It's no secret that hip-hop is a genre of music that, historically, hasn't bee all that accepting of the LGBT community. Both lyrically, where gay people have been frequently been seen as lesser individuals when compared to the emcees working on the track, and visually, where most music videos still only frame their rap subjects from a plainly heterosexual point of view, the hip-hop community has had some work to do in this department for several years. However, there have been marked improvements in the eyes of some, including Empire executive producer and film director Lee Daniels, who has a pretty positive outlook when it comes to gay people navigating the world of rap.
According to TMZ, the Hollywood power player not only thinks that the situation is much better for those who identify as LGBT and are pining for a career as a hip-hop artist, but that the opportunity to taste real success has never been more prevalent. When asked if he thinks a gay hip-hop artist could have a platinum record in this day and age, he said "it would be nice," but then went on to predict that such a feat will happen "sooner than you think." Of course, he didn't give a precise timeline, but the implication was that, by as early as next year, you could see some movement in this area of the music industry and a trend towards LGBT emcees getting a sniff of real fame.
In Daniels' eyes, his show Empire has had a lot of do with the softening of this public opinion in the hip-hop community, supposedly helping to solidify the notion that gay rappers can not only survive but thrive in the current musical landscape. While pop music has seen the opportunities and response to LGBT artists like Sam Smith grow over the past few years, rap is admittedly still taking a longer time to catch up. Only time will tell if Daniels' prediction will come to fruition, but there's definitely a faction of people out there who want to see that dream become a reality.
What do you think? Is the prediction a reasonable one or is it still too bold? Let us know what you think in the comments.