Black queer fans reflect on Michael K. Williams' groundbreakg portrayals of gay Black men.
Contents:
GAY BLACK MEN RARELY SAW THEMSELV ON SCREEN. MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS CHANGED THAT.
From Tyler, the Creator to Lil Nas X, hip-hop has never had so many stars who intify as gay or bisexual. Is this a blip or a turng pot? * gay black boy *
”Overnight, the 20-year-old Atlanta native — born Montero Lamar Hill — beme the biggt gay pop star the world. ”“It’s hard to be out genr where beg gay, or exprsg your sexualy, is owned upon, ” add platum rapper and sger iLoveMakonnen, born Makonnen Sheran, who rose to fame as a protégé of Drake and me out as gay 2017. ”Before the viral sensatn of “Old Town Road” turned Hill to a pop star and gay in, hip-hop was already reachg a turng pot s clivy, as more young black men explorg sexualy and terrogatg masculy their work are gettg mastream attentn.
) Kev Abstract, founr of hip-hop llective Brockhampton, me out as gay 2016. Rap culture has always been powered by unbridled machismo, and one would be hard prsed to not fd a gay slur embedd the lyrics of any of the genre’s most famo archects. In fact, an entire lexin dited to potg out disfort wh gay men has permeated rap lyrics.
Slang such as “s” and “No homo” and “Pse” that e queerns as a punchle have been thrown around sually for as the old guard has been replaced wh a younger generatn unncerned wh rigid labels and unbothered by genre, today’s rap and R&B scene isn’t as exclively heteronormative as once was. “We know folks our muny have always been religly nservative, and beg gay is still seen as taboo, ” said Ebro Darn, the global edorial head of hip-hop and R&B for Apple Mic and host of “Ebro the Morng” on New York’s Hot 97 rad statn.