Offset The Cause?

Last February rap group Migos caught fire for controversial comments made about rapper ILOVEMAKONNEN coming out as gay. Although members of the group suggested that they did not have an issue with anyone belonging to the LGBTQ community their lyrical content seems to suggest otherwise. Migos’ rapper Offset’s took to Instagram this morning defend his recent choice of lyrics used in a recently dropped (December) YFN Lucci song. On Lucci’s “Boss Life” track he raps “Pinky ring crystal clear, 40k spent on a private Lear/ 60k solitaire/ I cannot vibe with queers.” This apparently is not sitting well with fans/social media as this comes across as another case of the group appearing to be homophobic. When comments from their February 2017 interview were released the group spoke collectively on how they were not homophobic and that they loved all of their fans. Now today, the rapper is being forced to justify lyrical content that seems to place him in the homophobic category and members of the group are all obviously guilty by association. Offset took to his Insta-Story to defends his lyrics and to explain why he used the word queer. Read what he has to say below:

Although the rapper appears to be remorseful and apologetic it’s unclear as to what his true intent really was. Understanding the level of stigma placed on gay men of color especially is important to not when thinking this over. So many things are reported over social media as news that it honestly hard to know what to believe. Rappers have used derogatory terms to describe their dismay for the LGBTQ community and it’s become almost a norm. Today’s news is filled with racist headlines and political controversy regarding class, gender and race. For years we’ve ALL listened to rap songs filled with homophobic lyrics and one sided gender acceptance (men preferring women to be gay over men). One of my all-time favorite rappers Ghostface Killah has made blatant references of gay men being an obscenity to the world. Making it hard for me to find balance in what’s prejudice versus common opinion. When I saw the commentary about Offset’s lyrics I was more enthralled by what was being said about the Black community not being more vocal about our black men being prejudice against gay black men. I could identify with some statements being made regarding a culture not having a specific group of people within the culture being accepted because I’ve experienced those prejudices from family and persons who I thought to be friends. Having these kinds of experience puts me on the fence about what people should be mad at versus what they are. Troubling enough I’ve found more disturbance in the Black community not having unity amongst themselves as a whole. The last time we saw black people standing up collectively in defense of each was probably the Rodney King riots. Still, from that event Blacks have seem to stall at supporting each other positively in regards to growth, education and rebuilding the culture. That problem seems to be more impactful than how some guys feel about black men who are gay. We cannot get upset over anyone describing persons that they don’t want around them in a song when those feelings are displayed among Black people everyday.

So it’s very obvious that people are choosing to voice their opinions on things based on ‘convenience of the times’ and how everyone is just so pressed to be aware. Let’s start by acknowledging how rap songs by men women of color and other races are filled with the word NIGGA. Also how there’s never been any real change of the recent music put out by many black rap artist who’s stance on today’s world involves promoting drug use, sex and violence more than ever. My fight is not with Offset or any of the other Migos but it’s with people not discussing how torn apart we are as a people. We lack basic human kindness for one another but will be repspectful to those of another race. It’s that part that causes me to question why it should even have to be explained since everyone will form opinions and believe what they want anyway.

My take – his lyrical content will never match his behavior, he understands that he is in the public eye and has obvious had someone ‘managing’ what he and the rest of his group members say. The internet has become a place of negativity and scrutiny in which entertainers and those we chose to make celebrities are place under pressure to not be their natural selves. To that effect his opinion about queers whether it be a gay man or a stalker-ish person are just that his opinion, you don’t like it don’t listen. Until then be mindful of how YOU are expressing your opinion and what that is doing to affect you.

Vashon Wade 2017