Hip Hop Homos on TV

Gordon
October 3 2005, 1:58PM

I think that the Hip Hop movement was birthed out of a culture that is urban and out of everything that is black. There should be more than one black person on the show. I've seen the previews and the artist are not that good anyways.

Hip Hop is a culture and those that support it that were born and raised in the suburbs could only identify to a certain extent and they will never be true hip hop.

G

Ramizz
October 3 2005, 2:08PM

Keith there are black rappers,just nobody contacted them, and perhaps they had no idea this documentary was being made. There is a rapper out of NYC who was profiled in Vibe, there are many others but keep in mind of those who really run the industry, and keep their voices from being heard, they do however as you well know exist...come out come out wherever you are! Spit it out...loud and clear!

Kenneth Winfrey
October 3 2005, 2:42PM

I saw this preview a few days ago, but missed part of it and didn't take it seriously. How ironic that I also just saw the movie "Little Richard" for the first time yesterday. I always knew about white artists covering Black music over the years, but I didn't know about Pat Boone specifically. The coincidence here is the fact that many non-Black hip-hop artists are about as effective as Pat Boone was covering Little Richard. Ear plugs are strongly suggested...

That leads me to the question of the necessity to exclude (or the failure to include) Black artists in this documentary. This is obviously done without regard to the Bronx-based, Black roots of hip-hop--and all in good time of VH1's recent hip hop review "Hip Hop Honors" (SEE: http://www.vh1.com/shows/events/hip_hop_honors/2005/). Therefore, this documentary is incomplete. You cannot make a documentary (or even begin a documentary series) on hip-hop, gay or straight, without including Black artists. Was this done intentionally for crossover appeal and, does this indicate that a greater gay audience would be attracted to cast members who are not Black? Perhaps it was just a poor creative decision to do something different...yeah, whatever.

As a member of the hip-hop generation (who still remembers every word of "Rapper's Delight"), I can't help but feeling that something has been stolen. I feel as though a bunch of strangers crashed a party of friends, hogged the turn table and the dance floor, then called it their own. Is the larger so-called "gay community" simply determined to alienate Black people?

jazzi
October 3 2005, 2:50PM

I'm watching the program now & I'm saying the same thing. Where's Kaushun? Could they not find ONE Black, gay, aspiring rap artist? Did they even look?

I check out some of the programming on LOGO & here! (a local gay channel) & I think it's nice to have a whole network that caters to the gay community but it doesn't really hold my interest because I don't see myself reflected in the programming. There isn't a balance. "Ski Trip" & "Noah's Arc" (which I will be watching) aren't enough. Maybe it's just me but I feel like they're just throwing us a bone. Maybe I'm wrong. All I know is our lives are not that much different in that we too must deal with the closet & coming out issues, homophobia, domestic partners, politics, etc. I think they need to do a better job at reflecting the diversity of the community.

That said, WE must make ourselves heard & become more visable.

Kevin C
October 3 2005, 3:47PM

Keith, I hope you're reading the comments on this subject. Once again, I would like you to see you with your own show. This way, you can showcase many of the black gay artist/political activist other programs miss.

Please give it some thought.

Kevin C
ATL

Juba Kalamka
October 3 2005, 4:09PM

For what it's worth:

- Joseph "Deadlee" Lee's father is African American...not that anyone who's seen the movie would know that on sight, or _should have_. Or that it should have mattered.Just sayin'so,in light of non-white folks experience of (and adherence to) myths of purity. I don't know if Deadlee got into any of his family history/backstory (haven't seen the film yet) but it's really interesting in light of the "where are the black folks" question people brought up.

-though he unfortunately _never actually released a record_(not even an MP3 or single..nothing) in the middle of the buzz created around him,Caushun has indeed been terribly important to the public notion of the existence of out LGBT hip hop performers."Hip Hop Homos" and other forthcoming projects are happening in part because of that brief flurry of press.

-Dave O'Brien produced "Hip Hop Homos" with a small grant he won while in film school at the University Of Southern California (USC). He recieved the grant in part based on a treatment for the film he shot in Oakland and oother locales with a few artists,including myself and my group,Deep Dickollective.

-Given his budget and time constraints, Dave focused on those artists he had most immediate access to and the longest relationships with. Deadlee lives and works in Los Angeles. God-Des was an undergraduate classmate of O'Brien's at the University Of Wisconsin,Madison.

-Much of the filming for "Hip Hop Homos" was done in 2003 in Oakland at my home and at the PeaceOUT Homohop Festival, which I book and produce with A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Records founder Matt Wobensmith.

-With both valid and specious arguments considered,"Hip Hop Homos" still stands as inportant moment in the continuing development of the scene and intelligent coverage by LGBT print and filmed media (white and non-white),most of which until recently had been flippant,ingnorant and condescending,if not outwardly antagonistic toward out queer independent hip hop artists and their work....black,white, or whatever. I'm glad to have been a part of "Hip Hop Homos" making it from an idea to the TV screen.

