by Steven G. Fullwood

Hip-hop culture as we currently know it is about to see drastic change. Oh, men will still be rapping about other men, but some will do so romantically, even lustfully. Lesbians will be rapping about their lovers with a much pride as any straight woman. Hard to fathom? Maybe not. hip-hop, now a powerful cultural force, is slowly but surely evolving. And at the center of this change is the rising visibility of Black Gay men and Lesbians: homie-sexualz, and the recently coined phrase, homo thugz.

Hip-hop, as a bastion of Black straight men, is showing signs of change but it's change that will not come easily. Though there is considerable activity happening on the West Coast with the Gay/Lesbian hip-hop outfit Rainbow Flava rap, artist Tori Fixx and Deep Dickollective, it's the burgeoning New York City Gay hip-hop scene that's shaking up the industry.

New York, origin and nexus of hip-hop culture, boasts a variety of clubs where homie-sexuals can get their groove on almost every day of the week. Several clubs in Manhattan including the Equinox, Third Rail and Lenox Lounge are gathering spaces for hip-hop enthusiasts, bobbing their heads to the latest jams from Jay-Z to DMX. There are numerous New York-based Web sites and "cyber-clubs" dedicated to the discussion of hip-hop culture and the gossip about their favorite artists. James Earl Hardy, author of the best-selling B-Boy Blues, along with a number of writers and artists who use hip-hop culture as their culture of expression, calls the Big Apple their home. Musical acts include the Lesbian/Gay duo Morplay and they perform at Pride events and around the city. The California-based unit Rainbow Flava has a chapter in the city as well.

The first significant sign of change came in the form of an article. Three years ago, a New York magazine called "One Nut" published the infamous article "Confessions of a Gay Rapper". It was written by "Jamal X," a closeted MC whose commentary on being in the life inflamed the entire hip-hop community.

"Jamal X" warned women that their allegedly all-man (translated heterosexual) thugged-out boyfriend may be bringing home more than just the bacon, but maybe HIV/AIDS as well. Whether the story was true or not, people clamored for the rapper's name real name. Adding to that controversy was Wendy Williams, former "gossip queen" at Hot 97, New York's biggest hip-hop radio station. Williams was reported to have a "list" of rappers who were either Gay or were known to have indulged with other brothers. Williams allegedly named three major rappers on her then popular Web site
accusing each of being Gay or Bisexual.

That controversy gave birth to rumors and questions about other rappers in the spotlight including DMX (an alleged former hustler in
Baltimore), Method Man and Redman ("Why are those two together so much?"), Puffy and Mase (The real reason why Mase left the music industry) and others. Still the homophobia in rap music raged on. DMX, Snopp Doggy Dogg, Ice Cube, Canibus, Common, the late Eazy-E, and, interestingly enough, Public Enemy, rapped fast and hard about the faggots they wanted to waste or man-to-man parts that didn't fit. The Black heterosexual imagination is as deep as any ocean and often fraught with a schizophrenic mixture of homophobia on the one hand and homoeroticism on the other.

Gay Men of African Descent, Inc. (GMAD), a New York City-based Black and Latino organization which provides a large range of educational and health programming, held a forum in October that focused on homophobia in hip-hop. Created and hosted by Mark Tuggle, an outreach coordinator with GMAD, the panel featured commentary from editors from VIBE and Source magazines and hip-hop artists, including Taurius Dupree, a 20-something and openly Gay artist from Washington, DC.

Though it appears New York is percolating with Gay hip-hop activity, forum host Tuggle believes that there is no "scene."

"I don't feel that there is a Gay hip-hop scene here--not artist-oriented, anyway," he said. "I don't see it happening. I don't hear about any up and coming artists, writers or producers. Homophobia is so entrenched in our community, that it's hard to have a dialogue. I do, however, feel that it is a part of our community and that hip-hop affirms us. We take a certain amount of pride in it."

As far as cultural movements go, Tuggle believes hip-hop is still in its infancy. However, he is hopeful that visibility among Black Gay men and Lesbians will result in something positive.

"We, both as Blacks and Gays, have a history of being oppressed, but we've always risen to the challenge. We always emerge. It's going to be painful with much resistance from the community. At the same time, I do see people will be judged by their merit, not their sexuality."