Snoop Lion (Formerly Snoop Dogg) Sounds Off On Homosexuality In Hip-Hop

Recent years have seen the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg mellow and mature. Yet the rapper, who now goes by the alias Snoop Lion, remains ever-ready to speak his mind. Case, point, a recent interview with UK broadsheet, The Guardian.

The sit-down chat, which saw the Hip-Hop star admit to smoking his favourite plant with his 18-year-old son, is perhaps most notable for his comments on gay marriage.

Find out why after the jump…

When quizzed about his thoughts on homosexuality in Hip-Hop and beyond, the star (who was smoking a blunt at the time of the interview), responded saying:

“I don’t have a problem with gay people. I got some gay homies. Yeah, for real. People who were gay used to get beat up. It was cool to beat up on gay people back then. But in the 90s and 2000s, gay is a way of life. Just regular people with jobs. Now they are accepted, not classified. They just went through the same things we went through as black.”

With Snoop having recently spoken out in support of gay marriage in America, the interviewer then posed the question of whether he thinks that Frank Ocean coming out is a sign of progress in the rap world to which the ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ MC responded:

“Frank Ocean ain’t no rapper. He’s a singer. It’s acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don’t know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine. It’s like a football team. You can’t be in a locker room full of motherfucking tough-ass dudes, then all of a sudden say, ‘Hey, man, I like you.’ You know, that’s going to be tough.”

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First and foremost, we must applaud Snoop for finally “checking” the interviewers who refuse to make the relatively easy distinction between Hip-Hop and R&B. All too often the two are juxtoposed as being one in the same when in reality (despite their similar rootings) they have different sub-cultures and practices attached.

On the actual issue at hand, kudos to Snoop for expressing his opinion (operative words being “his opinion”) on what remains both a “hot” and socially progressive topic. It begs the question, though…do you agree with his views? Do you see Hip-Hop ever embracing the sexual diversity of the real world?

Your thoughts?

BONUS: Click here to read That Grape Juice’s ‘Hiding In Hip-Hop’.