Andrew Tate’s content certainly isn’t for everyone. Still, that’s not stopping the 36-year-old from feeling confident in his influence and the validity of his opinions. Many of his social media posts have raised eyebrows in the past, including rants aimed at teenage Greta Thunberg, and negative comments about women who have come forward with allegations against actor and comedian Russell Brand. More recently, it was Tate’s thoughts on a particular drug that have him going viral, especially after Snoop Dogg’s apparent reaction to the podcaster’s opinion on his favourite treat.
“Weed, Oh, you mean… Gay?” Tate wrote on the morning of November 15th. The message brought in everything from chuckles to Mary Jane connoisseurs unimpressed with the former kickboxer. Interestingly, the very next day, Snoop announced on various social platforms that he’s retiring from marijuana which has long been a marker of his brand. “I’m giving up smoke,” he wrote on Thursday afternoon, along with a black and white photo reading, “After much consideration and conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.”
Of course, we can’t say for sure whether the “B**ch Please” hitmaker saw Tate’s message or not. However, Twitter users couldn’t help but crack jokes about the timing of the two posts. “He’s becoming too powerful,” one person joked of the Big Brother alum. When Andrew came across that message, he reposted it on his own page, declaring, “I’m just getting started.”
2023 didn’t begin on a high note for Andrew Tate, though he and his brother have since earned many of their rights back after being released from house arrest in the summer. The embattled entertainer is facing harrowing allegations of abuse and sex trafficking, among other things, though he continues to focus on growing his online community and leaning into their support in his times of trouble. Read more about the dark side of Tate’s influence at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Lil Nas X helped his brother come to terms with his own bisexuality, as detailed in his new documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. According to Entertainment Weekly, which witnessed the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night, Nas’ brother Tramon Hill speaks about receiving support from the rapper. The film as a whole details Nas’ debut tour, 2022’s Long Live Montero.
“My brother really opened doors for a lot of people,” Hill says in the film, as noted by EW. “Yeah, he opened a door for me. What I mean by that, like, I’m not gay, though, you feel me? I’m bisexual. He helped me be real with myself. My brother made me more open to it.”
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 14: Lil Nas X performs at Le Zenith on November 14, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns for ABA)
Later, Hill speaks about how his relationships may be affected by coming out. “If you f–k with me, you f–l with me. If you don’t, you don’t. Bye. Get out of my presence. I don’t need you,” Hill says. “At the end of the day, people are going to f–k with who they f–k with, so stop trying to chase a friend. A friend is going to always be there.”
When the film premiered, it was delayed by 20 minutes after a bomb threat was called into the venue. Authorities eventually found the threat not to the credible. Nas has still not announced a release date for the film. Elsewhere in it, he discusses meeting Viola Davis at the L.A. grocery store, Erewhon. “I met Viola Davis at an Erewhon, but I don’t think she knew who the f– I was,” Nas says in the film. “I was like, ‘I’m such a big fan,’ and she was like, ‘Oh, thanks,’ and she hurried out the store. It was kind of funny.”
For decades, hip-hop has often taken inspiration from queer sounds and aesthetics. In the ‘90s, Lil Kim was open about the fact the extravagant outfits and makeup she wore were inspired by drag performers and figures of the underground ballroom scene. She was a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, displaying a sense of allyship that was vital at the time. Despite the fact that Lil Kim had love for the queer and trans communities — a love that was reciprocated — homophobic ideology within hip-hop was rampant. Artists like NWA, DMX, and Ice-T were often praised for their conscious lyrics about racial disparities and economic inequality, however, many listeners reeled over their homophobic lyrics.
Early works by Eminem and the Beastie Boys often depicted violent acts against queer and trans people, which would later be the subject of GLAAD protests. Though the aforementioned artists have since recantedtheselyrics and actions, or have otherwise have shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, many listeners and artists believe bigotry towards queer and trans people is still an issue within the genre. However, in recent years, with LGBTQ+ artists rising through the charts, and at the helm of production of inescapable hits, signs seem to point at a queer revolution within hip-hop.
