Looking for Kanye

Kanye West says "gay" has become an antonym to hip-hop!!! And that it needs to be stopped. What?!!! That statement alone is like Whoa! This is revolutionary. That's why I'm looking for Kanye.

I wonder if Kanye even knows the depths of what this means. He has to know his position and influence in the industry but does he even realize the "hot seat" this places him on, what assumptions will be made about him because of his honesty. If he realized this before his comments, then WHOA!! This is what activism is all about. This is truly revolutionary.

I've been hot and warm on Kanye as an artist. I like him. I'm not goo-goo for him but I like his songs and have even seen him in concert. But I was never crazy about him....UNTIL NOW. Now, I love this man.

Here it is a successful rapper/producer who is really at the beginning of an already flourishing career, but surely more is to come and without apparent fear for loosing what's to come, states this truth. WOW! I've been asking the Universe for this for so long and have often wondered why more {{rappers especially}} haven't come out and spoken the same truth. This is someone who doesn't have to be on the hot-seat of all that will be assumed about him because of such ambitious and brutally honest statements, and he does it, says his truth, the truth about rap and the industry. I'm so impressed. He's the realest of the rappers for me right now.

And I've already seen the chat room discussions, heard the conversations that now questions Kanye's sexuality. STOP IT!! What does it matter? And why not save that for closeted rappers that help perpetuate the problem of homophobia in hip-hop along with the hip-hop homophobes and industry leaders that refuse to challenge this huge problem. Direct that attention to the closeted rappers that Wendy Williams has been so on-point about. {{And I know she's on point for countless reasons - doubtfully another blog because I'm not about the spirit of outing people, even to further our causes.}} Let's not make it harder for another brotha, for another rapper to speak this truth, to combine with Kanye's truth and eventually so many others that will get it that eventually, the problem can be disbanned. Let's not play yet again our own enemy by even engaging in this defeating discussion.

West says hip-hop was always about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He adds that in slang, gay is "the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop. Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.'" Man, I'm buzzing!

This is so great to hear especially after I attended the Atlantis Music Conference here in Atlanta and got somewhat discouraged about the closeted industry that tells me I'm "not going to be accepted as a mainstream artist" because I want to speak my truth about my sexuality within my songs. This and other homophobic messages coming at me from not only straight industry professionals, but sadly US, gay-but-closeted-with-no-plans-to-come-out industry professionals that are afraid of supporting Anthony Antoine and others like me because that support may "out" them. There are US in the music business that have suggested that I go back in the closet in order to be more accepted. This suggested made as the huge pink elephant sits in the room that this nonsense is being spoken by one of us. Does this make any sense? This is coming from US.

Some of us don't even do what Kanye did for ourselves, place ourselves on the hot seat of allowing the stereotypes to be assumed of us in order to change perceptions, a facilitation of social change, showing by example what it truly means to be gay. Some of us don't even challenge homophobia. Why is this? I've said the reason so many times, that we are privledged {{especially black}} folks trying to hold on to our little piece of pie, the piece of pie we so happy to have and afraid to lose. And we don't do these revolutionary acts, say these revolutionary statements because of fear, especially the fear of loosing our tiny piece of pie. And our pie is even smaller than Kanye's but we hold so tight to it. BUT WE COULD HAVE SO MUCH MORE.

If only we would take a chance. If only we wasn't holding on to that little piece of pie. But not Kanye with his statements. Kanye took a huge risk, took a chance. Kanye spoke the truth regardless of the outcomes and he didn't just say it in some small way so that twelve of us would hear it, he said it on MTV. That's why Kanye is so on point for his comments.

So if you run into Kanye, tell him that I'm looking for him. I'm looking for him to say thank-you, thank-you for being about the true essence of hip-hop. Thank-you for saying what so many others in the industry won't say, not even US in the industry will take a chance to say and challenge. Also, tell him I'm looking for him because Kanye's just the type of industry professional that will understand why Anthony Antoine is a premiere jewel of independent artists that exist to combat the very problem he spoke about on MTV. Kanye's just the industry professional to realize what mainstream industry has slept on in Anthony Antoine - and all for the wrong reason.

Damn homophobia in not just hip-hop, not just the music industry, but in life.