Lead them, they’ll learn.’“ —from "Join My Militia (Nas Gave Me a Perm)”
“I’m not someone you can pigeonhole,” says Mykki Blanco, whose fluid approach to gender and genre makes that readily apparent. “You can’t tag me as the rapping transvestite. I never vogued in my life. I’m from a punk and Riot Grrrl background.” Born Michael David Quattlebaum Jr. in Raleigh, North Carolina, Blanco got his first taste of big-city life when, at 16, he ran away to New York. Since then, Blanco has twice dropped out of art school, fronted an industrial-rock outfit, put out a book of poetry (From the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys—published by the OHWOW gallery’s publishing arm), and performed before approving crowds at the New York hot spot Le Baron and Art Basel Miami Beach. Already an art-world favorite, Blanco has his sights squarely set on the mainstream: “Marilyn Manson was the biggest freak of nature in fishnets. I can’t look at him and think I don’t have a shot in popular culture.”
Le1f Age: 23 Hometown: New York City’s Upper West Side Résumé: Released the solo mixtape Dark York in April; Liquid, an EP collaboration with producer Boody, is due out this fall. Signature Rhyme: "This yuppie’s talking blah blah. He wants to Bink my Jar Jar/ He’s twinked out. I’m like nuh uh. I’m laughing at 'em like haha.“—from "Wut”
In the video for “Wut"—a tongue-twisting, horn-honking, hand-clapping track that has garnered more than 350,000 YouTube views—Le1f can be seen busting a cheeky, yet impressive, assortment of moves in daisy dukes. "It felt good to shake my butt in booty shorts,” says Le1f, who graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in dance. By the time he produced Das Racist’s breakout single “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” at 17, Le1f (real name: Khalif Diouf) was already a New York nightlife regular. “My mentors were all in the dark electronic-underground scene,” he says. “Playing shows before 2 A.M. seems weird.” He’s had to adjust, as he’s planning a European tour for the fall. And despite his increasingly packed schedule, Le1f has found time to record Tree House, a high-concept mixtape. “I’m working with the aesthetic of being in a forested, sexy place with songs about sex and associations with flora and fauna.”
Nicky Da B Age: 22 Hometown: 17th Ward (Pigeon Town), New Orleans Résumé: Released the debut album Please Don’t Forget Da B in November 2011; guest raps on Diplo’s “Express Yourself,” released March 2012. Signature Rhyme: "Spread your legs and watch your back/ Go up and down and make it clap.“—from "Express Yourself”
“Some say one word like 'wiggle wiggle wiggle,’ but I make up words and tongue-roll like it’s Jamaican dancehall,” says Nicky Da B. His vocal style is a cutting-edge spin on the drill-sergeant orders typical of New Orleans bounce (hold the “sissy”). Thanks to his appearance on Diplo’s “Express Yourself,” Nicky, a protégé of bounce sensation Big Freedia, has become the genre’s breakout star, bringing his all-booties-on-deck act to packed houses as far away as the Sydney Opera House. “I’m not the person you see on stage,” Nicky says after a late-night gig in July at Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Bowl, where he tongue-rolled as touring dancers and audience members—including one in a camel-toe-flaunting spandex onesie—gyrated beside him. “It’s a Sasha Fierce/Beyoncé thing! Nicky Da B is a wacky character who screams and likes to be the center of attention. My regular persona is a chill little gay dude who likes video games and rarely goes to clubs. I’d rather go out to eat.”
House of Ladosha From left: Dosha Devastation; Cunty Crawford Ladosha Age: 27 (both) Hometown: Brooklyn Résumé: Their first mixtape, Paris Chainsaw Mascara, is due out later this year. Signature Rhyme: "Call up Donatella/ Tell her to send a heli/ Cause I’m bout to drop a milli.“—from "B.M.F.”
“Antonio had this fucked-up DVD of girls fighting,” says Cunty Crawford Ladosha (a.k.a. Adam Radakovich), recalling the first time he met Antonio Blair (now Dosha Devastation) at art school. “There was this girl named Dosha, who got in three fights and lost every one, but she had a lot of chutzpah and was awesome.” And thus House of Ladosha was born. Although the name harks back to the ad hoc “families” in drag-ball culture, Cunty Crawford says they “don’t live in Harlem and go to balls—we watch them on YouTube.” They make the music, while their DJ, Michael Magnan, designs clever T-shirts; one has almost faithful renderings of Tupac’s tattoos (with the word CUNTLIFE swapped in for THUGLIFE). Ladosha’s music is as tough as Tupac’s, too, like the sound of a woman taking her earrings off—right before she pops you one. “We grew up listening to Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown,” Cunty Crawford says. “All that aggressiveness is in our alter egos.”
Cakes Da Killa Age: 21 Hometown: Englewood, New Jersey Résumé: Released an EP, Easy Bake Oven Vol. 1, in October 2011; Vol. 2 is due out later this year. Signature Rhyme: "Play it back in slo-mo/ I got the kinda ass/ Turn a saint into a homo.“—from "Mussy Mayhem”
“I felt people were gonna be like, 'This is just some gay person,’” Cakes Da Killa says of putting out his debut mixtape. “I had to prove I could lay my shit down.” Mission accomplished, with throwback nineties beats and risqué lyrics (e.g., “I’m in need of a protein facial”) singled out for praise by Pitchfork and The Fader. “I don’t know why people want to focus on the queens now, but queens do it right,” says Cakes, a.k.a. Rashard Bradshaw. “I don’t have a gay agenda. I’m just raunchy, ratchet, and gutter. I need to work on that.” When he doesn’t have a mic in hand, Cakes is quite wholesome: an undergrad at Montclair State University who spent his summer as a dorm RA. He’s aware of the dichotomy. “I’m strict at my nine-to-five,” Cakes says, putting on a fake thug accent. “I’m out here makin’ this money at a summah camp!”
Big Dipper Age: 27 Hometown: Chicago’s North Side Résumé: Released popular YouTube singles like “Drip Drop” in December 2011 and “Summertime Realness” (with Rica-Shay) in July 2012. Signature Rhyme: "My tenderloin is fresh/ No expiration date on this hairy butt sex.“—from ”Meat Quotient“
Working in the great tradition of hip-hop jokesters Ugly Duckling, the Fat Boys, and Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island Crew, Big Dipper became a crossover viral sensation last spring with the video for "Drip Drop"—a Bambi-sampling, dancehall-inspired raunchfest that shows the former improv trouper frolicking in the forest with a teddy-bear hood on. To maintain the self-contained reality of his stage persona, Big Dipper won’t reveal his real name, yet he’s perfectly at ease playing with stereotypes. "If someone wants to call me a bear, more power to them,” Dipper says. “I fuck bears—but I hang out with lesbians.” Buoyed by the popularity of his videos, Dipper’s intricately choreographed performances have become a hot ticket in Chicago, at both gay clubs (Berlin) and sexually agnostic hipster venues (Beauty Bar). And he’s nothing if not ambitious: “I love bubblegum pop,” Dipper says. “I try to stage my show like a Britney arena concert.”
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