For the past few years, queerness has had an undeniable presence in hip-hop. Though some women rappers have utilized ballroom lingo and queer aesthetics in their music and visuals, despite not openly identifying as LGBTQ+, many others have made it known from the jump that they are not inhibiting themselves for anybody.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when and how the recent LGBTQ+ revolution in hip-hop began. Perhaps it was when Lil Nas X earned the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in 2019 with “Old Town Road,” or maybe it was during the pandemic, when fans helped elevate artists like Doechii, Ice Spice, and Lacy through dances and storytelling on TikTok. Ice Spice alluded to her bisexuality in one of her earliest hits, “Bikini Bottom.” She doubled down on this during an interview with Genius, where she explained that fans “need to know – we’re here and we’re queer!”
The eccentric Doechii has also captivated listeners, not only with her witty one-liners and vibrant displays of the characters she invents with her music, but also simply by unapologetically being herself. Before signing to Top Dawg Entertainment, which has housed the likes of Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Doechii went viral with her autobiographical song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” on which, she proclaims, “I think I like girls, but I think I like men.” One of her first major label hits, “Persuasive,” likens the idea of smoking marijuana to giving into the affections of a woman.
In an interview with British GQ last year, Doechii cited the LGBTQ+ community in helping her find confidence in her sound, saying, “I always knew that I was queer, and I was bisexual. But I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about it, because nobody around me was gay. So it’s not like I was hiding it — but I also wasn’t fully embracing it. I just started indulging myself with more friends who were like me. And that’s when I could become more comfortable talking about it, because that’s my normal everyday conversation now with my gay friends.”
Around the same time Doechii began blowing up, her Top Dawg labelmate Isaiah Rashad was the subject of rumors surrounding his sexuality. In February 2022, sex tapes of Rashad engaging in activities with other men surfaced online. Rashad would not address these tapes until his performance at Coachella two months later. During the performance, he thanked fans, who sent messages of support following the leaks, saying, “I see all the messages and all that sh*t, all the positivity,” and noted that his fans kept him “alive these last couple months.” A month later, he came out as sexually fluid during an interview with Joe Budden.
Also that year, Lil Uzi Vert, who had previously identified as a man, started using they/them pronouns. Though they made this announcement simply by updating the pronouns in their Instagram bio, and have not officially labeled themselves as non-binary, Uzi revealed in an interview with 032c that this change came without any sort of hesitation.
“I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed,” said Uzi. “Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive.”
They continued, explaining that the LGBTQ+ community has always been an essential component of the hip-hop game.
“I just think a good product [is] a good product,” Uzi said. “Think about fashion. Gay and trans designers are some of the biggest talents out there, and gangster-ass guys wear their stuff without a thought. What you make is what matters, not how you identify.”
And the quality of Uzi’s work has certainly been reflected in their sales and streams. Last month, their long-awaited Pink Tape album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first hip-hop album of 2023 to do so.
But also, in regards to “a good product,” several queer producers are working behind the scenes to give these hip-hop records a magical touch. Over the course of the past year, openly gay producer Kaytranada has cut tracks for rappers IDK and JID, and even collaborated with rapper Aminé on a full-length collaborative album. Bisexual singer and instrumentalist Steve Lacy has been a go-to collaborator for artists like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole for years.
Last year, Lacy earned the biggest hit of his career with “Bad Habit,” a chart-topping song which tells the painful story of a missed connection. Throughout the song, Lacy doesn’t mention anyone by name, or allude to specific pronouns, which makes the song all the more relatable. “[I]f only you’d known, things would be different,” said Shani Fuller-Tillman, RCA Records VP of Marketing in a 2022 interview with Variety. “There’s no one of any age, race or gender identity that hasn’t experienced this in life.”
While relatability is a key factor in the success of songs like “Bad Habit,” the tune also got a viral push through TikTok. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok has been crucial to a song’s success — whether it be from the song’s genesis to its official release, or as the platform documents the song’s second — or even third — life.
