Tyler, the Hider?

When asked to describe ourselves, most of us will list our many markers of identity: gender,

race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class. These markers of identity often intersect, and that intersectionality impacts the way we are treated. The impacts can be harmful because we are encouraged to copy the markers we think are “dominant” and destroy the ones we think are subordinate (Lorde 1). We can see some of these impacts through analyzing the persona of Tyler, The Creator—a Black male rapper. In the past, Tyler presented a homophobic persona in albums such as Goblin (2011), commonly known as “an unambiguously homophobic record,” according to GQ Magazine writer, Ira Madison III (1). His previous works did not represent the queer persona we now see in his music because that persona is not typically welcomed in the hip hop industry and may have interfered with Tyler’s fan base. Since the release of his albums Flower Boy (2017) and IGOR (2019), he has dropped the homophobic persona and created a queer persona through his lyrics, twitter posts, and style.

With his previous homophobic persona, Tyler used the words “fag,” “faggot,” and other derogatory anti-gay terms a total of 253 times on his album Goblin (Rivas 2). For instance, in his song “Yonkers,” he says, “I’ll crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga B.o.B is in.” These lyrics portray queer listeners as disposable. When called out for his use of the word “faggot” as a straight man, Tyler replied, “That’s just a word, you can take the power out of that word… you chose to be offended if you care more about stuff like that,” and claims that he used the word as a synonym to “bitch” or “punk” (Nichols 2). It is unacceptable for Tyler to say that the slur “faggot” is “just a word” because “interpretation is not primarily a matter of forming or reinforcing personal opinions but rather a process of negotiation among contexts” (Nealon and Giroux 23). Tyler uses homophobia to assert his heterosexuality because, in the dominant culture, a man’s sexuality is a representation of his masculinity. Unfortunately, “homophobia in hip-hop has been a pervasive trend,” and “homophobic lyrics are most often found in the subgenre of ‘gangsta rap’ (Binder 6). Tyler was simply playing into the narrative.

In contrast to Black men, Black women are usually encouraged to create a queer/lesbian persona for themselves (Reid-Brinkley 3). Men are attracted to the idea of girl-on-girl action, hence, the countless music videos we see depicting women “making out with one another” used by heterosexual Black male artists such as Nelly (Reid-Brinkley 3). On the other hand, men in the hip-hop industry oppose the idea of creating a gay persona because the general aspect of hip-hop “is directly connected to misogyny and hypermasculinity,” which is connected to homophobia (Oware 25). In our patriarchal society, it is “feminine” to have an attraction to men. Even outside of the music world, “American heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men are more negative than their attitudes towards lesbians; this difference is especially pronounced among heterosexual men” (Herek 2). There is a heightened degree of backlash queer men experience in comparison to queer women.

As cultural theory scholars, Nealon and Giroux argue, “biopower shows us that social modes of power” work through life, which is what makes it so influential and effective (214). While Tyler was never told outright that he could not make queer music, the music industry worked as a biopower, showing him that the nature of hip-hop music is homophobic. It is important to note that the bulk of contemporary African-American culture lies in hip-hop. As music and culture critic Nelson George points out in his analysis of hip hop’s development, it is undeniable that hip hop is “an art form that comes out of the African American experience” (112). If hip-hop is both seen as homophobic and a salient part of black culture, the biopolitics of hip-hop teaches listeners that queer identities are not only unacceptable in the hip-hop industry but also in black culture. As a result, many people who enjoy and admire hip-hop are incentivized to adapt to a homophobic persona.

Tyler, the Creator was one of these people who adapted a homophobic persona as a member of the black community and a hip-hop artist. Anyone who listens to hip-hop knows that commercial hip-hop is an “institution of violent masculinity and homophobia” (Shimeles 2). Rappers work as social modes of power when it comes to the hip-hop industry because of their influence on listeners and other music artists. There are staple rappers like Busta Rhymes who said in a 2006 interview that hip-hop culture does not condone queerness whatsoever and Immortal Technique who said: “hip-hop never embraced faggots... acting like a fruitpop isn’t gonna get you anywhere” (Shimeles 7). These statements coming from hip-hop influencers, teach young men who aspire to be rappers that a queer identity will not get them far in the hip hop industry.

Another social mode of power for the hip-hop industry is social media. Social media is a crucial biopower that has helped Tyler in some ways but made it hard for him to present a queer persona. “Contemporary research indicates that youth generally may use new media to explore identities, behaviors, and lifestyles that might remain inaccessible offline” (Craig 95). In that way, social media is beneficial for Tyler to create agency for his queer persona. However, “in an environment characterized by heterosexism and homophobia, full disclosure of one’s sexual identity may not always be safe or appropriate,” and Twitter is mainly known for being brutal (Craig 97). There are online trolls who use social media platforms to bully others and sprout derogatory messages. On Twitter, for instance, Tyler posted, “I TRIED TO COME OUT THE DAMN CLOSET LIKE FOUR DAYS AGO AND NO ONE CARED HAHAHHAHAHA,” and the responses were not so great (@tylerthecreator). There were disrespectful responses such as, “I bet someone cherry bombed your ass,” responses critiquing Tyler’s way of coming out: “He be slick with it I can’t take a hint for nothin. He gotta say it straight up,” and dismissive responses such as, “Bruh you been sus since day one” (@tylerthecreator).

Tyler’s “subjective agency—the things that he does” affects the labels people apply to him (Nealon and Giroux 256). His subjective agency is already seen as comedic because of his interviews, performances, and shows such as Nuts + Bolts and Loiter Squad. Many people have already labeled Tyler as sarcastic, so when he posted his “coming out” tweet, spectators did not know whether to take his tweets seriously or not. His comedic ways can even be seen through the way he ends his “coming out” Twitter post with “HAHAHHAHAHA” (@tylerthecreator). Therefore, many of his Twitter followers did not take him seriously, brushed the post off as a joke, or ignored the post when it was originally made.

