Celebrate Black Queer Voices: Feb 17 - Pick Up The Mic

 

Yes, there are gay people making hip hop music.  Unfortunately most of these artists are not household names.  Pick Up The Mic: The Evolution of Homohop takes a look into the world of queer individuals making music is a genre with a reputation for being extremely homophobic.  To be honest – some very mainstream hip hop artist are a part of the QUILTBAG community, but sometimes I feel people are unaware of this. Today we can now brag about the accomplishments of artists like Frank Ocean, Big Freedia, and Todrick Hall.  And we also have our old school heads heads like Queen Pen, Monifah and DaBrat who are about that life.

Pick Up The Mic came out in 2006 and at the time of its release, gay people in the world of hip hop was not a thing.  In 2008 author Terrence Dean released his book Hiding In Hip Hop which talk about the unspoken rule of the game, you can’t be no punk, be a hip hop artist and make it onto the charts.  He also spilled the tea that there are some big names in the industry that are secretly closeted, and while he described some individuals; he refused to name drop.

This documentary highlights some of my favorite hip hop artists like Tori Fixx, Tim’m T. West, and Deadlee.  Please check out the trailer below: