Coming out in the hip hop world

In the past week, Frank Ocean debuted a critically acclaimed hip hop album titled "Channel Orange" that is expected to sell over 100,000 copies.  However, this achievement has largely been overshadowed by his announcement days earlier that he is gay in a lengthy love letter to the man who helped him come to this realization a few summers ago.  He said that sharing his sexuality with the world would clear the way for him to enjoy the success of his album and show the world he is proud of himself.  The announcement was essentially unprecedented in that it made him the first famous gay male hip hop artist.

As a hip hop artist, Ocean is clearly aware of the stereotypes that exist about the community.  Hip hop music is stereotypically depicted as being awash in explicit sexuality and showy displays of masculinity.  As a member of the hip hop collective Odd Future, Ocean and his contemporaries are keenly aware of this reputation.  Odd Future drew criticism for over-the-top lyrics that were often violent, sexist, or—ironically—homophobic.  Odd Future member Tyler the Creator has repeatedly stated that in spite of his propensity to use the term "faggot" in his lyrics, he is not homophobic at all.  It would seem that Frank Ocean takes Tyler the Creator's answer for face value, as does the group's producer Syd Da Kyd, who has been openly lesbian for some time.  Such an answer suggests that Tyler the Creator has crafted a transgressive approach to lyricism, flagrantly displaying some of the uglier sides of rap music.  Clearly, hip hop culture is in transition period.  At the same time, the past year has seen a debate over whether the black community holds disproportionately strong homophobic undercurrent, a controversy which led the NAACP to officially endorse marriage equality this May.

Because of the precedence of Frank Ocean's announcement, he will likely serve as the gay role model in hip hop/rap for some time to come, a role that does not come without considerable pressure due to the culture into which this announcement was made.  The article "Gendered Relationships on Television: Portrayals of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples" by Holz Ivory et al discusses the underrepresentation of LGBTQ individuals in the media, and that when such portrayals are present, they are highly stereotyped.  Ocean's announcement has clearly subverted stereotypes about rappers being heterosexual, but clearly homosexuals are still underrepresented in rap music (because most articles on Frank Ocean refer to him as being the 'first famous gay rapper') and in essentially every other form of media.  Still, Ocean has taken the first (and perhaps most difficult step) in the direction toward sexual diversity and equality.