Rollin' With My Homos

Thirty years after the Sugarhill Gang called Superman a “fairy‚” mainstream hip-hop remains as macho and bullheaded as ever. But things are different underground‚ attests Pick Up the Mic: The Evolution of Homohop (on DVD June 23)‚ a one-of-a-kind documentary that recounts how a small circle of gay‚ lesbian‚ bisexual and transgendered rappers carved their own niche within a market that continues to insult‚ if not ignore them‚ altogether.

Admittedly‚ their journeys are sometimes more gripping than their beats: Aggracyst‚ a once-closeted MC from Detroit‚ hoped to score a mainstream hit and “pull a Melissa Etheridge” before he was outed. JenRO‚ a pint-sized lesbian with cornrows‚ remembers boys chucking apples at her in school‚ then zapping them with her lyrical skills (“Don’t be mad cuz I get more pussy than you do!”). God-Des‚ a self-proclaimed “pimp without a dick‚” chases crossover dreams while rhyming‚ “Me in a thong would look terribly wrong/I’m just a lesbian/Can’t we all get along?”

The enemy isn’t straight rappers‚ but the top-dollar/bottom-line reign of the hip-hop industry. Tough odds to beat‚ obviously‚ but these MCs never stop trying.


Pick Up the Mic will be available on DVD June 23 from Chicago Independent / Fontana.