-Alex Hinton's "Pick Up The Mic"(Planet Janice Films) a 95 minute feature documentary on the life and work of out LGBT hip hop artists, premiered at the 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 8-17)to rave reviews. Deadlee,God-Des, and Tori Fixx and Deep Dickollective are among the 10 or so artists featured in the film.

Its gotten a lot of great press, and with some luck will be in theaters internationally next spring.You can get updates on the release at
http://www.pickupthemic.com

for more info on the scene and artists in general
visit http://www.gayhiphop.com

peace,
(and thanks for reading)

Juba Kalamka aka Pointfivefag
founding member,Deep Dickollective (D/DC)
owner, Sugartruck Recordings
director,PeaceOUT World Homohop Festival
http://www.peaceoutfestival.com
http://www.sugartruckrecordings.com

Tim'm
October 3 2005, 5:31PM

Thanks for the shout, Keith!

While it may not have been the intention of the producers of Hip Hop homos to exclude the vast number of African-American people at the forefront of the movement, it's outright negligent to do so and expect to hear nothing about it. i think I'd be more concerned if no one noticed or raised any concerns. It's not so much about trying to "police" blackness in hip hop, but to scrutinize any accounts of music rooted in black cultural experience that seem to slight that reality. It'd be like watching a history of the NBA without black people or an HBCU promotional video featuring primarily "minority" (white) scholarship students.....just one of those things that should make you go (more than) hmmmmmm.

still haven't seen the film, but did think that Hinton's "Pick Up the Mic" did a great job of not just highlighting the struggles of black lgbtq/sgl hip hop artists, but the additional layers of complication that occur when brothas and sistahs are committed to creating work in a genre which has, institutionally, sustained barriers for gay folks.

People are listening though...there's not a week that passes when many of us aren't gigging or travelling for audiences of 25 to 10,000. I just sometimes wonder why black gay institutions haven't done more to support and highlight this work.

my twenty-five sense,

Tim'm T. West AKA 25percenter of Deep Dickollective (another co-founder)
Washington, DC
www.deepdickollective.com
www.reddirt.biz

Ross Kincaid
October 3 2005, 10:54PM

What ever happened to Kaushun? Russell Simmons was promoting him with his wife Kimora than POOF, he disappeared into thin air. I think the hip hop community let Russel HAVE it about promoting Kaushun

a BrOtHa NaMeD $HaRiF
October 4 2005, 12:02AM

KEITH,

This is something I have notice on gay shows like Will & Grace, Queer Eye. . ,Queer As Folk (All which I stop watching after one month because of no black cast members) and cabel channels like Here! (which I canceled after one week of not seeing any blacks on any type of shows), even though these are gay oriented they don't reflect the whole gay community, they only reflect the WHITE part, and that was something that was mind blowing to me to think that the gay community is divided by RACISM, because that is what it looks like to me. I will watch Noah's Arc when it comes on and then turn to another channel because that is the only thing on LOGO I relate to, they are luck it is a basic cable channel because if I had to pay for that channel, it simply would not happen, I would just wait for Noah's Arc to come out on DVD, if it ever would happen because Polk never brought Punks out on DVD, so I never ever seen it. Do you find that strange? Keith, I guess one day somebody will have the guts to have a black gay channel, I then will rejoice because the shows and channels now (except Noah's Arc)really seem like there is nothing for black gays. do you think there will ever be a black gay channel? Maybe then black gay artist would get the exposure they deserve.

**a BrOtHa NaMeD $HaRiF**

crackulatin'
October 4 2005, 9:46AM

I know the maker of the movie was short on money basically by what was said in previous posts.

Nevertheless, you can't start a documentary on hip hop regardless of the orientation of the artists without coming to NYC.

You don't start out in the Bay area or the west coast period. Thats like doing a blues documentary and interviewing/profiling people in Wisconsin.

Doug
October 4 2005, 12:05PM

Where are the black gay film documentarians who SHOULD be doing this? I tire of seeing so many of us hand over our culture to other people.

taylor Siluwé
October 4 2005, 2:41PM

God-des performed at Jersey City Pride in August and they rocked!

I'm looking forward to more good things from these two.

Erick
October 4 2005, 8:39PM

Like keeping with the goal of having our own quality, entertaining and informative print publications, I believe we must also envision our own television network. The creaters of BET and Ebony/Jet magazines realized this and we must do the same. No one is going to be able to represent us like only we can.

Dale
October 8 2005, 9:48AM

Keith,

I think those of that have watched LOGO truly recognize that there is no real representation of Black Gay culture what so ever. There closet attempt was airing that foolish movie Ski Trip (a total waste of money to display stereotypical view of white gay America has of black gays. Cross a the three Stooges with some queens from Christopher Street, Castro Street, West Hollywood…and you have the makings of Ski Trip)

Does LOGO employee any people of color to help examine the cultural diversity of what they are programming? I doubt it. It is clearing has a targeted audience of white gay men. Even with them picking up Noah’s Arc; it is really for their taget audience. Watching LOGO is like taking a trip to any of the bars on Christopher Street, Castro Street, or West Hollywood. So once again we are stuck in position where we are allowing the networks define our identity and our culture.

So why expect anything different from the Hip Hop Homo show?