Lord Jamar calls Kanye West ‘queer’
Brand Nubian member Lord Jamar followed his Twitter comments regarding Kanye West wearing a skirt at the “12-12-12” Benefit Concert for Hurricane Sandy this past December with a new diss track aimed at West and what Jamar feels is a movement to feminize men in hip-hop. In January, Jamar initially posted an Instagram photo of West and tweeted, “Y’all Cee where the Kanye s–t is takin us right? #halfaf-g.”
His new track, “Lift Up Your Skirt” again takes aim at West.
“Somebody mad at my hash tag,” he raps. “Instagram, Black man lookin’ half a f-g/With a blazer and vest, I’m just amazed at the mess/Pioneer of this queer s–t is Kanye West/He introduced the skinny jeans to the rap scene/Then he wore a f—ing skirt on the video screen/Then he wore it again at a memorial/I can’t pretend that this s–t ain’t deplorable/I bet this n—a thinkin’ he lookin’ adorable/Your music’s good but your ego is horrible…”
But Jamar has been involved in a few controversial moments regarding hip-hop and homophobia over the years.
In 1991, A Tribe Called Quest and Brand Nubian recorded an unreleased track called “Georgie Porgie” that they later re-worked into the more well-known song “Show Business” on their landmark album The Low End Theory. On the song, rappers Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Sadat X, Grand Puba and, yes, Lord Jamar all proudly voice their disdain for homosexuality.
Brand Nubian were also at the center of controversy two years later, when the unedited version of their hit single “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down” was released with Sadat X’s verse coming under fire what sounded like advocacy to violently attack gay men (“f–k up a f—-t.”)
Homophobia in hip-hop is nothing new, but sometimes the more “conscious” arm of the genre gets a pass for having just as hateful a perspective towards the LGBT community as some of the more “gangsta” artists. Additionally, it appears that attitudes in hip-hop in general are changing regarding homosexuality, with stars like Frank Ocean coming out, and others like Eminem changing their views over the years regarding the LGBT community. But in the wake of Jamar’s Kanye diss, we unearthed 10 of conscious hip-hop’s most homophobic lyrics …
