by Chris Bodenner
A reader senses that society is ready for the emergence of the first prominent gay rapper:
Maybe I missed it, but I haven’t seen a mention of the current #9 hit on the Top 40 chart – “Same Love” by rapper Macklemore. It was performed just this weekend on the MTV Video Music Awards. Macklemore addresses the issue in as direct a way as you could do it. Slate has a good post on it here.
Though many people on Twitter are assuming Macklemore is gay and bashing him for it. Another reader points to a fictional gay character:
The Wire‘s Omar Little isn’t a gay rapper, but many would consider him the type of street-smart Hood Robin Hood many rappers admire and purport to be in the musical fantasies they sell. I wonder if, and how far, Omar moved the needle.
One person who has definitely moved the needle is Frank Ocean, the black R&B artist who expressed same-sex love in latest album, covered by the Dish here.