Hey Macklemore! Can we stop now please?

Over the weekend the hip-hop blogs/forums were hyping about Drake giving a statement to Rolling Stones magazine saying that Macklemore’s text to Kendrick after the Grammy fiasco was ‘wack’. As an avid and self confessed hip-hop fan, it’s safe to say that I also came away from the Grammy’s feeling anything less than pleased. I’m sure you have read all over social network sites about the hip-hop community going mental when Macklemore won Grammy’s over Kendrick, Kanye Jay Z and Drake. I do like Macklemore (to a certain extent), but the fact he is doing ‘so well’ for hip-hop does really grind my gears. 

Okay, when I'm in the club and the DJ plays thrift shop I’ll admit that I am the first on the dance floor. This probably has more to do with the fact that this is far as hip-hop will go in the clubbing scene as I'm sure you all now. I also think the White Walls video is amazing and recently have been watching it on repeat (I can’t help thinking that the ScHoolboy Q feature might be a contributing factor for this though).  I’m not going to focus on the issue of race or even sit here and list off 1000 reasons as to why Kendrick should have gone home with that Grammy (which I could do by the way). Instead I want to talk about an issue that many choose to miss. To me, Macklemore is making a name for himself by highlighting, and arguably making himself a figurehead for, a community that he doesn't even belong to. This community is the ‘gay rap’ community. 

Macklemore is a straight man; he admits that in a lot of his tracks but still chooses to highlight the struggle he faced because  a lot of people assumed he was gay (YAWN!) I keep seeing articles across the internet praising him for tackling such a controversial topic. Now let me tell you, there is such a thing as ‘gay rap’, ‘gay rappers’ and ‘gay rap’ fans and although it may not be part of the mainstream -yet- we are here! So instead of getting angry over choices I cannot control or change I am going to use this space to introduce you to (or hopefully remind of) some of my favourites!

Le1f
Le1f is an American rapper and producer who is openly gay. Below is the video for his 2012 track ‘Wut’ and I am daring you to watch/listen.  When I first heard this track I remember thinking 'wow it sounds a lot like something else I’ve heard' (see if you can guess which track, because I then checked and realised that this track was released earlier-cough-Macklemore-cough-). It’s a little different and quirky but that’s what I love about it. Last summer I was lucky enough to see Le1f in concert FOR FREE at a local bar in Bristol. His stage presence is so fabulous and one of my favourite memories of the night was him singing this song. As he stuck his hand in the air and bent forward I can remember thinking that the sweat beads on his back glistened and shone like glitter. It was what you would call f**kin glamorous and there is absolutely no other way to describe it.

Brooke Candy

I am not going to lie to you, I first found out about Brooke Candy through tumblr. I remember looking at pictures thinking who the hell is this fierce dressing b*tch? It didn't take me much stalking before I found her. After listening to a few of her songs I fell in love. Not only did this girl have impeccable style, she could rap and she rapped about stuff I cared about. Brooke Candy is a fabulous feminist who tackles the issue in a modern, and may I add perfectly respectable, way through her lyrics. So next time someone calls you a sl*t, tell em Brooke Candy told you not to give a f**k!

Mykki Blanco

Modern hip-hop belongs to Mykki Blanco. Seriously this guy is a genius when it comes to hot beats. He started out as a published poet before releasing his mixtape Cosmic Angel: The illuminati Prince/ss in 2012 under his stage name and persona Mykki Blanco. The first track I heard from him was Wavvy and it literally got me hooked. The idea of a rapper in drag is something a lot of hip-hop fans cannot comprehend. However I think this is absolutely ridiculous because honestly I don’t think I would be that passionate about finding more new music if I hadn't of discovered Blanco. His beats are new and his lyrics are incredibly clever. I can’t wait to see great things from him.

These are a just a few of many ‘gay rappers’ out there and to be honest are probably the most well-known. You don’t have to go that far to find them. You might just have to look a little further than The Heist. 

Do you have any recommendations? What do you make of Macklemore and his presence in the mainstream as a gay rapper?

Disclaimer: Sorry about the swearing, I tend to get a little bit passionate when talking about the things I love. Also the images do not belong me. Credit should go where it is due.