LGBTQ+ artists, especially, have felt the effects of TikTok on their music, especially Lil Nas X, who began teasing his single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” through TikTok months before its official March 2021 release. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and though Lil Nas X hasn’t released an album since September of 2021, he continues to tease new music through the platform — the snippets often met with fans in the comments, demanding he release the full song immediately.
In 2022, fellow gay rapper Saucy Santana went viral on TikTok with his opulent single, “Material Gworllllllll!,” though the song had been released three years prior. Its viral resurgence prompted Madonna — who has long been deemed a gay icon — to perform the song alongside Santana at New York City Pride that year, and later, release a remix of the song in the form of a mashup with her 1984 hit, “Material Girl.”
But what is the catalyst for hip-hop’s recent embrace of queer and trans artists and producers? Is it online virality? The post-COVID desire to dance and feel liberated? The genre-fluidity in which streaming is pushing hip-hop numbers into similar territory as pop?
Is it even fair that hip-hop gets all the flack for homophobia? At the time of writing, Miley Cyrus is the only openly queer artist in the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. Meanwhile, Jason Aldean, whose recent small town-romanticizing music video for his song “Try That In A Small Town” has been accused of racist imagery, is within arms length of his first Billboard Hot 100 topper.
Rap and hip-hop are certainly not monolithic, but even as the pop-adjacent rappers and hip-hop artists, like those mentioned above, have been met with support from hip-hop fans — both queer and straight — even conscious rappers, like Rashad, have received an outpour of love from their day-one fans.
Across any artistic platform, there’s always room for improvement in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation; but it feels safe to say that hip-hop is on the right track.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The late King Von has become an underground cult figure in drill rap, with the recent release of his posthumous project King Von: Rap’s First Serial Killer, even though he was killed just one week before the release of his debut album Welcome To O’Block in 2021. This week, a video of Von in jail went viral after he is heard asking corrections officers to move him to protective custody because of his sexual orientation.
Many have argued his real purpose for using the excuse of being gay to be moved, however, critics have stated that real Gs don’t fake their sexual orientation for protection, especially behind bars.
Michael Imperioli says that he doesn’t want “bigots and homophobes” watching his films and movies after the Supreme Court ruled that businesses can refuse to serve same-sex couples on the basis of religion. Imperioli has roles in The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas, and more.
“I’ve decided to forbid bigots and homophobes from watching The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas or any movie or tv show I’ve been in,” Imperioli wrote on Instagram, over the weekend. “Thank you Supreme Court for allowing me to discriminate and exclude those who I don’t agree with and am opposed to. USA! USA!”
Michael Imperioli At “The Sopranos” 20th Anniversary Panel
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 09: Michael Imperioli attends the “The Sopranos” 20th Anniversary Panel Discussion at S.V.A. Theater on January 09, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/WireImage)
Later, Imperioli added in the comments section that “hate and ignorance is not a legitimate point of view.” In another comment, he wrote: “America is becoming d *mber by the minute.” Many fans agreed with him following the controversial decision.
Justice Neil Gorsuch penned the Supreme Court’s decision on the ruling, arguing that “the First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.” The vote passed 6-3 with five conservative judges agreeing with Gorsuch.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissenting opinion on the matter. “Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” she wrote. She further called this a “sad day in American constitutional law and the lives of LGBT people.” The move is just the latest in a series of polarizing rulings the Supreme Court has handed down in recent days.
Boosie Badazz says that he has more trust in gay people to manage his money than he does in “regular people.” Boosie explained his statement during an interview with Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast on Friday. The comments come after Boosie has dealt with numerous accusations of homophobia.
“Everybody who speak the truth, they try to make you seem crazy,” he said. “Anything I speak on, I feel deeply that way. Everything I speak, I stand on it. It’s just that the world took it out of context, and said that I have something against those people, when I don’t.”
