Kanye West may have lost to Justin Timberlake as GQ's Most Stylish Man of the Year but he's on the March cover of Details. He looks sort of dreamy; maybe he's pondering his next hit? Inside the issue, he talks about a phrase that's been applied to him: "that's so gay."
"Titles are very important. I like to embody titles, y'know, or words that have negative connotations, and explain why that's good. Take the word gay—like, in hip-hop, that's a negative thing, right? Y'know, I haven't, like, gone to a gay bar, nor do I ever plan to. But where I would talk to a gay person—the conversation would be mostly around, like, art or design—it'd be really dope. From a design standpoint, kids'll say, 'Dude, those pants are gay.' But if it's, like, good, good, good fashion-level, design-level stuff, where it's on a higher level than the average commercial design stuff, it's, like, gay people that do that. I think that should be said as a compliment. Like, 'Dude, that's so good it's almost . . . gay.'"
Kanye might think he's promoting equality, but he's falling short. He presents himself as someone entirely secure with his sexuality but goes out of his way to declare "I'd never be caught dead in a gay bar."
What's up with that?
– Bumble Bee
To watch the Details' interview with Kanye West, follow the JUMP:
One step at a time is what i say…
As a gay fan of kanye i have to say i like his music and have never thought he was gay. If anything he’s eccentric and artsy. After losing his mum at the hands of a negligent surgen, i think he’s holding pretty well so can we cut the man some slack.
What he does is soo brave for a hip-hop artist. The hip-hop community is about hyper-masculinity, but kanye shows another side.
I don’t understand why Manhunt is so against Kanye. He’s one of the only hip-hop stars (or black men period) brave enough to say hating gays is stupid. Yet Manhunt either reports that some people think he dresses gay (??!) or calls him homophobic because, while he wouldn’t mind discussing art and design with a gay guy, he would feel uncomfortable being in a gay bar. Fuck, there are so many rap stars out there that put down gays every chance they get. Why attack one of the only ones who is decent?
As a fan of the most homophobic artist,they dont give a fuck about gay men chastising them for there lyrics.They are going to say what they want,how they want,when they want and there is nothing the GLBT community can do to change it because its a freedom of speech.Many of these rappers homophobic lines are not so serious as the gay community takes it.As a bisexual male,i never get offended about the homophobic insults,they were not toward me and im secure with my sexuality and masculinity than to ever let what someone else feels take me out of my character.I appreciate the artistry of the lyrics,the beats and love the street mentality.People roll there eyes everytime the gay community has a bitch fit over a simple line that comes off homophobic.The bitching and whining only add fuel to the stereotypes that gay men are a bunch of sensitive fags who bitch like women about everything that does not conform to there beliefs,ways,lifestyle.Its not that serious.
Tommy, I am not against Kanye at all. Actually I’m a huge fan of his and hip hop, however I just feel like he’s doing way too much. We all know he throws diva tantrums. I personally think Kanye like 50 Cent says some off the wall shit on purpose just to get attention but Kanye is more creative with his.
I’ll certainly agree with you that he throws diva tantrums all the time. What I didn’t care for was your line, “He presents himself as someone entirely secure with his sexuality but goes out of his way to declare ‘I’d never be caught dead in a gay bar.'” Maybe he could have phrased it with more tact – a simple “not interested” would have done – but as you yourself stated, he tends to say wild things that are overly dramatic.
My big problem, though, is that this is the second post in as many weeks that picks on Kanye.