Tyler’s homophobic lyrics and indirect manner of coming out on Twitter were ways of avoiding the marginalization of his sexuality in addition to his race. Clothing is another aspect of hip-hop culture, and he was already struggling as a Black rapper because he did not have the typical “tough” look that Black rappers are expected to have. Tyler does not wear baggy clothing or flashy designers. His style resembles that of a preppy skater. He wears shorts, graphic tees, and skater brands including his own called Golf. Tyler was often trolled online for “dressing White.” He even tweeted “Too White For The Black Kids, Too Black For The White Kids” (@tylerthecreator). Already battling racial stereotypes, he used homophobic slurs to avoid being a target of homophobia. As Audre Lorde said, when it comes to intersectionality, there is a challenge of “constantly being encouraged to pluck out some one aspect of [your]self and present this as the meaningful whole, eclipsing or denying the other parts of self” (Loiacano 21). Before the release of Flower Boy and IGOR, Tyler chose to deny the idea of a queer persona and present his masculinity as his meaningful whole, a gender position defined by homosociality. Homosociality comes from “male bonding,” where men relate to each other and socialize about “intense homophobia, fear and hatred of homosexuality” (Sedgwick 696). As a new rapper, Tyler used homophobia to relate to other Black male rappers and listeners. Now with his popularity, he no longer needs others’ approval to express himself. Furthermore, with social changes such as the legalization of gay marriage (2015), audiences find Tyler’s queer persona less threatening.

In Flower Boy and IGOR, Tyler excludes homophobic lyrics and presents a queer undertone. For instance, in his song, “Gelato,” he says, “I just pop models. Boys or girls these days, shit, it don’t matter.” He is stating that he does not care about the gender of the person he sleeps with, which could imply that Tyler is bisexual. In one of his more controversial songs, “I Ain’t Got Time,” Tyler says, “I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004.” These lyrics are the most explicit Tyler has been about his queerness in his later albums. Both songs were on Tyler’s last two albums, which had the most streams he had ever received. Flower Boy had 42,951,771 streams, according to Hip Hop DX, a hip-hop magazine (Eustice 2). IGOR had over 122 million streams, according to Forbes, becoming the number one album on the Billboard 200 Albums chart (McIntyre 2). Flower Boy and IGOR were received much better than Tyler’s previous work because he showed a side of his “new” identity to the public in a time when homophobia is looked down upon more. Not to mention, there are queer listeners and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community that longed for some music they could relate to.

Due to the success of Tyler’s last two albums, some people argue that Tyler does not genuinely care about the queer persona he has created. They believe that he is trying to profit from this persona. I disagree with this view because although Flower Boy and IGOR are queer pieces, Tyler remains indirect about his sexuality. Listeners must pay close attention to the lyrics to understand the queer messages, insinuating that Tyler is still uncomfortable with presenting this persona as a hip-hop artist. Additionally, he removed his album from the hip-hop genre by writing, “DONT GO INTO THIS EXPECTING A RAP ALBUM” in the notes for the album. If Tyler were trying to profit from a bisexual persona, he would not remove his album from the popular category of rap. He understands the nature of most rap and decides to separate his album from that to represent a queer persona. This separation would dismiss the homophobic expectation of rap. While that may have meant losing the interest of some of his listeners, Tyler still made that choice. Tyler is refusing to categorize his album as rap in an attempt to “shift away from heteronormative music and into a space where self-expression is freed from the confines of the gender binary” (Elkins 11). Such a bold move was not a guaranteed way to profit, especially with heteronormativity still dominating the hip-hop industry. Tyler’s decision was an attempt to fight the marginalization of queer identities in the hip-hop industry.

Some people also argue that Tyler’s queer persona is not authentic because he has not revealed his sexuality as queer to the public, but that is an unfair argument. Even as a famous artist, Tyler reserves the right to keep his sexual identity private. Some spectators have even taken the fact that Tyler has not asserted his sexuality to mean Tyler is not queer, and they believe he cannot present a queer persona until he explicitly states that he is queer. Tyler makes it a point not to answer questions about his sexuality. Since the release of Flower Boy and IGOR, Tyler’s sexuality has been a recurring topic in his interviews. The constant questioning of Tyler’s sexuality not only shows that hip-hop has not matured when it comes to sexuality but also that many people are thinking about Tyler’s sexual identity. However, Tyler remains ambiguous about his sexuality whenever it is brought up. In the Autumn/Winter 2018 issue of Fantastic Man, he explains that his sexuality is a grey area with people and states, “Even though I’m considered loud and out there, I’m private, which is a weird dichotomy. The juxtaposition of loud and quiet is weird” (Alston 2). Many humans hate not having an answer and being in-the-know, and that is precisely how some people feel about Tyler’s sexuality and queer persona. However, it is problematic for people to dismiss Tyler’s queer persona solely because he has not “officially” come out. Expecting Tyler to announce his sexuality is an intrusion of his private life.

Presenting a queer persona as a well-known rapper is very new for the hip-hop industry. There is still the on-going conversation of hip-hop being rooted in homophobia, but with artists like Tyler, the future of hip-hop may open up to a broader range of identities. Alongside Tyler, the Creator, other hip-hop artists like Lil Nas X, Young M.A, and Steve Lacy—who featured on “911” in Flower Boy—have been game-changers for the hip-hop community by coming out as queer individuals or presenting queer personas. For many queer people, it is essential to be able to live out their full identity and not mask such a salient part of their identity. Seeing hip-hop artists take steps to challenge homophobic norms can encourage many others to accept and welcome queer identities in the hip-hop industry.

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