COLLEGE PARK, GEORGIA – AUGUST 15: Boosie Badazz performs onstage during The Parking Lot Concert Series at Georgia International Convention Center on August 15, 2020 in College Park, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Boosie continued: “People have to understand that it’s not the same stroke for the same folk. My fuckin’ assistant manager is gay as fuck. Like, bruh. I don’t know where people get that from. He understands me, he know I don’t have any ill will towards those people. He deals with money, he deals with business. It ain’t never looked at like that. I trust gay people more than I trust regular people.”
It’s not the first time Boosie has discussed putting his faith in the LGBTQ community. Amid accusations of homophobia in 2021, Boosie shared that his tour manager at the time was gay. In doing so, he described himself as being “misunderstood sometimes.”
Boosie On Trusting Gay People
“This is my tour manager, he takes care of a lot of business, that’s Jay Cooper,” Boosie said in 2021. “He go get the money right there. People don’t understand, Jay, that I have nothing against gay people or nothing like that. You’re gay. You make half my money! I’m just misunderstood sometimes. Sometimes I just say it the wrong way. [Gay people] be misunderstood. I got family members [that are] gay, like, gay people have better hearts than us regular n***as.”
Janelle Monae says that they will “never sit back and be silent” about injustices facing the LGBTQ community. The singer discussed the recent passage of laws across the U.S. targeting drag as well as trans people during an interview with NBC4 Washington.
When asked how to respond to the oppressive laws, Monae said: “You respond by fighting back, by speaking out against, standing with our trans community, my siblings. As a nonbinary, queer, pansexual person, I am proud to be in this community. I will never sit back and be silent about the injustices that are happening against our trans community.”
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 01: Janelle Monae is seen attending The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty’ at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
It’s not the first time Monae has addressed the topic. They also spoke about supporting the LGBTQ community during a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald. “There are a lot of laws being put in place around my trans family and the LGBTQI+ communities and even Black folks — you can’t even talk about certain things in school anymore,” they said at the time. “Those who are trans, they’re literally trying to erase their existence and not treat them with human decency. So, of course we fight, but even in the middle of the fight we take time to find joy.”
Monae also remarked: “I feel like I’m one of the most vocal, loud and proud, pansexual, queer, non-binary, black folks who have a platform! I feel I’ve said a lot. I don’t feel uncomfortable now, thank God. But I know there are a lot of people who may be uncomfortable with it, who don’t have to feel rushed or forced into talking about something that is private for most folks. There is no right or wrong way to talk about being in the LGBTQI+ community. As long as it’s with love, it’s fine.”
The comments from Monae come ahead of the release of their new album, The Age of Pleasure. They announced the project alongside the release of “Lipstick Lover,” last month. It’s scheduled to release on Friday, June 9, 2023.
Now is a complicated time for the LGBTQ community. We’re a week into Pride Month, but the celebration comes after the recent passage of laws across the US targeting drag and trans people. As all this is going on, Janelle Monáe does not plan on being silent.
In a recent video interview with NBC4 Washington, Monáe was asked how they respond to the recent legal happenings and they answered, “You respond by fighting back, by speaking out against, standing with our trans community, my siblings. As a nonbinary, queer, pansexual person, I am proud to be in this community. I will never sit back and be silent about the injustices that are happening against our trans community.”
She spoke about similar topics in another recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, saying, “There are a lot of laws being put in place around my trans family and the LGBTQI+ communities and even Black folks — you can’t even talk about certain things in school anymore. Those who are trans, they’re literally trying to erase their existence and not treat them with human decency. So, of course we fight, but even in the middle of the fight we take time to find joy.”
When asked if it was difficult to discuss these topics, Monáe responded, “I feel like I’m one of the most vocal, loud and proud, pansexual, queer, non-binary, black folks who have a platform! I feel I’ve said a lot. I don’t feel uncomfortable now, thank God. But I know there are a lot of people who may be uncomfortable with it, who don’t have to feel rushed or forced into talking about something that is private for most folks. There is no right or wrong way to talk about being in the LGBTQI+ community. As long as it’s with love, it’s fine.”
Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Ari Fletcher’s OnlyFans account hasn’t even been made official yet, but already, fans are thirsting over the idea of it. Of course, it doesn’t help that the mother of one has been teasing social media with some salacious tweets, or that she recruited Yung Miami to help her out. “What you gone do with that naked picture I sent you earlier? @YungMiami305,” Fletcher tweeted on Saturday (May 27) night. “Play with my p*ssy until I cum ,” the City Girl wrote back shortly after, causing countless fans to chime in with thirsty responses.
Among those with something to say was the socialite’s boyfriend, Moneybagg Yo, who quote-tweeted the Florida native’s saucy message to his girlfriend with a simple but effective, “.” The post has since been deleted, but @theneighborhoodtalk managed to snag a screenshot before the Memphis-born rapper took it down. It remains unclear how serious Fletcher was about sending NSFW photos to the “Act Bad” rap diva, but we do know she at least has her beau’s encouragement to start an OF page if she so desires.
After confirming that she would start an account on the content-selling site if Bagg’s Hard to Love mixtape hits No. 1, the recording artist shared his thoughts on Power 106 earlier this week. “Y’all better run it on up, man. You wanna see this OnlyFans, man? Run it up… She already locked and loaded man. I believe it. I know what’s up man,” he said, making it known that Fletcher has an impressive collection of spicy snaps ready to share with the world – for the right price, of course.
Following his project’s debut on Friday (May 26), Moneybagg Yo has been busy doing plenty of press, even revealing what it is that makes him “hard to love” in his eyes in one interview. Who’s OnlyFans would you sooner subscribe to, Ari Fletcher, or Yung Miami? Let us know in the comments, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Ahead of the long-awaited premiere of HBO’s The Idol, Lily-Rose Depp is doing what she can to make her presence felt. We’ve already met the raunchy pop star she’ll be playing alongside The Weeknd in his upcoming series. Now, the actress is ready to share more of her personal life with fans, revealing via Instagram a few days ago that she’s quietly been dating a famous singer for four months now.
On Thursday (May 11), the 23-year-old’s Story lit up with a snapshot of her and 070 Shake sharing a passionate kiss. “FOUR MONTHS [WITH] MY CRUSH,” she excitedly wrote over their sweet moment of PDA. While this is the first confirmation we’ve received of their relationship, as Page Six notes, rumours actually began swirling around them during Paris Fashion Week in late February and early March. Based on the timeline from Depp’s IG post, she and the “Nice To Have” hitmaker – born Danielle Balbuena – made their fling official in mid-January, and have only grown closer since then.
In a now deleted Instagram Story, Lily-Rose Depp confirms relationship with 070 Shake by celebrating 4 months being together. pic.twitter.com/yg31u4lSMu
In the past, Johnny Depp’s daughter has mostly been linked to male lovers, such as French rapper, Yassine Stein, Kylie Jenner’s new boo, Timothée Chalamet, and Elvis actor, Austin Butler. Even with her celebrity status, the young starlet prefers to keep that part of her life out of the spotlight. “I think that the value of privacy is something that’s been instilled in me from an early age,” she told Drew Barrymore while appearing on her talk show in April 2021.
As for the musician, Balbuena’s only other high-profile union was with Kehlani back in 2021, though the mother of one has since moved on. Prior to that, she dated Sophia Lodato from 2017 to 2020 and has also kept many of her romantic affairs hidden from the public eye. Do you think 070 Shake and Lily-Rose Depp make a cute couple? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in with HNHH later for more pop culture news updates.
(@JanelleMonae) 
,” the City Girl wrote back shortly after, causing countless fans to chime in with thirsty responses.
.” The post has since been deleted, but @theneighborhoodtalk managed to snag a screenshot before the Memphis-born rapper took it down. It remains unclear how serious Fletcher was about sending NSFW photos to the