“And the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.” “People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to Nicki u are gay,” he wrote on Twitter. Even now-openly gay male rapper Lil Nas X recently revealed that he was previously ashamed to admit he was behind a Nicki Minaj stan account as a teenager because of the strong association with the LGBTQ community. In the ensuing years, the stan communities that have grown around artists like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Azealia Banks, Doja Cat, and Iggy Azalea are frequently home to many LGBTQ rap fans. If the average male hip-hop fan may not listen to many female artists, however, women in rap have often benefited from outsized support from the LGBTQ community, and gay Black men in particular. Data from Spotify reveals that, on average, men listen to 94 percent male artists and just 3.3 percent female artists, while women spend 55 percent of their time on male artists' music and 30.8 percent on women (the remaining percentage is groups). Hip-hop remains a male-dominated industry, and statistics show that male music fans across genres are frequently hesitant to support female artists. In honor of Pride Month, Genius took a look at the history of women pushing LGBTQ acceptance forward in rap. While the genre hasn’t historically been a haven for LGBTQ people, female rappers have been making space for years. Rap music’s relationship with homophobia has been debated for years, mixing legitimate concerns about toxic machismo and anti-gay lyrics with harmful stereotypes about the Black community’s views on gay people as a whole. The atmosphere was celebratory, accepting, and undeniably hip-hop. At one point, she invited several people up to vogue during her performance.
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A diverse audience, including many Black LGBTQ people, took in Leikeli’s music, which draws heavy inspiration from LGBTQ ballroom culture. The NYC rapper, accompanied by Atlanta-bred opener Yung Baby Tate, warmly embraced the LGBTQ community on stage, from shoutouts to rainbow light designs.
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When Leikeli47 took the stage at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere venue in March of last year, it felt like an early Pride celebration.