HelloBeautiful blogger and published author of Hiding in Hip-Hop: On the Down Low, Terrance Dean granted XXL Magazine an exclusive interview where he talked about homosexuality. With Mister Cee facing much public scrutiny from a gay sex scandal that rocked the Hip Hop world and artist Lil’ B naming his album “I’m Gay” Terrence weighs in on the future of homosexuality in Hip-Hop.
XXLMag.com: What do you think about him naming his album I’m Gay and not being gay?
Terrance Dean: Well, yeah, that’s what I thought was ironic. It immediately took me back to the campaign we did at MTV where we said, “I have AIDS.” Will Smith, a lot of artists and celebrities were wearing the T-Shirts that said, “I have AIDS.” I think we have to realize that we are all a part of the community of hip-hop, so regardless of if it’s someone who’s gay or someone of a different color, you know, whatever faith, religion, things like that, we’re still called and build the body of hip-hop. It’s almost like you can’t deny yourself and still be a part of yourself, so for him to say, “I am gay,” it’s almost like a declaration saying, “You know what? There are gay people that make up hip-hop or are a part of it who help keep it going and who help idolize and be a part of the body of hip-hop.” Plus, we’re all gay in hip-hop. We’re all gangstas, we’re all whatever each person wants to say what they are a part of hip-hop. I think he’s revolutionary. I think with his lyrics and him thinking outside of the box with what he’s done so far as an underground artist, and I think he’s a part of a new guard that needs to be changed in hip-hop. It’s so antiquated. You look at hip-hop, you know there are—the people are old and 30 and 40 and 50 years old who are still trying to hold on to the way hip-hop used to be and not realizing that hip-hop is no longer the antiquated way that it used to be. There’s a new generation. New thoughts of hip-hop. That’s progressive. These young kids are very progressive.
XXL: So what do you think about the whole Mister Cee situation?
TD: I think the reason why people such as Mister Cee, because it’s alleged and we have to wait ‘til June, which is ironically when my next book comes out, Mogul, which is ironically eerily similar to Mister Cee’s situation. But, I think what prevents a lot of men from coming out and acknowledging their sexuality is because we miss a whole section of men who identify as bisexual. So they don’t know. I think because we dismissed that part of the LGBT conversation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. We always forget the B, which is bisexual. And I think men who could be like Mister Cee, who are probably bisexual and who enjoy sex relationships with men and women, don’t know that that’s who they are because we tend to bump them in the category of, “Well, you’re with this man, so automatically, you’re gay…or you’re on the down-low.” And it’s like, well, no because there is that B-word, which is like bisexual. He could very much so, like a lot of men in hip-hop could be, bisexual, but they’re afraid to admit it. I don’t think they’re ready to admit to themselves. I don’t think women are ready to have that conversation of acceptance of letting a man be bisexual, when it’s very accepting of women to be.
Click here, for the full article over at XXL.com
