Kiss And Tell

Lil Wayne's latest freestyle, which I scooped up from Sickamore over at the XXL Blogs, discusses the controversy behind the lyrics. Specifically, Wayne's outright admittance that he kissed his "Daddy", known to the listening public as Baby. You can listen to the freestyle here and go over to Sick's blog to read his transcription.

Now I, like most heads, have been saying that bar none, Wayne is the best rapper out right now. He is making muh'fuckas shut up and listen to every sixteen, twelve, even eight bar verse he comes with. Even his hooks are tighter than most rappers whole songs. But before the infamous picture of him and Baby lip-locking, the question was still debatable. Then, upon the picture's release to these here Internets, something strange happened.

Lil Wayne became even more popular, and it wasn't because of the picture. As a matter of fact, no one cared about the picture, even though everyone with access to the Internet saw it. Collaborations with big name artists are dropping every week, magazine editors are giving him covers, and Wayne's case for being the best rapper alive is getting stronger and stronger.

The fact is, society's outlook on gay celebrities and celebrities taking part in gay behavior has changed dramatically over the years. You either care or you don't care, but a coming out party is no longer a surprise, rather, it's the person throwing the coming out party that matters.

Take for example John Amaechi, the former NBA player who came out of the closet recently. People took to the news the same way they took to his career in the NBA. They didn't give a damn. Sure the media had a field day with it, but the backlash was even more severe for one of his critics, retired NBA All-Star player Tim Hardaway. My fellow blogger, DeMarco spoke at length about this a few weeks back.

The consensus used to be a rapper could not come out of the closet or had to hide any questionable behavior in order to be loved and sustain a fanbase. But as Wayne proves, that is no longer necessary. What the hip-hop community (for lack of a better term) really cares about is skills. Sure, a lot of artists fill their rhymebook with words like "faggot" but that's usually just to rhyme with another word or words like "bag it" or some shit like that. If your skills as a rapper are nice enough, well, you'll get a pass. Think about it: Since the picture surfaced, the other rapper about to lock lips, Baby, has seen his stock go from being one of the worst rappers ever to run a record label, to being one of the worst gay rappers even to run a record label. And when they say gay, people mean that as a bad thing.

I know it's wrong to say, but talent trumps all. Clearly people don't care if you're the type of guy who likes to pee on underage girls so long as you keep the hits coming. Scandalous behavior is really nothing out of the ordinary for anyone, but what is out of the ordinary is Wayne's skills as a rapper, which is why we will not let some questionable activities get in the way of hearing his latest shit. He is the best rapper out right now, and if you disagree (which some folks are wont to do), chances are it's not because he likes to kiss another man.