Le1f Responds to Lord Jamar's Controversial Accusations

Homophobia in hip-hop remains to be an issue in 2014. The latest example is provided by Brand Nubian frontman Lord Jamar, who expressed his concern about the current state of hip-hop in a recent The New Yorker article titled “Hip Hop’s Alpha Conservative.” According to Jamar, rap artists are pushing boundaries too far and the genre is being “hijacked” while rappers are being “emasculated.” In Jamar’s eyes, one of these rap artists is openly-gay rapper Le1f. After his performance on the The Late Show with David Letterman,” the Brand Nubian rapper responded via Twitter: “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!” Le1f took things upon himself and wrote a note on Facebook in return:

Dear Lord Jamar,

Choose your battles. If the whitening of rap is a concern to you, please leave my name out of it. If you think being gay is the same as being white, you are as ignorant as your enemies. I’m darker than you. I’m african. I’m a black man and I experience all the same racism you do, if not more, on top of homophobia, including from black men just like you. Are you proud of being a hateful member of a majority? Rap started out as a creative response to oppression, and no matter my outfit, I know oppressions you will never understand.

All respect,

Le1f