A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
The hip-hop world has often been criticized for its homophobia, but there has been some progress in recent years.
When the popular R&B singer Frank Ocean revealed that he had been in love with a man, many of his peers expressed their support, and the hit TV show “Empire” features a gay character and explores themes of sexuality. But that isn’t to say the hip-hop community is widely accepting of LGBT artists.
(Warning: The video below contains explicit language.)
Rashard Bradshaw — also known by his stage name, Cakes da Killa — is a 25-year-old rapper from New Jersey. He quickly became known for his aggressive style and explicit lyrics about his queer identity.
The Frame’s James Kim recently spoke with Cakes da Killa during Red Bull's "30 Days in LA" event to find out how he deals with a community that doesn’t quite accept him yet:
I think when I first started rapping, it was more making fun of straight people, which isn't really far from what I'm at now. I have to embarrass them lyrically because a lot of people are just like, You can't do [that]. So that's already pressure. And even though it may seem easy now because of the crap they put on the radio, it's not really easy to rap. So for me, I just feel like the cards are stacked up against me, so I have to be extra malicious.