When it comes to hip-hop’s newest class of stars, A$AP Rocky is at the front of the pack , bringing about not only a change in style for the ever-evolving genre, but a change in the overall mind-set as he continues to champion the idea of a hip-hop community where homophobia is nonexistent.
In a new interview with Interview magazine, Rocky spoke with one of his favorite designers, Alexander Wang, and explained that he’s tired of the public thinking that everyone in hip-hop is homophobic.
“For instance, one big issue in hip-hop is the gay thing. It’s 2013, and it’s a shame that, to this day, that topic still gets people all excited,” said Rocky. “It’s crazy. And it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid — and that’s not the case.”
In Rocky’s mind, it’s time to change the idea that hip-hop is a completely homophobic genre and push his listeners to be more accepting of people of all sexual orientations.
“We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that. I treat everybody equal, and so I want to be sure that my listeners and my followers do the same if they’re gonna represent me. And if I’m gonna represent them, then I also want to do it in a good way,” he said.
Though it’s safe to say that hip-hop, as well as other areas of entertainment, have a long way to go before erasing homophobia, it’s still great to see Rocky pushing the genre in the direction of equality and acceptance. Check out some other big LGBT allies in hip-hop below. –nicholas robinson
