The idea that this phrase represents the glimmers of a new awakening in hip-hop certainly makes sense when you consider that for gays to be considered equals, they must first, in some primordial stage of social understanding, be understood to even exist. (Which, given the nature of rape and sexual assault � it is violence, pure and simple, not sex � really kind of makes sense.) But today, �no homo� �tweaks this dynamic because it allows, implicitly, that rap is a place where gayness can, in fact, be expressed by the guy on the mike, not just scorned in others.� The essay � which gives a nice primer on the phenomenon, including how it originated as a way for rappers to distance themselves from closeted �down-low brothers� � argues that there�s a possibility that it�s �helping to make hip-hop a gayer place.� Once upon a time, the story goes, rappers would go around telling other men to, say, �suck a bowl of *****,� and no one found this anything other than just plain macho. Posted on 7:10:20 PM PDT by nickcarrawayĭo you know how I know you�re gay? You just read this essay in Slate about the rap meme �no homo.� The phrase, in case you�re not familiar with it, is commonly appended to lines in rap that could possibly be interpreted as, well, gay.
