Jay Light

If there is one part of the industry that is known for its brutal homophobia, it has to be the world of hip-hop.
When asked about why a gay man hasn't conquered hip-hop as of yet, he had this to say: "There are so many queer male artist in hip-hop making noise nowadays. From gender bending artist like Mykki Blanco and Wallace Wallace to younger artist like Kevin Abstract. But in order for a gay man to conquer hip-hop you need a whole generation to move aside and make room. It may sound morbid, but those who grew up believing gay meant weakness in hip-hop first need to die off and let the rebirth of the culture happen. Gays played such an important role in the birth of hip-hop and continue to this day. We just haven’t gotten public recognition from the hip-hop community, so we are now talking our rightful place in the culture by musical (and artistic) force." - Insticint Magazine

Hip-hop artist Mykki Blanco, who released his debut album, Mykki, on September 16th, 2016, which featured the single “High School Never Ends (feat. Woodkid)”, performed at the Velvet Underground in Toronto last night with New Jersey-based rapper Cakes Da Killa, who released his second EP, #IMF, on February 10th, 2015 via Mishka NYC, and hip-hop artist Music Bear Tony Banks. - Aesthetic Magazine Toronto

Given the turbulence of the current political climate, the past few years have witnessed a resurgence in socially conscious hip-hop, with Kendrick Lamar, Run the Jewels and Common all releasing notably politically engaged albums. ‘Run!’ is clearly a segment of such a lineage, in its both oblique and explicit evocations of contemporary American politics. The most undeniable of these is the reference to ‘Hillary and Trump… debating like kids in school eating lunch‘ before Banks declares ‘we not included in America’s cult‘. - Hear Me Raw Music